The 21st century
ushered in a new era of the erotic thriller. Combining elements of art
house sensibility with shocking violence and unsimulated sex scenes, many
erotica films were banned upon release or heavily edited. With the Blu-ray
player on the horizon and the internet continuing to gain traction, this was
the beginning of the end for video rental stores and direct to video/DVD titles
that had long since been the heart's blood of the genre. What follows is
ten films from the time period and where to find them.
Baise
Moi (2000)
Easily the most
controversial film in this list, Virginie Despentes and Coralie Trinh
Thi's Baise Moi (Fuck Me) is a revenge, exploitation, and feminist
revolution rolled inside a grimy, uncomfortable look at a generation in
distress. Featuring unsimulated sex scenes with penetration and a
plethora of violent kills, the story revolves around a prostitute and porn star
who go on a killing spree across France, dividing the public. Starring
actual pornographic actresses Karen Lancaume and Rafaela Anderson, Moi
is a masterclass in guerilla filmmaking and is most certainly not for the weak
of heart.
Availability: Arrow Video Region 2 DVD
Availability: Arrow Video Region 2 DVD
Mulholland
Drive (2001)
Perhaps the greatest
film of the century and one of the finest ever made, David Lynch's surreal
nightmare is a terrifying exploration of the dark side of fame and
Hollywood. Starring Naomi Watts and Laura Harring as two women whose
identities begin to blur as they attempt to solve a mystery in Tinseltown, all
while a director is being manipulated by mysterious forces to possibly cast one
of them in his new film. Featuring a steamy sex sequence and some
genuinely horrifying moments, this is essential viewing, not only for the genre
but for cinema itself.
Availability: Digital Rental, Criterion Collection
Availability: Digital Rental, Criterion Collection
The
Piano Teacher (2001)
Michael Haneke's
controversial masterwork could be considered an unusual choice as an erotic
thriller, however it emblematic of how malleable the genre is. The
incomparable Isabelle Huppert stars as a sexually repressed music teacher
whose abusive relationship with her mother manifests as psychological
trauma. She meets a new student and begins a violent, dangerous sexual
contest of wills that ultimately threatens to destroy her carefully designed
facade. This is a heavy, deeply disturbing film, not for its content, but
for its implications about control, sexual mores, and power dynamics within the
boudoir.
Availability: Digital Rental, Criterion Collection
Availability: Digital Rental, Criterion Collection
Trouble
Every Day (2001)
Claire Denis'
masterful addition to the New French Extremity is a nihilistic sojourn into the
uncomfortable truths of relationships. On the surface, the violent story
involves an American doctor who is afflicted by a cannibalistic form of
vampirism who brings his wife to Paris on a "honeymoon" as a means to
masque him searching for his former lover who infected him. Featuring two
sequences of intense violence and uncomfortable sex scenes dappled throughout,
this is one of the most brutal erotic thrillers ever made. Merciless in
its accusations and distinctly ominous in its provocations, the film is a
staunch reminder of Denis' formidable talent.
Availability: Digital
Rental
The
Center of the World (2001)
Controversial upon
release for a scene involving an exotic dancer (portrayed by a pornographic
actress) and a lollipop, Wayne Wang's (Slam Dance) stylish, somber foray
into the veneer of love is a wounding experience, featuring difficult to view
sex sequences, endless heartbreak, and a bravura performance by Molly Parker (Kissed,
Deadwood). Using a nonlinear style, the film recounts a
relationship between a depressed dot.com millionaire who hires an exotic dancer
to be his escort for several days in Las Vegas. Yes, another brutal entry
(a theme for these few years), Center is a cinematic experience the
viewer will not soon forget as it delves into the concepts of boundaries and
the illusion of compassion, and how these deceptions can ultimately destroy
everything they initially constructed.
Availability: Digital
Rental
Original
Sin (2001)
A remake of
Truffaut's Mississippi Mermaid, Original Sin stars Antonio
Banderas as a Cuban merchant who purchases a mail order bride from America
(Angelina Jolie) who may or may not be what she appears to be. Considered
a guilty pleasure in adult cinema for its overlong sex scene in the first act,
the film was critically maligned upon release. While the plot is a
milquetoast affair, the chemistry between Banderas and Jolie is worth the
ride. Ultimately this is a tale of love and lies and how the two
commingle into an amalgam of betrayal and loyalty, changing the participants into
things beyond their perceived moral limits.
Availability: Digital Rental, STARZ
Availability: Digital Rental, STARZ
Zebra
Lounge (2001)
A cheesy, trashterpiece,
Zebra Lounge posits: Fatal Attraction...but with swingers.
Featuring a hilariously villainous Stephen Baldwin and Kristy Swanson, the
story follows an unhappily married couple who dip their toes into the swinger
lifestyle to rekindle their passion. Unfortunately, the couple they
choose to congregate with (Baldwin & Swanson) become more attached than
they could imagine leading to lust, betrayal, and murder. Come for the
faux-sleaze that only cable tv movies could deliver and stay for Baldwin's
hammy, scene chewing delivery.
Availability: Amazon Prime, Tubi
Availability: Amazon Prime, Tubi
Cold
Heart (2001)
Mix Josh Halloway (Lost),
Jeff Fahey, and Nastassja Kinski and what is the result? A 90's throwback
thriller with some unexpected twists and turns. While the script is
exactly what you'd expect, the way the neo-noirish plot winds through the acts
is admirable. Halloway plays a dangerous loner who is released from a
psychiatric ward with Fahey being his mandated therapist who also helps him
find employment under his wife (Kinski). The expected forbidden romance
develops and that is when things begin to evolve in unexpected
directions. Halloway steals the limelight, delivering one of his most
over the top performances.
Availability: IMDB TV
w/ Ads
Femme
Fatale (2002)
Perhaps the greatest
film of Brian De Palma's storied career, Femme Fatale follows a
mysterious jewel thief (Rebecca Romjin-Stamos) who double crosses her partners
and vanishes, only to resurface and begin a relationship with a reporter
(Antonio Banderas). Aside from being a beautiful, sexy film, filled with
beautiful, sexy people, this is an elegant thriller with style to spare.
Romjin-Stamos is unforgettable as the duplicitous grifter who may be
falling in love with her quarry, while Banderas does a wonderful job as the
fish out of water, all while themes of memory, fate, and chance are
explored. The end result is an underrated masterwork that deserves
attention.
Availability:
Cinemax, Digital Rental.
Unfaithful
(2002)
The performance of
Diane Lane's remarkable career is the centerpiece of Adrian Lyne's divisive Unfaithful.
The premise is simple: A happily married woman begins a torrid affair with a
book collector after a chance meeting. The sex sequences are
simultaneously elegant and dirty, a perfect mix of the elements that define the
erotic thriller. Richard Gere gives a subdued performance as her husband,
one of the weaker elements of the film, but make no mistake, this is Lane's
show, with her performance elevating an otherwise mediocre, overdone story to
greatness.
Availability: Cinemax, Digital Rental
Availability: Cinemax, Digital Rental
--Kyle Jonathan