The dominance of the erotic thriller over pop culture might be over, having been at its arguable peak popularity-wise back in the 1980s and 1990s (see the likes of Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct, neither being the best of the genre, but both being very popular). But movies focusing on eroticism haven’t gone away entirely, even if there have been studies regarding Gen Z and their purported aversion to sex on screen.
What follows is a rundown of some of the best movies from the past four decades that can be labeled erotic films, but your mileage will vary in terms of whether you feel they qualify, of course. Also, they’re all more than just films about eroticism, and belong to a variety of other genres, be they romance, drama, thriller, or even crime movies as well.
10
‘Exotica’ (1994)
Exotica has a title that’s one letter off from “erotica,” so it’s not the most surprising thing in the world to find that it’s also something of an erotic drama. The main setting is a strip club named Exotica, with a handful of people involved with the club — including a dancer, the MC, the owner, and a frequent patron — all having their lives intertwine in unusual and sometimes intense ways.
There’s a story here, but Exotica also feels more about crafting a unique atmosphere and exploring a handful of intriguing and troubled characters. It moves at an unusual pace, but there’s something kind of hypnotic about it, and Exotica is also undeniably unique. There’s a decent amount to appreciate upon a first watch, but even more if you want to dig a little deeper and/or rewatch the erotic thriller movie.
9
‘Stranger by the Lake’ (2013)
Though there’s a lot of sex in Stranger by the Lake, it’s not exactly a romance film. Part of that comes from the fact that it’s about a cruising spot by a lake in France, visited by gay men after sexual experiences without much by way of commitment, but then things get further intense when two key characters develop more of a connection, but one seems to be hiding some kind of dark secret.
Stranger by the Lake is a slow burn, but it is rewarding if you’re okay with some explicit content. It’s pretty frank, for lack of a better word, and is indeed “European,” to fall back on a potentially even worse word. But it’s quietly unnerving in a way lots of great psychological thrillers are, and the fact that it evokes such a feeling while also being set almost exclusively outside, and often during the day, makes it feel even more distinctive.
8
‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being’ (1988)
Definitely not to be mixed up with that Nicolas Cage film about massive talent being an unbearable weight, The Unbearable Lightness of Being is instead a slower and more artful film that could be, if one was feeling crude, described as a love triangle movie. But not really. It’s about a womanizer and the relationship he has with two women, and what happens when both those women also get to know each other.
It’s a film that moves at an odd pace, and feels unique, and possibly the only film Daniel Day-Lewis has ever been in where he’s good, but also arguably out-acted by two of his co-stars (Juliette Binoche and Lena Olin). The Unbearable Lightness of Being does feel like smut at times, but it’s absolutely beautiful smut, and has more to offer than just a frank exploration of the differences between a truly loving relationship and a purely sexual one. If you want something more thought-provoking and philosophical, then the source material — the novel of the same name written by Milan Kundera — is also very much worth checking out.
7
‘Y Tu Mamá También’ (2001)
One of those movies that shows how not all great coming-of-age stories have to take place in high school, Y Tu Mamá También follows two teenage boys who are learning about life and each other while on a road trip. They meet a slightly older woman who comes along on the trip with them, and certain relationships and dynamics flourish and/or crumble between the three along the way.
Describing the plot of Y Tu Mamá También doesn’t make it sound like anything all that special, and neither does the title, really, which translates to the sort of tacky “And Your Mother Too.” But it’s where the film goes, and what it ends up exploring, that makes it special, with Alfonso Cuarón (later known for Children of Men and Gravity) directing the hell out of the whole thing, as per usual.
6
‘Blue Is the Warmest Color’ (2013)
There are things about Blue Is the Warmest Color that make it controversial, but there’s still a ton here that’s powerfully done and emotionally resonant. It has value as a movie about finding oneself and experiencing the intensity of being in love for the first time, and the film doesn’t really pull punches in showing the physical side of things.
