Cruel Intentions

In recent years, there has been a lot of talk about the downgrade of global aesthetics, and in fact, the "scale" of movies and TV shows has also declined.

At the end of the 20th - century, a large number of love movies with bold ideas and amazing scales emerged.

In the 1988 film Dangerous Liaisons , two friends in the romantic world used the virginity of a 16 - year - old girl as a bet in a game.

(Still from Dangerous Liaisons )

The 1994 film Interview with the Vampire had a strange combination of two men and a young girl. The moral ambiguity of their relationship, which was both father - daughter and lover - like, made countless audiences obsessed with the story.

(Still from Interview with the Vampire )

In the 1999 film Cruel Intentions , a pair of step - siblings decided to play a dangerous game. If the brother lost, he would lose his luxury sports car; if the sister lost, she would have to offer her body.

(Still from the movie Cruel Intentions )

Taboo relationships, incest, and forced love, these themes were all over Hollywood at the end of the 20th century.

In the current era of shrinking originality, what should be done when there are no new ideas? Remake!

Therefore, Amazon set its sights on the 1999 film Cruel Intentions , and the TV series version was launched on November 21.

Crazy siblings, perverted games, how dramatic is the plot?

Cruel Intentions

01 The Bet

Caroline (played by Sarah Catherine Hook) is the president of a sorority.

It's the recruitment season again, and she must recruit a very key new member: Annie (played by Savannah Lee Smith), the daughter of the vice - president.

These fraternities and sororities seem to be just insignificant student groups in the university, but in fact, they are means for the upper - class to win over the powerful through the next generation.

Naturally, the affiliation of the vice - president's daughter has become a top - priority concern for everyone. For Caroline, winning over Annie is not only about re - establishing the status of her sorority, but also about meeting her mother's political goal of befriending the vice - president's family. No matter what the cost, she must win Annie's heart.

(Still from the TV series Cruel Intentions )

Caroline came up with a brilliant idea.

Her step - brother Lucien (played by Zach Burgess) is a well - known playboy who has had many relationships with women. It would be a natural fit for him to seduce the pure - hearted Annie.

So the two siblings made a bet: Lucien would go to seduce Annie. If he failed, he would lose his sports car; if he succeeded, he would be able to spend a night with Caroline.

What? Did I hear that right?

These crazy siblings also have a crush on each other and fantasize about each other's bodies. Pseudo - incest is still incest!

02 Perverted Siblings

The above - mentioned perverted bet is just the tip of the iceberg of the perverted daily life of these siblings.

At the orientation party, Caroline revealed a secret about herself to gain everyone's trust. "I gave my virginity to my tennis coach. I thought I had found true love, but he disappeared the next day. Later, I found out that it was all arranged by my mother, to make me feel desired, because no one would really like me in reality." When everyone heard this, they fell silent. It seemed that their own little secrets seemed quite normal under such a perverted plot.

(GIF still from the TV series Cruel Intentions )

In order to assess the overall appearance of the new members, Caroline arranged for Lucien to have sexual encounters with each candidate in turn. He would record their body measurements and sexual performances with his eyes and report back to Caroline.

(GIF still from the TV series Cruel Intentions )

In addition, Lucien has a strange habit: he records videos during sex. Many girls agreed to the recording out of trust in him, but they didn't expect that the real purpose of the recording was to share it in an album for Caroline to watch when she needed it. That is to say, although the two did not really have a physical relationship because of their seemingly "sibling relationship", they satisfied their desires by watching each other's sex videos. This is really extremely perverted...

(GIF still from the TV series Cruel Intentions )

Let's get back to the main plot - Lucien's pursuit of Annie.

During the process of getting along with Annie, the playboy Lucien actually fell in love with this girl, and he chose to back down at the critical moment when the two were about to have a sexual relationship.

Caroline was furious when she learned about this. Firstly, she was worried that her plan would fail, and secondly, she was afraid that Lucien would really fall in love with Annie and lose interest in her. Therefore, Caroline, who is good at manipulating people's minds, chose to expose Lucien's sex videos, and timely offered the warmth of the sorority to Annie, whose love had been broken. Finally, she successfully won over Annie. And Lucien, who was betrayed, did not show weakness. He found Caroline's mother, and the two moved from the sofa to the bedroom in an ambiguous atmosphere.

(GIF still from the TV series Cruel Intentions ) "A new video has been added to your shared album."

Caroline opened her phone and saw that it was actually a sex video of Lucien and her mother... OMG...

Is this the scale of European and American狗血 (lit. dog - blood, means melodramatic) romance dramas?

(GIF still from the TV series Cruel Intentions )

03 Successful Casting and Sexual Positivity

Looking at this plot, it can be compared with the Gossip Girl that became popular all over the world back then. Who doesn't like to watch the dramatic life of the upper - class?

Moreover, the casting of the three main characters in this TV series has not been too severely affected by the "downgrade of global aesthetics", and the three are still within the category of handsome men and beautiful women. Savannah Lee Smith, the actress who plays Annie, has extremely delicate features.

(Still from the TV series Cruel Intentions )

In addition, the TV series version of Cruel Intentions handled the situation after Lucien's sex video was exposed very well. Not surprisingly, Lucien received a lot of praise from the male group, and some people even came to ask for advice. The girl in the video did not identify herself as a victim. She did not cry bitterly or stay behind closed doors. Instead, she "admonished" her friends not to engage in sexual shaming. This can be regarded as an aspect of the current female consciousness of combating slut - shaming in film and television.

(GIF still from the TV series Cruel Intentions )

It's full of melodrama, brainless, and has an amazing scale. This is the kind of drama that you may be looking for to kill time! Don't miss the pleasure of watching it all at once.

This drama's supporting roles are the real eye - catchers—they're the only reason I kept watching. The leading lady is 1.4 meters tall, tottering around in 30 - centimeter high heels every day. She can barely walk, and it's exhausting to watch. The male lead is 1.65 meters, average - looking at best, though his personality is okay. Yet he's supposed to be a heartthrob in the show, with women aged 15 to 50 throwing themselves at him and even willing to film sex videos with him. Let's be real—with that face and stature, no woman would initiate thatin real life!

The supporting actors, though, deliver great performances and look good too. Their styling is down - to - earth. The heroine's sidekick is particularly likable, and the male supporting roles are all tall, handsome guys who make the lead actor look like a prince... and a dwarf by comparison.

The plot is passable if you can ignore the lead actress—I managed to binge - watch it. Looking forward to season two!