7 Crazy, Erotic Thrillers
Wild Things, Malice, Color of Night, Sliver+
Whatever happened to the erotic thriller? After 1987’s Fatal Attraction popularized the genre, they were everywhere in the ’90s. Categorized by a blend of highly erotic romance and danger, they appealed to a broad audience and were just plain fun to watch. Part of the beauty of the erotic thriller was that it didn’t even need to be a good movie to be entertaining. Sometimes the dumber the movie, the higher the enjoyment value. While the Lifetime Movie Network is still churning out cable-TV-approved erotic thrillers, bigger budget fare died out in the early 2000s. So we at PROVOKR say bring back the erotic thriller. With that in mind, here are seven of the most WTF bonkers erotic thrillers. Bear in mind, while all of these films are still genuinely entertaining watches, they don’t always deal with sensitive topics with the most tact. And of course, while all of these movies are crazy, some are crazy because they’re also excellent, and some are just plain crazy.
Wild Things
Of course, we have to start with the gold standard of insane erotic thrillers, Wild Things. This 1998 flick follows teenage rich girl Kelly (Denise Richards), who accuses her guidance counselor, Sam (Matt Dillon), of rape after she unsuccessfully tries to seduce him. When second victim Suzie (Neve Campbell) comes forward, the detective assigned to the case, Duquette (Kevin Bacon), discovers there is much more to the story than meets the eye. This movie is so full of twists and turns that the plot synopsis doesn’t give anything away. Part of what makes this movie work so well is its commitment to “going for broke.”
Illusions
Unlike Wild Things, 1992’s Illusions is not what anyone would call a good movie. It follows Jan (Heather Locklear), a woman recovering from an unexplained nervous breakdown, who moves into a new house with her husband Greg (Robert Carradine). Soon, her alluring sister-in-law Laura (Emma Samms) shows up for a seemingly never-ending visit, and Jan begins to suspect something untoward is going on between the siblings. Throw in a weird groundskeeper who keeps telling her tales of deranged murderers, and Jan is just about to have another breakdown. But, oh boy, this movie is so all over the place. It’s got incest, spooky employees, a big scary house. It’s one wild ride.
Sliver
The first, but not the last, Sharon Stone erotic thriller on our list is 1993’s Sliver. Stone stars as Carly Norris, a successful book editor who moves into her dream apartment after a divorce. Of course, not everything in this luxury highrise is as it seems, and she learns that her neighbors are hiding grave secrets. Carly finds herself drawn to two of her new neighbors, crime novelist Jack Landsford (Tom Berenger) and video-game designer Zeke Hawkins (William Baldwin). But, someone is spying on Carly and the other tenants, and when a woman is murdered, Carly must find the killer before she’s next.
Malice
Tracy (Nicole Kidman), an art teacher, and Andy (Bill Pullman), a college dean, are happily married and ready to have a family. But when Tracy is rushed to the hospital and operated upon by narcissistic doctor Jed (Alec Baldwin), an old college friend of Andy’s, their lives are forever changed. So, you might be thinking, what’s so erotic or thrilling here? Oh, just watch! This movie also has the distinction of having an entire secondary plot line about a serial killer on a college campus that never actually ties back to the original plot.
Color of Night
The synopsis for this movie is so insane that we almost want to spoil it for you. But we won’t. Instead, we’ll tell you this film focuses on color-blind psychiatrist Bill Capa (Bruce Willis), who takes over the group therapy sessions of a murdered colleague and friend. He also begins a sexual relationship with a mysterious woman, Rose (Jane March), who is somehow connected to his therapy group. When his patients start getting murdered, he has to figure out who the killer is. This movie is the first NC-17 film distributed by Disney for a scene where Willis shows his willis.
Jade
Oh boy, where do we even begin with this 1995 movie? Ok, so an Assistant District Attorney named David Corelli (David Caruso) is assigned the case of a wealthy businessman found bludgeoned to death. The investigation leads him to a prostitution ring and a mysterious escort named Jade. As it turns out, Jade is the alter-ego of his former lover, clinical psychologist Anna Katrina Maxwell-Gavin (Linda Fiorentino). Yes, you read that right, a psychologist who moonlights as a prostitute. This movie is also notable for a character who keeps lockets filled with women’s pubic hair in his bedroom; yuck!
The Specialist
Did anyone order an erotic thriller starring Sylvester Stallone and Sharon Stone? No? Well, we’ve got one for you, The Specialist. Stallone stars as Ray Quick, a bomb expert, and former CIA agent. He is enlisted by the seductive May Munro (Sharon Stone in another one of her many erotic roles) to murder the organized crime syndicate responsible for her parent’s deaths. As this is an erotic thriller, you can already guess that Stallone becomes involved with Stone, say Stallone and Stone five times fast, and there are twists and turns at every corner. Oh yeah, James Woods is also in this thriller, so double yikes!
