The subgenre of the erotic thriller started to gain momentum in cinema to close out the 80s with films like Fatal Attraction. And as the 90s would begin this little steamy corner of film would explode to the forefront hitting everywhere from the big screen to late night premium cable, to even basic cable TV in slightly less steamier forms. We’re going to explore the subgenre of the erotic thriller and go back through the 90s to talk about the films that…rose above the competition.
I’m also sticking to the more traditional, tried-and-true erotic thriller format. That being a story centered on a femme fatale of some type who uses sex as a form of control or manipulation. This also usually revolves around a crime, or crime of passion where there is usually a fall guy who, despite his common sense, falls for the seduction of this fatale to his own detriment. So, let’s get into it.
Coming in first at #5 is a film that actually has a solid supporting cast with names like Willem Dafoe, Joe Mantegna, Anne Archer, and a young Julianne Moore. This one had plenty of steamy sex scenes led by Madonna, but sadly Madonna was also the star of 1993’s Body of Evidence.
Without names like Madonna, Dafoe, and others, Body of Evidence would be a straight-to-video late night cable romp of sex and murder. Even with names like Madonna and Dafoe, Body of Evidence is a romp of gratuitous sex, predictably cheesy storytelling, and erotic melodrama. This movie delivers every cliche in the erotic thriller handbook, but it isn’t a good one. The plot’s messy, emotionally inconsistent, and lacking genuine passion. And despite the sexual exploits of Dafoe and Madonna who are clearly enjoying living out the fantasies of a trashy romance novel, and as much as this film tries, and as much as Madonna was a sex symbol at the time. Dafoe and Madonna are no Stone and Douglas and Body of Evidence lacks much of the intrigue to be a Basic Instinct.
Moving along to #4 is another erotic thriller that certainly delivers plenty of sex, but it also delivers one of the dumbest plots in cinematic history when Bruce Willis would play a troubled psychologist in 1994’s The Color of Night, also starring Jane March, Lance Henriksen, and Ruben Blades.
I don’t think any erotic thriller was as ridiculous or as self-indulgent as Color of Night. Yet another film that fills its runtime with a buffet of cliches and stylized sex montages. The bizarre meter for this plot is through the roof as members of a therapy group are all unknowingly seduced by the same person for comically melodramatic reasons. With a sexy Jane March, Bruce Willis and his little Willis front-and-center soaking up the scenery in this role. Color of Night is not a good movie, but it’s crazy enough to sort of have fun with, while watching. The forced emotional intensity in this movie is relentless, the performances are all unknowingly over-the-top, and the erotic atmosphere is comically inflated resulting in a collection of sex scenes that deliver world class gratuity in a movie that delivers little else.
Now the heyday of the erotic thriller really sort of ended around 1995, but my #3 pick would come in 1998 and would sort of be the last of the quality commercial erotic thrillers. And that film would be Wild Things starring Denise Richards, Neve Campbell, Matt Dillon, and Kevin Bacon.
I would consider Wild Things to be the most entertaining of all the movies on this list. It’s well acted, crisply directed, and the plot takes plenty of twists and turns to weave a delightfully playful mystery fueled by lust, seduction, and manipulation. The scoring creates a moody atmosphere. Dillon delivers a natural duality to his character and Bacon is the perfect wild card. With Campbell and Richards delivering a sexy duo to charge the erotic undercurrent of this ever-changing story. Wild Things shines because it focuses on being an intriguing mystery with interesting characters first, with the provocative undertones, and steamy threesomes coming in as a side piece which is why this movie is really the last strong film to come from the era of the erotic thriller.
Coming in at #2 is easily the most well-rounded and critically acclaimed film on this list, a film that maneuvered perfectly inside the subgenre of the erotic thriller and the film would be John Dahl’s The Last Seduction from 1994 starring Linda Fiorentino, Peter Berg, and Bill Pullman.
This movie wasn’t as flashy or as commercially popular as the others on this list, but I would call it the most well-rounded. Fiorentino delivers a top tier femme fatale. She’s so effective you even sort of like her style and her confidence despite her deplorable acts. She’s sexy, smart, and dangerous. The plot does follow the path of the traditional erotic thriller, but it does the beats extremely well to craft an intriguing tale of manipulation, lust, murder, sex, and control, with Fiorentino driving the bus and Berg, lost in love, lying under it. The Last Seduction delivers plenty of steamy sex but it’s another film that focuses on its story and the growth of its characters first, and that’s why it holds up so well despite the passing of time.
And for my #1 pick, it really was an easy one. Easily the most well-known and pop culturally relevant. None other than the steamy Basic Instinct starring Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas will always be the face of this little subgenre.
Basic Instinct is the perfect balance of enjoyable storytelling and gratuitous sex. The direction from Verhoeven gives this movie endless style. The murder mystery at the core is seedy, alluring, and ominous. And Douglas and Stone command their roles and sell it like it’s never been sold. Which is why this movie was everywhere. Basic Instinct for the erotic thriller, was like Die Hard for the wrong-place-wrong-time action movie and would spawn a slew of copycats. Basic Instinct is a part of pop culture history. It’s seductive, edgy, dangerous, and it all comes together into a stylish film that’s clearly superficial, but with Stone driving the erotic intensity, this movie will be timeless in the genre.
Anthony J. Digioia II © 2024 SilverScreen Analysis & Movies Never Say Die!
