EROTIC THRILLERS
8 films in this collection
Welcome to EROTIC THRILLERS, a season of dark and dangerous fantasies, handpicked from the era of late night cable and top shelf VHS.
Sleek, steamy, deliriously plotted and frequently disreputable, the erotic thriller turned sex, suspicion and voyeurism into some of the most compulsive cinema of the 1980s and 90s. Born from an era of late night cable, video store shelves and newly loosened boundaries around sex on screen, these were films in which desire was rarely innocent and looking was almost always dangerous.
Among the programme are two mystery wildcard erotic thrillers, both selected from the genre’s stranger, steamier and less respectable corners.
Brian De Palma’s BODY DOUBLE is a delirious Hollywood nightmare of voyeurism, obsession and performance that pushes the erotic thriller towards pure cinematic hallucination. WILD THINGS follows with a gloriously slippery game of sex, money and manipulation in which every apparent truth is only waiting to be overturned.
From there the season heads deeper into video store territory with FLESHTONE, a neglected late night cable curio built around phone sex, fantasy and dangerous fixation, followed by IN THE COLD OF THE NIGHT, a dreamlike descent into erotic obsession where fantasy and reality begin to bleed together.
At the centre of the programme is the film that brought the erotic thriller crashing into the mainstream: Paul Verhoeven’s BASIC INSTINCT, a glossy, confrontational collision of sex, violence and suspicion that became one of the defining cinematic sensations of the decade. Curtis Hanson’s THE BEDROOM WINDOW takes a more Hitchcockian route, turning an illicit encounter and a glimpse through a window into an increasingly tangled web of voyeurism, deceit and murder.
Roman Polanski’s BITTER MOON takes desire somewhere darker still, charting the poisonous pleasures of sexual obsession, humiliation and revenge in one of the genre’s strangest and most corrosive variations.
Sleek, steamy, deliriously plotted and frequently disreputable, the erotic thriller turned sex, suspicion and voyeurism into some of the most compulsive cinema of the 1980s and 90s. Born from an era of late night cable, video store shelves and newly loosened boundaries around sex on screen, these were films in which desire was rarely innocent and looking was almost always dangerous.
Among the programme are two mystery wildcard erotic thrillers, both selected from the genre’s stranger, steamier and less respectable corners.
Brian De Palma’s BODY DOUBLE is a delirious Hollywood nightmare of voyeurism, obsession and performance that pushes the erotic thriller towards pure cinematic hallucination. WILD THINGS follows with a gloriously slippery game of sex, money and manipulation in which every apparent truth is only waiting to be overturned.
From there the season heads deeper into video store territory with FLESHTONE, a neglected late night cable curio built around phone sex, fantasy and dangerous fixation, followed by IN THE COLD OF THE NIGHT, a dreamlike descent into erotic obsession where fantasy and reality begin to bleed together.
At the centre of the programme is the film that brought the erotic thriller crashing into the mainstream: Paul Verhoeven’s BASIC INSTINCT, a glossy, confrontational collision of sex, violence and suspicion that became one of the defining cinematic sensations of the decade. Curtis Hanson’s THE BEDROOM WINDOW takes a more Hitchcockian route, turning an illicit encounter and a glimpse through a window into an increasingly tangled web of voyeurism, deceit and murder.
Roman Polanski’s BITTER MOON takes desire somewhere darker still, charting the poisonous pleasures of sexual obsession, humiliation and revenge in one of the genre’s strangest and most corrosive variations.
FLESHTONE
(1994, USA, Harry Hurwitz)
91 mins18
A painter named Matthew Greco, fascinated by death and violence, becomes involved with a woman he meets through a phone-sex line. When he discovers a mutilated body that appears to be hers, he is drawn into a mysterious murder investigation where the victim’s identity, the motive, and the truth behind the crime become increasingly uncertain.
A dark erotic mystery thriller from director Harry Hurwitz, the film blends psychological obsession, crime, and noir elements with a distinctly early-1990s direct-to-video atmosphere. Led by Martin Kemp, it explores themes of voyeurism, fantasy, and the blurred line between desire and danger.
A dark erotic mystery thriller from director Harry Hurwitz, the film blends psychological obsession, crime, and noir elements with a distinctly early-1990s direct-to-video atmosphere. Led by Martin Kemp, it explores themes of voyeurism, fantasy, and the blurred line between desire and danger.
Upcoming Screenings
IN THE COLD OF THE NIGHT
(1990, USA, Nico Mastorakis)
112 mins18
A high‑profile fashion photographer named Scott Bruin is plagued by a series of increasingly disturbing nightmares in which he appears to attack and kill a mysterious woman. When that woman begins to step out of his dreams and into his waking life, Scott must confront whether his visions are merely fantasies or harbingers of something more sinister and real.
This 1990 erotic thriller blends psychological mystery with late‑night cable ambience and surreal dream logic. Its mix of neon‑soaked visuals, uneasy tension, and uncanny mood make it a standout example of early‑90s genre cinema that sits somewhere between noir, nightmare, and sleazy intrigue.
This 1990 erotic thriller blends psychological mystery with late‑night cable ambience and surreal dream logic. Its mix of neon‑soaked visuals, uneasy tension, and uncanny mood make it a standout example of early‑90s genre cinema that sits somewhere between noir, nightmare, and sleazy intrigue.
Upcoming Screenings
BASIC INSTINCT
(1992, USA/France, Paul Verhoeven)
128 mins18
A volatile San Francisco homicide detective is drawn into a murder investigation in which the prime suspect, bestselling novelist Catherine Tramell, appears to have written the crime before it happened. Cool, wealthy and completely unruffled, Catherine turns interrogation into seduction, pulling Nick Curran into a tightening web of sex, obsession and violence.
Paul Verhoeven’s gleaming, ice-cold erotic thriller is Hollywood excess at its most shameless and controlled - a lurid game of authorship and appetite, driven by Sharon Stone’s star-making performance, Jan de Bont’s cobalt cinematography and Jerry Goldsmith’s serpentine score. Few studio films have made danger look this luxurious.
Paul Verhoeven’s gleaming, ice-cold erotic thriller is Hollywood excess at its most shameless and controlled - a lurid game of authorship and appetite, driven by Sharon Stone’s star-making performance, Jan de Bont’s cobalt cinematography and Jerry Goldsmith’s serpentine score. Few studio films have made danger look this luxurious.
Upcoming Screenings
THE BEDROOM WINDOW
(1987, USA, Curtis Hanson)
112 mins18
While hiding in her lover Terry’s apartment, Sylvia witnesses a violent attack from his bedroom window. To protect their affair, Terry tells the police that he saw it himself - a gallant lie that collapses under scrutiny and places both the witness and the surviving victim in mortal danger.
Before L.A. Confidential, Curtis Hanson fashioned this deliciously contrived Hitchcockian neo-noir, casting Steve Guttenberg against type alongside Isabelle Huppert and Elizabeth McGovern in a tightening web of voyeurism, guilt and murder.
Before L.A. Confidential, Curtis Hanson fashioned this deliciously contrived Hitchcockian neo-noir, casting Steve Guttenberg against type alongside Isabelle Huppert and Elizabeth McGovern in a tightening web of voyeurism, guilt and murder.
Upcoming Screenings
BITTER MOON
(1992, France / UK, Roman Polanski)
139 mins18
On a luxury cruise to Istanbul, buttoned-up British husband Nigel becomes fascinated by the beautiful Mimi and her bitter, wheelchair-bound husband Oscar. Night after night, Oscar draws him deeper into the story of their affair: a delirious descent from erotic obsession into humiliation, cruelty and mutual destruction.
Roman Polanski turns a holiday romance into a poisonous black comedy of sexual warfare, with Hugh Grant, Kristin Scott Thomas, Peter Coyote and Emmanuelle Seigner circling one another through a fog of lust, jealousy and very bad decisions.
Roman Polanski turns a holiday romance into a poisonous black comedy of sexual warfare, with Hugh Grant, Kristin Scott Thomas, Peter Coyote and Emmanuelle Seigner circling one another through a fog of lust, jealousy and very bad decisions.
Upcoming Screenings
MYSTERY EROTIC THRILLER
18
Mystery Erotic Thriller presents undisclosed deep cuts from the genre’s overheated history - from neon-soaked 80s neo-noir and glossy 90s studio sleaze to forgotten direct-to-video delirium. Expect dangerous affairs, obsessive desire, double-crosses, voyeurism, murder and exquisitely bad decisions, as sex becomes a weapon and nobody proves quite as innocent as they first appear. Come blind, surrender to the mystery and discover a film you may never otherwise have thought to see.
These screenings are strictly for adult audiences and may contain explicit sexual content, violence and other potentially offensive material. Do not attend if you are of a sensitive disposition. Adults only.
These screenings are strictly for adult audiences and may contain explicit sexual content, violence and other potentially offensive material. Do not attend if you are of a sensitive disposition. Adults only.
Upcoming Screenings
WILD THINGS
(1998, USA, John McNaughton)
108 mins18
A high school guidance counsellor in a wealthy Florida community becomes the target of a sexual assault accusation made by two students. As a police investigation begins, a series of revelations, betrayals, and hidden agendas emerge, turning the case into a complex web of manipulation involving students, law enforcement, and local power figures.
A late-1990s neo-noir thriller, the film plays with unreliable characters, shifting alliances, and elaborate twists, using its glossy Florida setting to heighten the contrast between surface respectability and corruption beneath. Its deliberately provocative mix of crime, eroticism, and dark humour has made it a cult favourite of the era.
A late-1990s neo-noir thriller, the film plays with unreliable characters, shifting alliances, and elaborate twists, using its glossy Florida setting to heighten the contrast between surface respectability and corruption beneath. Its deliberately provocative mix of crime, eroticism, and dark humour has made it a cult favourite of the era.
Upcoming Screenings
No upcoming screenings
BODY DOUBLE
(1984, USA, Brian DePalma)
114 mins18
A struggling actor recovering from a breakup and a failed career opportunity takes care of a luxurious Hollywood Hills house while its owner is away. While watching a beautiful woman perform a private dance through a telescope, he becomes obsessed with her and is drawn into a mystery involving voyeurism, deception, and murder.
Blending elements of Hitchcockian suspense, film noir, and Hollywood satire, the film explores obsession, performance, and the act of watching itself. Its stylised use of Los Angeles locations, erotic tension, and self-conscious references to cinema create one of Brian De Palma’s most elaborate examinations of illusion and desire.
Blending elements of Hitchcockian suspense, film noir, and Hollywood satire, the film explores obsession, performance, and the act of watching itself. Its stylised use of Los Angeles locations, erotic tension, and self-conscious references to cinema create one of Brian De Palma’s most elaborate examinations of illusion and desire.
Upcoming Screenings
No upcoming screenings