The
climax of Erotic Thrillers occurred in 1992 with the release of Basic
Instinct. The remainder of the year and 1993 saw some of the most
unusual and interesting films in the genre released, and coincided with the
non-R rated success of Jurassic Park, signaling the twilight of
adult oriented cinema. What follows are ten films from those years and
where to find them.
Final Analysis (1992)
Phil
Joanou's (Three O Clock High, State of Grace) third film, Final
Analysis is a Hitchcock homage that brims with sexual tension.
Featuring Kim Basinger, Uma Thurman, and Richard Gere, the story focuses on a
psychiatrist who drawn into an erotic triangle of sex, death, and conspiracy by
a beautiful woman and her possibly deranged sister. Featuring a scene
stealing performance by Eric Roberts as a menacing gangster, Gere and
Basinger's chemistry sets everything ablaze amidst a labyrinth of twists,
turns, and double crosses.
Availability: VUDU (W/Ads), Digital on Demand
Availability: VUDU (W/Ads), Digital on Demand
Basic Instinct (1992)
The
film that changed everything for erotic thrillers, Paul Verhoeven's neo-noir
masterpiece is a sexually charged neutron bomb. Starring Michael
Douglas and Sharon Stone, the story concerns the murder of a retired rock and
roll star. As the investigation points towards Stone's ultra femme
fatale, she begins a torrid affair with Douglas' rogue cop. Made famous
by Stone's controversial panty-less legs uncrossing scene, the success and infamy
of the film would spark a tidal wave of direct to video softcore thrillers and
television series that would drink the life’s blood of adult cinema in less
than a decade.
Availability: Digital on Demand
Availability: Digital on Demand
Single White Female (1992)
More
in line with the post Giallo slasher origins of the genre, Barbet Schroeder's (Barfly,
Kiss of Death) psychological story of duality and agency is surprising
relevant in today's political climate. Featuring an elusive turn by
Jennifer Jason Leigh as Hedy, the mentally unstable woman who slowly works her
way into a poisonous friendship with Bridget Fonda's Allie. What elevates
the picture is not only Leigh's terrifying performance, but in Schroeder’s
methodical presentation that creates an organic relationship between the
principals. A bastard child of Persona and Dressed to Kill,
this is an essential piece of erotic thriller history.
Availability:
Digital on Demand
Double Jeopardy (1992)
Rachel
Ward returns yet again with a direct to TV film that challenges notions of
power, perception, and consent. Bruce Boxleitner (Babylon 5) stars
as a man who begins an illicit romance with an old flame named Lisa (Ward),
betraying his attorney wife (Sela Ward). He witnesses Lisa being raped by
her old boyfriend whom she kills. Lisa is then defended by his
wife. The trial and its aftermath have startling consequences.
While the plot can be paint by numbers, Ward and Boxleitner shine while Sela
Ward is the show stopper as a wife at her wit's end.
Availability: Amazon Prime
Availability: Amazon Prime
Dance with Death (1992)
Once
again, a serial killer is preying upon exotic dancers in a dark city.
Only this time, the police are apparently too busy to do anything so a reporter
decides to go undercover to find the killer. Beyond the ridiculous
(awesome) premise, this film costars Sexy Rexy himself Maxwell Caulfield.
Written by erotic thriller icon Katt Shea, this film lacks the progressive
undertones of Stripped to Kill, but it also makes up for the deficit
with a sexy, early 90's ambiance that, when juxtaposed with the grimy 80's
interior of Stripped to Kill, allows this near satirical neon-noir to
work.
Availability:
Amazon Prime
Body of Evidence (1993)
Nominated
for six Golden Raspberries, Uli Edel's trashterwork, Body of Evidence
was yet another doomed Madonna vehicle. Originally rated NC-17 for some
extremely steamy (including candle wax!) sequences with Madonna and Willem
Dafoe, the film lives in infamy as one of the worst ever made. Still,
there is a dirty charm that oozes underneath the tired courtroom whodunnit (PS,
you know instantly) that explores the concept of power both inside and out of
the boudoir.
Availability: Amazon Prime
Availability: Amazon Prime
Romeo is Bleeding (1993)
TV
directing icon Peter Medak directs a legendary cast of character actors in a
nihilistic neo-noir like no other. Focusing on a corrupt detective's
(Gary Oldman) dangerous and perverse sexual relationship with a Russian
hitwoman (Lena Olin), this is a film that is defined by excess.
Every single scene is so over the top, so violent, so unrelentingly sexual that
it breaks down the mind's defenses before nestling into the subconscious.
Possibly Oldman's greatest performance, this is one of the better post Pulp
Fiction crime films because of its mature approach to the material, albeit
in a veneer of the absurd. There is an aura of danger that is simply
unescapable for the duration of its runtime.
Availability:
Amazon Prime
Boxing Helena (1993)
The
debut of Jennifer Lynch, which earned her the Golden Raspberry for Worst
Director, Boxing Helena is a challenging film that went through hell in
preproduction, including driving Kim Basinger (who broke her contract to leave
the role) into bankruptcy. Starring Sherilyn Fenn (From Lynch's father's Twin
Peaks) and the always alluring Julian Sands, the story focuses on a
peculiar doctor who continually performs amputation operations on a former
lover whom he has imprisoned. Ultimately the film is about trauma, obsession,
and how we force those we adore into constraints (both real and unreal) to fit
our paradigms.
Availability: DVD
Availability: DVD
Sliver (1993)
Following
the success of Basic Instinct, Sharon Stone returned to the erotic arena
in yet another script written by carnal Joe Eszterhas. This time Stone
plays a recently divorced book editor who moves into a high-profile apartment
building in NYC, populated by the vain, the sexy, and the deadly. There's
an undercurrent of surveillance technology and privacy issues that echoes in
today's climate, but the most charming aspect of this film is in how Stone's
character's sexual reawakening is entwined with her budding voyeurism.
It's a sleazy cousin of Until the End of the World; an intoxicating mix
of surprisingly well-done sex sequences and a wonderfully hammy turn for Tom
Berenger.
Availability:
Digital Rental
Guilty as Sin (1993)
One
of the more unique entries in cinematic legend Sidney Lumet's filmography, Guilty
as Sin is less a courtroom thriller and more of a showcase for one of the
most insane performances in Don Johnson's career. He plays a rich playboy
accused of murdering his wife. He hires Rebecca DeMornay to defend
him. As their relationship begins to blur the lines of morality,
DeMornay's character is forced to confront her own actions in an effort to
find justice. Featuring a charming supporting turn by Stephan Lang, the
film was critically annihilated upon release. Regardless, Johnson's over
the top camp is just so much fun, nothing else matters.
Availability:
Digital Rental
--Kyle
Jonathan