It would seem that no matter how much he tries, Paul Verhoeven just can’t help having sex seep into his work. Even when he crafts something like Black Book, which tackles deep moral questions against the backdrop of World War Two, there’s still people getting sweaty and making the beast with two backs. And now it looks like he’s back in Basic Instinct territory, but this time with a Sixth Sense-style tweak for Eternal.
Okay, we’re going to issue a standard spoiler warning here, but we’re pretty certain the main chunk of the plot will be revealed early on (and in the trailers...) Eterna****l follows a married man and recovering alcoholic (sounds like a prime damaged Verhoeven character there) who manages to talk a woman down from throwing herself off the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. This being a Verhoeven universe, they don’t head off to the nearest hospital or support group; they end up doing the nasty.
But the guy’s suspicious wife has been having him followed by a private investigator and when he gets home, she’s waiting with a spread of photos. Trouble is, all the shots show him drinking alone. How is that even possible? Turns out his new flame is a ghost, or, more accurately, a succubus. And she’s now a little bit obsessed with him.
The script originates with David Lowry, who seems to have temptresses on the brain, since he also wrote Obsessed. Exit Wounds’ Richard D’Ovidio has since re-written it and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment is looking at getting it made next summer.
Verhoeven has a couple of projects edging towards production, with The Surrogate and D****e stille Kracht both looking likely. But it’s possible he might push them aside for Eternal.
And just think of the jokes if he does… Ghost love is, a dangerous proposition, since safe sex surely means carrying a Neutrona Wand. “Proton accelerator?” I barely touched her! Look at the ethereal plane on that! Etc, etc…