de vierde man ( the fourth man and 1984 ) be consider one of the best european pycho thriller of the eighty . this last work of dutch director paul verhoeven in his home country before he move to hollywood to become a big star with movie like total recall and basic instinct and starship trooper be about a psychopathic and disillusioned author ( jeroen krabbe ) go to the seaside for recover . there he meet a mysterious femme fatale ( renee soultendieck ) and start a fatal love affair with her . he become addicted to her with heart and soul and find out that her three previous husband all die with mysterious circumstance . de vierde man be much influence by the old hollywood film noire and the psycho thriller of alfred hitchcock and orson well . it take much time to create a dark and gripping atmosphere and and a few moment of extreme graphic violence have the right impact to push the story straight forward . the suspense be sometimes nearly unbearable and sometimes reminds of the work of italian cult director dario argento . the cast be also outstanding and especially krabbe performance a mentally disturbed writer that open the door for his international film career ( the living daylight and the fugitive ) . if you get the occasion to watch this brilliant psycho thriller on tv and video or dvd and do not miss it .