Trivia for
Spetters (1980) More at IMDbPro »

• Director Trademark: [Paul Verhoeven] [religious imagery] In one scene, a character is shot from a low angle, with a light bulb creating a halo around his head (c.f. Flesh+Blood (1985)).
  
  
• The film's title comes from a now disused Dutch slang term meaning "hot shot" or "hunk".
  
  
• This is the first film Paul Verhoeven made that was not an adaptation of a novel.
  
  
• The film was heavily criticized in Holland. Many critics accused the film of being anti-women, anti-gay, anti-invalid, and anti-Chistian. They also called it devoid of morals and needlessly decadent. This criticism was one of the contributing factors in Paul Verhoeven's decision to begin making films in America rather than his native land. In fact, on the film's commentary track Verhoeven states that the reason he was not phased by the negative criticism of his film Showgirls (1995) was because he'd already been through it with Spetters (1980).
  
  

• SPOILER: Actor Hans van Tongeren, who played Rien in the film, tragically committed suicide after the release of the film. This is a strange parallel to his character in the film, who commits suicide after becoming paralyzed.
  
  

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