200 Erotic Movies Ranked Worst to Best

Critics Consensus: A sensual and hypnotic masterpiece, La Belle Noiseuse luxuriates in its four-hour run time while holding audience attention.

Synopsis: A young model (Emmanuelle Béart) replacing his wife (Jane Birkin) inspires a tired painter (Michel Piccoli) to pick up a work he quit 10 years... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Michel Piccoli, Emmanuelle Béart, Jane Birkin, Marianne Denicourt

Directed By: Jacques Rivette

Critics Consensus: Made from classic noir ingredients and flavored with a heaping helping of steamy modern spice, Body Heat more than lives up to its evocative title.

Synopsis: Shyster lawyer Ned Racine (William Hurt) begins a passionate affair with Matty Walker (Kathleen Turner), wife of a wealthy Florida businessman (Richard Crenna). With the... View Full Synopsis

Starring: William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Richard Crenna, Ted Danson

Directed By: Lawrence Kasdan

Critics Consensus: In his feature directorial debut, Steven Soderbergh demonstrates a mastery of his craft well beyond his years, pulling together an outstanding cast and an intelligent script for a nuanced, mature film about neurosis and human sexuality.

Synopsis: Ann (Andie MacDowell) is trapped in a sexually and emotionally unfulfilled relationship with her husband, John (Peter Gallagher), a successful but unpleasant lawyer who is... View Full Synopsis

Starring: James Spader, Andie MacDowell, Peter Gallagher, Laura San Giacomo

Directed By: Steven Soderbergh

Critics Consensus: Smart and utterly original, The Draughtsman's Contract is a period piece that marks the further maturation of a writer-director with a thrillingly unique vision.

Synopsis: Set in a richly exaggerated 17th-century England, Peter Greenaway's witty, stylized, erotic country house murder mystery catapulted him to the forefront of international art cinema... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Anthony Higgins, Janet Suzman, Anne Louise Lambert, Neil Cunningham

Directed By: Peter Greenaway

Critics Consensus: The Handmaiden uses a Victorian crime novel as the loose inspiration for another visually sumptuous and absorbingly idiosyncratic outing from director Park Chan-wook.

Synopsis: With help from an orphaned pickpocket (Kim Tae-ri), a Korean con man (Ha Jung-woo) devises an elaborate plot to seduce and bilk a Japanese woman... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Kim Min-hee, Kim Tae-ri, Ha Jung-woo, Cho Jin-woong

Directed By: Park Chan-wook

Critics Consensus: It may be a chamber piece but Weekend's revelations on modern sexuality expand far beyond the modest setting.

Synopsis: A gay man's (Tom Cullen) weekend-long encounter with an artist (Chris New) changes his life in unexpected ways.

Starring: Tom Cullen, Chris New, Jonathan Race, Laura Freeman

Directed By: Andrew Haigh

Critics Consensus: The radiantly filmed Belle de Jour entrances even as it resists easy interpretations.

Synopsis: Beautiful young housewife Séverine Serizy (Catherine Deneuve) cannot reconcile her masochistic fantasies with her everyday life alongside dutiful husband Pierre (Jean Sorel). When her lovestruck... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Jean Sorel, Michel Piccoli, Macha Méril

Directed By: Luis Buñuel

Critics Consensus: Call Me by Your Name offers a melancholy, powerfully affecting portrait of first love, empathetically acted by Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer.

Synopsis: It's the summer of 1983, and precocious 17-year-old Elio Perlman is spending the days with his family at their 17th-century villa in Lombardy, Italy. He... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar

Directed By: Luca Guadagnino

Critics Consensus: Stylish, sensual, and smart, The Duke of Burgundy proves that erotic cinema can have genuine substance.

Synopsis: Two entomologists (Sidse Babett Knudsen, Chiara D'Anna) play ritual games of dominance and subservience.

Starring: Sidse Babett Knudsen, Chiara D'Anna, Eugenia Caruso, Monica Swinn

Directed By: Peter Strickland

Critics Consensus: Sexy, smart, and darkly humorous, Stranger by the Lake offers rewarding viewing for adult filmgoers in search of thought-provoking drama.