And some might call certain scenes here over-the-top, and they can be lengthy, but Blue is the Warmest Color is also three hours long, and so much of it deals with genuine drama and realistic conflict. It’s not just non-stop sex for three hours, even if some people talk about the movie as though it were. That element is an important part, but there’s also depth here, as well as two incredible performances from the lead actresses, Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux.
5
‘Lust, Caution’ (2007)
Like Blue is the Warmest Color, lots of conversations about Lust, Caution revolve around its uncompromising sex scenes, but also like Blue is the Warmest Color, there’s so much more to the movie than just those scenes. There’s probably even more here that’s worth noting besides the strictly erotic stuff, truth be told, seeing as Lust, Caution functions as a spy movie, a thriller, a romance film, and a psychological drama all at once.
It was hit with an NC-17 rating, and is one of the best-ever films to have such a rating (one that unfortunately leads to financial difficulties, insofar as box office earnings are concerned). It’s a thoughtfully done and admirably tense film that’s about more than just sex, and it’s daring in a way that should be celebrated rather than shunned, since it’s an artful and intelligently made film that also happens to be unapologetically upfront when it comes to exploring sexuality.
4
‘Bound’ (1996)
A few years before they made one of the greatest action/sci-fi movies of all time with The Matrix, the Wachowskis were probably best known for writing the lesser-known — but just as compelling — Bound. There’s no sci-fi stuff here, with Bound instead being a crime/thriller/neo-noir film about two women who find themselves attracted to each other, though one is in a troubled relationship with an abusive mobster boyfriend.
The love story in Bound unfolds slowly, but also powerfully, and that it functions as a film about identity and unexpected love while also being a pretty tough and gritty crime/thriller movie makes it stand out all the more. It’s intimate, intense, and extremely well-crafted, and it also manages to explore sexuality quite frankly without running the risk of feeling exploitative or tacky, which makes the whole thing even more admirable.
3
‘The Handmaiden’ (2016)
There’s a level of unpredictability to most of The Handmaiden’s plot which ensures it feels unfair to be too specific, but running through the basics is in order, in any event. It’s about a man and a young woman, the latter of whom poses as a maid, trying to swindle a wealthy heiress out of her estate, and she’s got a difficult relationship with her uncle, who currently has ownership of most of the desirable property.
Then, further complications ensue when the seeming maid and the heiress fall in love, and it turns The Handmaiden into something of a romance film on top of it being a crime/thriller one with a historical setting. It’s a lot of things all at once, and across a runtime that nears 2.5 hours, but it’s a lengthy film that’s worth the time, and watching it play out — and dance across various genres throughout — is a real treat.
2
‘The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover’ (1989)
Well, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover is probably more classifiable as a sicko film than an erotic one, but it still counts as the latter because a lot of it’s about sex and passion. The titular wife has an abusive criminal as a husband, and she decides to take on a lover at the restaurant they frequent, and that setting it where, at last, the titular cook comes into things, though he’s less of an active player in the film’s plot until near the end.
Essentially, justifiable infidelity, as a way to get revenge, spirals into more violent revenge, and then further vengeance is enacted, and it’s all presented rather beautifully while nonetheless being confronting and unapologetically dark. The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover is a lot to handle, but in a good way, and you will finish the movie a different person than who you were right before you started it.
1
‘Eyes Wide Shut’ (1999)
Always a provocateur, right until the very end, Stanley Kubrick’s final cinematic statement was an erotic film… kind of. Eyes Wide Shut is about sex, infidelity, and suspicion, but it’s also very eerie and continually uncomfortable in a way that undoes much of the eroticism. It might well be better defined as a deconstruction of an erotic thriller, going to darker places than most and also being exceptionally troubling, psychologically speaking.
It digs into the sorts of places various David Lynch movies go, and was also further intriguing because it starred Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, who were themselves a couple in real life back when Eyes Wide Shut was made. It’s a movie that’s gotten better with time, like so many other Stanley Kubrick films, as it takes more than just one viewing to realize what a film like Eyes Wide Shut is going for. You feel it, at first, and then in time, you start to understand it or, at the very least, you understand what you don’t understand, and proceed to take it from there.
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