Make Hollywood Horny Again

A celebration of erotic thrillers.

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This article was originally published on April 6, 2022.

It has been updated to include more movies ahead of Valentines Day.

We all feel it, that emptiness in our souls where the erotic thriller should be.

It is the bridge between the high and the low.

It is the handshake between film snobs and trash collectors.

And while we may not get as manynewerotic thrillers as wed like (or deserve!

), theres a lurid and sweaty archive waiting for you to access it at any time.

Pull up this classic and find out!

(Available to stream onParamount+ with Showtime.)

With an all-time erotic thriller title,Body Heatis a classic of the genre.

Rourkes character makes bombs.

There are plans to knock off a spouse so two lovers can run off with the money together.

And theres Turner with a career-launching performance and a voice that will melt the clothes right off of you.

(Available to rent onPrime Video.)

Hes a drifter who happens into a diner, and she is the wife of its owner.

Laughlins Bobby is paid to surveil China but of course falls for the platinum-wigged woman of the night.

Theres also Anthony Perkins as a madman in a preachers robe who is obsessed with China Blue.

(Available to stream onPluto TV.)

(Available to stream onPrime Video.)

Dead Ringers(1988)

David Cronenberg hasa thing for bodies.

(Available to stream onPeacock,Pluto TV, andPrime Video.)

Impulse(1990)

The poster forImpulsesays, Shes an undercover cop.

Trapped in a mystery.

Lead by a dangerous impulse.

Dont you just hate it when youre trapped in a mystery?

(Available to rent onApple TVandPrime Video.)

(Available to stream onTubi.)

Annabella Sciorra plays a therapist with a patient who engages in sadomasochistic sex play with her lover.

Theres even a little John Leguizamo thrown in the mix for an added bonus.

(Available to rent onApple TV+andPrime Video.)

A rich old man is found dead, and wouldnt you know it?

Hes left his millions to the woman he was having an affair with (Madonnas Rebecca Carlson).

Oldest trick in the book!

Also, Madonnas lawyer is Willem Dafoe, and the two engage in a dangerous romance.

Its like an erotic thriller bingo board.

(Available to stream onPluto TVandTubi.)

DreamLover(1993)

When you think of erotic thrillers, you probably think of the 1990s.

Amick stars alongside James Spader as a beguiling beauty whom Spader is helpless before.

Would you guess that hes calamitously wrong?

(Available to stream onPluto TVandTubi.)

Everything about this movie is unhinged.

It was written and directed by Alan Shapiro, who based the story on events from his own life.

is, at the very least, a fascinating circumstance to ponder.

She won, so the movie had to be dubbed over following release.

Watch this movie and behold the preeminent case study in how obsessed withLolitafilms were in the 90s.Muchto unpack there!

(Available to stream onPeacock,Prime VideoandTubi.)

And long before she wasBabygirl, Nicole Kidman was inMaliceplaying a newlywed, married to Bill Pullman.

And thats just the non-spoiler description.

(Available to rent onPrime Video.)

Sliver (1993)

Watch out, world.

Its a Sharon Stone movie from the 1990s, which means there is plenty more eroticism on the horizon.

Directed by Phillip Noyce, this is a real genre journeymans movie.

(Available to stream onPluto TV.)

Yes to it all.

Here are as many details as youll need.

Look out for hitters in this one.

But the real star isnt even Willis.

Its Jane March in a role she couldnt possibly have been paid enough for.

Show up for the nude cooking, stay for the nude Willis.

(Available to rent onApple TVandPrime Video.)

First she takes his job.

Then she tries to take his whole life.

And you are left to ask yourself: Good for her … ?

(Available to rent onApple TVandPrime Video.)

(Available to rent onApple TV.)

(Available to stream onPluto TV.)

Crash(1996)

Nothing else on this list will hit likeCrash.

From there, James follows Helen into a subculture where others share their extreme fetish for car crashes.

But how far will all of them go for satisfaction?

(Available to stream onKanopy.)

(Suspicious?!)

As the body count increases around Debbie, she becomes infatuated with an English teacher at her new school.

Are you not entertained?

(Available to stream onThe Roku ChannelandTubi.)

(Available to rent onApple TVandPrime Video.)

Were we ever so young?

(Available to rent onPrime Video.)

(Available to rent onPrime Video.)

And somewhat unexpected:CI2is actually a prequel!

There are no small parts, only small actors!

And even in this sequel-prequel from the early days of her career, Adams is a giant.

Watch and pay your respects.

(Available to stream onTubi.)

Swimfan(2002)

Congratulations, aughts teens, your savior is here to represent you.

This movie is so aughts it stars Jesse Bradford as the heartthrob athlete.

This movie is so aughts its about a champion high-school swimmer.

(Available to rent onApple TVandPrime Video.)

Next cameIndecent Proposaland a dip into even more taboo waters withLolitabefore he delivered 2002sUnfaithful.

This is paperback sleaze with a prestige sheen.

(Available to rent onApple TVandPrime Video.)

In the Cut(2003)

Its always so satisfying when high-class filmmakers serve up smut.

This is absolutely not your friendly neighborhood Hulk version of Mark Ruffalo!

(Available to rent onPrime Video.)

Immerse yourself in this prestigious, steamy affair.

(Available to rent onApple TV+.)

Now, isChloethe apex of her career when it comes to dark sexy material?

But sometimes its just fun to play around in the mud.

Does this movie play into the sticky history of queerphobia thats rampant throughout the history of erotic thrillers?

(Available to rent onPrime Video.)

As you’re free to imagine, this goes wrong for everyone involved.

If you like it, seek out the 1960 film of the same name this one is based on.

(Available to stream onAMC+.)

Expand your cinematic palette and check out this critical darling.

(Available to stream withStrand Releasing.)

Of course, some of them are legitimately great classics of cinema!

while still satisfying the viewers basest desires.The Handmaidenmight be the highest-level work of them all.

Is this a burgeoning love affair or just another con job stacked on top of a labyrinth of deceptions?

(Available to rent onFandango.)

But after a time, Chloe meets another analyst who is adead ringer(hint hint!)

(Available to stream onAMC+andTubi.)

Benedetta(2021)

Is there anyone out there who does eroticism like Paul Verhoeven?

Lets see more sweaty movies based on real-life gay nuns!

(Available to stream onAMC+andHulu.)

If youre out here watchingEuphoriaand tweeting Sydney Sweeney ate that!

If you really do miss the erotic thriller, you simply cannot miss this movie.

(Available to rent onFandango.)

WhileDeep Waterwas advertised as a down-the-middle piece of thrilling erotica (a trailer promising murder!

), its possible this is the weirdest movie Lyne has ever made.

Also, shouts out to the most surprising car chase of 2022.

(Available to stream onHuluandThe Roku Channel.)

BasicInstinct(1992),Paramount+orPluto TVSharon Stone astheerotic-thriller femme fatale.

Single White Female(1992),Amazon Prime RentalJennifer Jason Leigh astheblueprint for modern-day toxic female friendship villains.

The Last Seduction(1994),TubiorPeacockLinda Fiorentino astheseductress who can bring any man to his knees.

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