Synopsis: Franck falls in love with Michel, an attractive, potent and lethally dangerous man.

Starring: Pierre Deladonchamps, Christophe Paou, Patrick d'Assumçao, Jérôme Chappatte

Directed By: Alain Guiraudie

Critics Consensus: If audiences walk away from this subversive, surreal shocker not fully understanding the story, they might also walk away with a deeper perception of the potential of film storytelling.

Synopsis: College student Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) returns home after his father has a stroke. When he discovers a severed ear in an abandoned field, Beaumont... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper, Laura Dern

Directed By: David Lynch

Critics Consensus: Like Body Heat, The Last Seduction updates film noir techniques for a modern era, imbuing this erotic film with '90s snark.

Synopsis: Looking to escape her unhappy marriage, villainous femme fatale Bridget Gregory (Linda Fiorentino) convinces her husband, Clay (Bill Pullman), to sell cocaine, then steals the... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Linda Fiorentino, Peter Berg, Bill Pullman, J.T. Walsh

Directed By: John Dahl

Critics Consensus: Nina Forever tests the limits of the rom-com with a decidedly unorthodox triangle that's as diabolically original as it is daringly dark.

Synopsis: After his girlfriend Nina dies, Rob falls in love with Holly. The new relationship faces a huge challenge when Nina comes back to life to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Fiona O'Shaughnessy, Abigail Hardingham, Cian Barry, David Troughton

Directed By: Ben Blaine, Chris Blaine

Critics Consensus: Exotica simmers with sex and obsession, while successfully doubling as an extreme character study.

Synopsis: In the upscale Canadian strip club Exotica, Christina (Mia Kirshner) is the most popular dancer, and she's visited nightly by the obsessive Francis (Bruce Greenwood),... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Bruce Greenwood, Mia Kirshner, Don McKellar, Arsinée Khanjian

Directed By: Atom Egoyan

Critics Consensus: Stylish, seductive, and clever, Stephen Frears' adaptation is a wickedly entertaining exploration of sexual politics.

Synopsis: The Marquise de Merteuil (Glenn Close) and the Vicomte de Valmont (John Malkovich) display the petty jealousies and jaded insouciance of life in France's royal... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, Swoosie Kurtz

Directed By: Stephen Frears

Critics Consensus: Led by a triumvirate of terrific performances, Alfonso Cuarón's free-spirited road trip through Mexico is a sexy and wistful hymn to the fleetingness of youth.

Synopsis: The lives of Julio and Tenoch, like those of 17-year old boys everywhere, are ruled by raging hormones, intense friendships, and a headlong rush into... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Maribel Verdú, Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, Diana Bracho

Directed By: Alfonso Cuarón

Critics Consensus: Tender, funny, and touching, The Sessions provides an acting showcase for its talented stars and proves it's possible for Hollywood to produce a grown-up movie about sex.

Synopsis: Though a childhood bout with polio left him dependent on an iron lung, Mark O'Brien (John Hawkes) maintains a career as a journalist and poet.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy, Moon Bloodgood

Directed By: Ben Lewin

Critics Consensus: Kubrick's Lolita adapts its seemingly unadaptable source material with a sly comedic touch and a sterling performance by James Mason that transforms the controversial novel into something refreshingly new without sacrificing its essential edge.

Synopsis: With a screenplay penned by the author himself, Stanley Kubrick brings Vladimir Nabokov's controversial tale of forbidden love to the screen. Humbert Humbert (James Mason)... View Full Synopsis

Starring: James Mason, Shelley Winters, Sue Lyon, Peter Sellers

Directed By: Stanley Kubrick

Critics Consensus: Powered by Holly Hunter's main performance, The Piano is a truth-seeking romance played in the key of erotic passion.

Synopsis: After a long voyage from Scotland, pianist Ada McGrath (Holly Hunter) and her young daughter, Flora (Anna Paquin), are left with all their belongings, including... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, Sam Neill, Anna Paquin

Directed By: Jane Campion

Critics Consensus: Bound's more titillating elements attracted attention, but it's the stylish direction, solid performances, and entertaining neo-noir caper plot that make it worth a watch.

Synopsis: Sparks fly when Violet (Jennifer Tilly) sets eyes on Corky (Gina Gershon) in an elevator. Violet is the girlfriend of a violent gangster, Caesar (Joe... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jennifer Tilly, Gina Gershon, Joe Pantoliano, Barry Kivel

Directed By: Lilly Wachowski, Lana Wachowski

Critics Consensus: Raw, honest, powerfully acted, and deliciously intense, Blue Is the Warmest Color offers some of modern cinema's most elegantly composed, emotionally absorbing drama.

Synopsis: A French teen (Adèle Exarchopoulos) forms a deep emotional and sexual connection with an older art student (Léa Seydoux) she met in a lesbian bar. View Full Synopsis

Starring: Léa Seydoux, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Salim Kechiouche, Mona Walravens

Directed By: Abdel Kechiche

Critics Consensus: Absorbing, visually arresting, and powerfully acted by an immensely talented cast, A Bigger Splash offers sumptuously soapy delights for fans of psychological adult drama.

Synopsis: While vacationing on a Sicilian island with her boyfriend (Matthias Schoenaerts), a rock star (Tilda Swinton) receives an unexpected visit from an old flame (Ralph... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Dakota Johnson, Matthias Schoenaerts, Tilda Swinton

Directed By: Luca Guadagnino

Critics Consensus: The Blue Room proves a sobering study of the dark side of human nature, as well as a coolly assured directorial effort from star and co-writer Mathieu Amalric.

Synopsis: Following an adulterous tryst, a man (Léa Drucker) finds himself under investigation for an unknown crime.

Starring: Léa Drucker, Mathieu Amalric, Stéphanie Cléau, Laurent Poitrenaux

Directed By: Mathieu Amalric

Critics Consensus: Provocative, funny, and brilliantly acted, Venus in Fur finds Roman Polanski in top late-period form.

Synopsis: An enigmatic actress (Emmanuelle Seigner) may have a hidden agenda when she auditions for a part in a misogynistic writer's (Mathieu Amalric) play.

Starring: Emmanuelle Seigner, Mathieu Amalric

Directed By: Roman Polanski

Critics Consensus: Professor Marston & The Wonder Women winds a lasso of cinematic truth around a fascinating fact-based tale with strong performances from its three stars.

Synopsis: If behind every great man is a great woman, then Harvard psychologist and inventor Dr. William Moulton Marston has the good fortune of having two... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Luke Evans, Rebecca Hall, Bella Heathcote, Connie Britton

Directed By: Angela Robinson

Critics Consensus: This emotionally gripping examination of a marriage on the rocks isn't always easy to watch, but Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling give performances of unusual depth and power.

Synopsis: Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams) live a quiet life in a modest neighborhood. To the casual observer, everything appears normal, if a bit... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, Faith Wladyka, John Doman

Directed By: Derek Cianfrance

Critics Consensus: The Untamed attempts some ambitious tonal juggling between fantastical and disturbing -- and draws viewers in with its slippery, inexorable pull.

Synopsis: A couple in a troubled marriage locate a meteorite, initiating an encounter with a mysterious creature. Their lives are turned upside down by the discovery... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Kenny Johnston, Simone Bucio, Jesús Meza, Ruth Ramos

Directed By: Amat Escalante

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Two people (Nathalie Baye, Sergi López) meet through a personal ad and begin a sexual relationship, but they have trouble coping when their emotions get... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Nathalie Baye, Sergi López, Jacques Viala, Paul Pavel

Directed By: Frédéric Fonteyne

Critics Consensus: Sexual taboos are broken and boundaries crossed In the Realm of the Senses, a fearlessly provocative psychosexual tale.

Synopsis: A former prostitute (Eiko Matsuda), now working as a servant, begins a torrid affair with her married employer (Tatsuya Fuji).

Starring: Tatsuya Fuji, Eiko Matsuda, Aoi Nakajima, Yasuko Matsui

Directed By: Nagisa Ôshima

Critics Consensus: This romantic crime drama may not be to everyone's taste, but The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover is an audacious, powerful film.

Synopsis: When churlish mobster Albert Spica (Michael Gambon) acquires an upscale French restaurant in London, he dines there nightly, effectively scaring off the clientele with his... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Richard Bohringer, Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren, Alan Howard

Directed By: Peter Greenaway

Critics Consensus: Naturalistic but evocative, Last Tango in Paris is a vivid exploration of pain, love, and sex featuring a typically towering Marlon Brando performance.

Synopsis: Distraught following his wife's suicide, American hotelier Paul (Marlon Brando) becomes transfixed by the beautiful younger Frenchwoman Jeanne (Maria Schneider) when he meets her by... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Darling Legitimus

Directed By: Bernardo Bertolucci

Critics Consensus: Exploring sexual mores against the backdrop of real-life social upheaval, The Unbearable Lightness of Being artfully blends the political and the erotic.

Synopsis: Successful surgeon Tomas (Daniel Day-Lewis) leaves Prague for an operation, meets a young photographer named Tereza (Juliette Binoche), and brings her back with him. Tereza... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Juliette Binoche, Lena Olin, Derek de Lint

Directed By: Philip Kaufman

Critics Consensus: Its message may prove elusive for some, but with absorbing imagery and a mesmerizing performance from Scarlett Johansson, Under the Skin is a haunting viewing experience.

Synopsis: Disguising herself as a human female, an extraterrestrial (Scarlett Johansson) drives around Scotland and tries to lure unsuspecting men into her van.

Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy McWilliams, Lynsey Taylor Mackay, Dougie McConnell

Directed By: Jonathan Glazer

Critics Consensus: David Lynch's dreamlike and mysterious Mulholland Drive is a twisty neo-noir with an unconventional structure that features a mesmerizing performance from Naomi Watts as a woman on the dark fringes of Hollywood.

Synopsis: A dark-haired woman (Laura Elena Harring) is left amnesiac after a car crash. She wanders the streets of Los Angeles in a daze before taking... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Justin Theroux, Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Ann Miller

Directed By: David Lynch

Critics Consensus: A poignant coming-of-age tale marked by a breakout lead performance from Abbie Cornish and a successful directorial debut from Cate Shortland.

Synopsis: Following a reckless encounter with her mother's boyfriend, teenage Heidi is forced to flee home and restart her life, finding refuge at a motel in... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Abbie Cornish, Sam Worthington, Lynette Curran, Erik Thomson

Directed By: Cate Shortland

Critics Consensus: A sensual thriller with two engaging performers demanding our undivided attention.

Synopsis: When uptight British writer Sarah Morton (Charlotte Rampling) has difficulty with her new detective novel, her publisher, John Bosload (Charles Dance), sends her to his... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Charlotte Rampling, Ludivine Sagnier, Charles Dance, Marc Fayolle

Directed By: François Ozon

Critics Consensus: A quartet of nuanced performances and Ken Russell's off-kilter direction brings D.H. Lawrence's battle of the sexes to tactile life.

Synopsis: Close friends Rupert Birkin and Gerald Crich begin romances with siblings Ursula and Gudrun Brangwen. After the couples wed, they take a joint honeymoon to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Alan Bates, Glenda Jackson, Oliver Reed, Jennie Linden

Directed By: Ken Russell

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: As young children, Otto (Fele Martínez) and Ana (Najwa Nimri) become best friends, leading to the marriage of Ana's mother, Olga (Maru Valdivielso), to Otto's... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Najwa Nimri, Fele Martínez, Nancho Novo, Maru Valdivielso

Directed By: Julio Medem

Critics Consensus: It stumbles into melodrama, but I Am Love backs up its flamboyance with tremendous visual style and a marvelous central performance from Tilda Swinton.

Synopsis: At a dinner -- during which her husband, Tancredi (Pippo Delbono), learns that he and his son Edoardo Recchi Jr. (Flavio Parenti) are about to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Tilda Swinton, