We've trawled through all the streaming sites to bring you a list of five worthwhile erotic thrillers to watch online right now! Particularly useful for those who, you know, aren't interested in seeing “50 Shades” (they do exist!) but are nevertheless jonesing for some steely sexual tension to spice up their weekends.
“Basic Instinct” (1992)
The film that made Sharon Stone a star is still one of her best. Watch the aesthetically-gifted stunner command the screen with that placid, aquamarine stare. Forget the “no undies” leg crossing (or don't!) — that interrogation scene is a classic for way better reasons than a single shot of Stone's naughty parts.
“Nymphomaniac Pts. I and II” (2014)
How about four hours of erotic thrillerisms? Charlotte Gainsbourg's commanding underbite does some of its best work in Lars von Trier's provocative two-part film, a brutally frank depiction of one woman's frantic sexual odyssey over two decades. You want S&M play, “50 Shades” naysayers? There's plenty to go around here.
“Side Effects” (2013)
CAUTION: SPOILERS HEREIN. What starts as an affecting drama about a young woman in crisis (Rooney Mara) turns into a twisty, demented thriller about romantic obsession that owes more than a minor debt to such cinematic visionaries as Alfred Hitchcock and Henri-Georges Clouzot (“Diabolique”). Mara's dynamic performance is a standout, but Catherine Zeta-Jones also makes an impression as a curvaceous psychiatrist with a dark underbelly.
“Stranger by the Lake” (2013)
This minimalist effort from French director Alain Guiraudie is a bizarre, slow-moving thriller about a man who witnesses a murder at a secluded lake/gay hookup spot — and then starts a sexual relationship with the man who committed the crime. Giurarde won the award for Best Director at Cannes for the film, which is notable for its naturalistic sex scenes and frank depiction of gay hookup culture.
“Jade” (1995)
Both Linda Fiorentino and the erotic thriller genre were in their respective primes in 1995, which unfortunately wasn't enough to save this critically-panned William Friedkin film about a D.A. investigating a murder that may or may not have been perpetrated by a seductive former flame. Okay, “Jade” is dumb. But it's often entertainingly dumb thanks to some ridiculously over-the-top sex scenes and one of the better cinematic car chases of recent years. The box-office flop is also remembered as the film David Caruso left “NYPD Blue” over. Whoopsie!