Are erotic thrillers making a comeback? Alex Denney investigates ...
was supposed to signal the return of a genre long since presumed drowned in the bathtub. Directed by Adrian Lyne, whose bunny-boiling classic marked the 80s apotheosis of the erotic thriller, the film was originally slated for release in 2020, alongside, another return to former hunting grounds from Paul Verhoeven . But then Covid showed up, and the film was kicked down the schedules until it was released straight on to Amazon Prime/Hulu this week.
So – is the comeback still on? Or will the genre’s patented mix of Hollywood sheen and skeezy sexual politics prove unpalatable to the post-#MeToo crowd? In their 80s and 90s heyday, erotic thrillers exerted an enormous pull on audiences, their noirish mix of sex and danger reflecting anxieties around the Aids epidemic and the changing role of women in society. In a
proclaiming the genre’s demise, critic Christina Newland asked whether erotic thrillers aren’t best left in the past, with their rogues’ gallery of rutting alpha males-turned-easy marks, and women portrayed as workplace usurpers or psychotic homewreckers . “Viewed today, erotic thrillers are bitterly cynical about gender relations; they ask us to assume the worst of both men and women,” she wrote.
Whether it’s enough to kickstart a renaissance for the genre seems doubtful: the film ambles rather than builds to its rug-pulling climax, and fails to impart enough of a believable inner life to its characters to withstand some of its more overwrought elements. De Armas, a highlight of the recent Bond film, gives good sizzle but Affleck mostly just stands around looking gormless, his character lent ‘colour’ by an inexplicable fondness for snails.
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