Thursday Movie Picks: Erotic Thrillers

 

For the 14th week of the Thursday Movie Picks series hosted by Wanderer of Wandering Through the Shelves. We go into the subject of erotic thrillers as it’s a genre that was once popular but is now considered taboo in today’s age. Especially with modern audiences who want something safer yet their choices make them seem extremely questionable. Here are my three picks as they’re all directed by Brian de Palma:

1. Dressed to Kill

An eerie suspense-drama that explores a woman’s own sexual desires as she would get herself into serious trouble prompting her son to take action with the help of a prostitute. It is a film that plays into the idea of sexual identity and sexual desires but also this idea of sexual repression with a great cast that includes Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen, Keith Gordon, Dennis Franz, and David Marguiles as it one of de Palma’s great films.

2. Body Double

A film that definitely makes no bones in the fact that it borrows heavily from the visual style of Alfred Hitchcock with Vertigo being its biggest influence. This film about a man who is asked to housesit a friend’s home only to witness a murder across from that house. It is a film that has a lot of intrigue as this actor with claustrophobia is taking part in a murder mystery that also has him going into the underworld of pornography where he gets help from a porn actress played by Melanie Griffith in uncovering some dark truths about the murder and everything around it.

3. Femme Fatale

If there’s a film that can be considered one of the most underrated films of the past 25 years, this one should be in consideration as it is de Palma at his most pure, seductive, and not being afraid of being style over substance. Even if its plot about a jewel thief betraying her partners only to play dead and marry a diplomat as she continues to hide until a photographer recognizes her and later fall for her isn’t exciting. Yet, de Palma manages to put in a lot of intrigue and incredible visuals for a film that is sexy as well as showing everyone how to create suspense in the right way.

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