They’re also a dying breed.
James' wildly popular series of erotic novels and their subsequent film adaptations.
And while I’m all for a resurgence of the erotic thriller, there’s a problem.
Not that the erotic thriller has even been the benchmark of moral integrity.
They’re not exactly feminist, but they reject traditional often reject traditional cinematic gender roles with brazen abandon.
Check out our picks below.
Image via Universal/Focus Features
WhileBody Heatis sexy as hell, it’s far from trash.
When they do finally start to fall, it’s a thing of beauty to watch.
–Haleigh Foutch
Basic Instinct (1992)
PaulVerhoevens Dutch films arelitteredwith casual sex and rape.
Image via Warner Bros.
Verhoeven has fun with this.
Fittingly, the story is about obsession.
It’s not hot, it’s haunting.
Image via TriStar
Sex especially indulgent and extra-marital sex– is treated as a deadly, destructive lure.
Why would Connie (Lane) stray and why should Edward (Gere) stay?
Instead of providing explanatory dialogue or Freudian psychology,Unfaithfulprefers to observe behavior.
Image via Warner Bros.
And how hard it is to stop once its begun.
And thats far more exciting than being told or seeing their marriage punished by violence.
BrianFormo
The Handmaiden (2016)
The Handmaidenis the most downright gorgeous erotic thriller ever made.
Image via 20th Century Fox
And though we identify him with subversiveness, nothing in his filmography is as subversive asThe 4th Man.
Ideas make up your identity, not whats between your legs.
Give it a few minutes and you see that shes performing for a high-class audience.
Image via Magnolia Pictures
Theyre both seduced by making more money and decide to get jobs at a bank.
They sleep their way to the top.
But the man at the top is a sadistic voyeur.
Image via Colombia Pictures
He attempts to make them jealous of each other.
BrianFormo
Wild Things (1998)
Trash.
Image via The Kobal Collection
Image via October Films
image via Tartan Films
Image via Columbia Pictures
