Erotic thriller
The erotic thriller is a film subgenre defined as a thriller with a thematic basis in illicit romance or erotic fantasy. Though exact definitions of the erotic thriller can vary, it is generally agreed "bodily danger and pleasure must remain in close proximity and equally important to the plot." Most erotic thrillers contain scenes of softcore sex and nudity, though the frequency and explicitness of those scenes can differ from film to film.
Erotic thrillers emerged as a distinct genre in the late 1980s, bolstered by the popular success of Fatal Attraction in 1987 and continuing into the early 1990s. Studio films of this "classic period", such as Paul Verhoeven's Basic Instinct, were box office successes, helmed by big-name directors, and starred high-profile actors. The genre's popularity spawned a lucrative cottage industry for the burgeoning home video and cable television markets. By the end of the 1990s, cultural changes and the rise of the Internet led to the decline of the genre's popular appeal and production volume.
Definition
According to British film studies professor Linda Ruth Williams, "Erotic thrillers are noirish stories of sexual intrigue incorporating some form of criminality or duplicity, often as the flimsy framework for onscreen softcore sex".
The predominating syntax that shapes these films combines romanticized, "erotic" appeal with a dangerous "thriller" narrative – a "pleasure/danger" principle.
– — Nina K. Martin, Sexy Thrills: Undressing the Erotic Thriller
The thriller film genre contains subgenres other than the noir crime film and murder mystery, including the psychological thriller, or suspense stories of illicit romance and sexual obsession. Thus, the erotic thriller participates in several genres and film styles at once, such as film noir, romance, and the thriller, taking narrative and stylistic elements from each. Because the erotic thriller combines various genres, pinning down the exact formula for an erotic thriller can be difficult. Though academics and writers on the subject encapsulate the erotic thriller film differently, the overlapping of the suspense thriller, romance, and softcore sex film is the unique domain of the erotic thriller.
Characteristics of the genre
Femme fatale
The character type of the femme fatale—an alluring, mysterious, and seductive woman—is common in many erotic thriller films. Villainous, even deadly, femme fatales manipulate and entrap the male characters, sometimes in complete control of the men.
From "Sharon Stone's icy Catherine Tramell in Basic Instinct or Linda Fiorentino's brusque Bridget in The Last Seduction…[these archetypes] tend to be cheerfully promiscuous…These women actively reject domesticity in all its forms, sniping about 'hating rugrats' and holding intimidatingly high-powered careers as stockbrokers and novelists". The most blatant depiction of the femme fatale is the character of Rebecca Carlson, played by Madonna in 1993's Body of Evidence. On trial for the murder of her lover, Rebecca is described by a prosecutor as "no [different] than a gun or a knife or any kind of weapon. In erotic thrillers, power dynamics are subverted as femme fatales "turn men into pliable playthings. The punchline of almost all of these films revolves around one idea: Men are basically stupid, blinded by sex, and helpless in the face of it".
The femme fatale of erotic thrillers took shape against "the backdrop of what German sexologist/sociologist Volkmar Sigusch deemed the 'neosexual revolution,' 'a tremendous cultural and social transformation of sexuality during the 1980s and 1990s'". Feminist movements of the 1960s and 1970s resulted in greater socioeconomic opportunities for women of the 1980s; thus, the femme fatales in erotic thrillers "flagrantly embody male anxieties over women's burgeoning financial and professional independence." Although these female characters wielded agency and power, they were usually limited to using their bodies and sexuality as weapons. Furthermore, some films saw the male protagonist ultimately triumph over the femme fatale, subduing the threat she represents.
The fall guy
The counterpart to the femme fatale is the "fall guy"—a man who is easily manipulated by the femme fatale. The fall guy is often sexualized himself, with some films featuring full-frontal male nudity in addition to female nudity, as in the films American Gigolo, Color of Night, and Wild Things. The fall guy, usually working in a white-collar occupation, sees the femme fatale as "a portal or chaperone…to go from a world of normality into the world of noir or the erotic thriller".
Origins
- Wikipedia article: Erotic thriller Origins
- Wikipedia article: List of erotic thriller films
Chat rooms • What links here • Copyright info • Contact information • Category:Root