The Erotic Thriller in Contemporary Cinema

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by Linda Ruth Williams

Indiana University Press

Due/Published October 2005, 466 pages, paper

ISBN 0253218365

This book examines in detail a relatively new genre of film--the erotic thriller. Linda Ruth Williams traces the genre's exploitation of pornography and noir, discusses mainstream stars (including Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone) as well as genre­branded direct­to­video stars, charts the work of key producers and directors, and considers home videos as a distinct form of viewing pleasure. She maps the history of the genre, analyzing hundreds of movies from blockbusters such as Basic Instinct, Fatal Attraction, and In the Cut to straight­to­video film titles such as Carnal Crimes, Sins of Desire, and Night Eyes.

Williams's witty and illuminating readings tell the story of this sensational genre and contribute to the analysis of mainstream screen sex--and its censorship--at the beginning of the 21st century. She shows that as the erotic thriller plays out the sexual fantasies of contemporary America, it also provides a vehicle for marketing those fantasies globally.

Contents

1. Introduction : carnal crimes : the erotic thriller from Noir to the 1990s

 1Pt. I Blockbuster thrills : erotic Noir in the mainstream
2. Femme Fatales, fall-guys and paranoid women : sexual and narrative blueprints
3. 'Meisters of porno-noir' - key players in the cinematic erotic thriller

Pt. II Suspense in suspenders : the direct-to-video erotic thriller
4. Softcore on the sofa
5. The bad and the beautiful : key players in the direct-to-video erotic thriller
6. Uncovered and undercover : issues in the direct-to-video erotic thriller

Conclusion : the erotic thriller's hybrid children
Afterword on In the cut : new century, old sex?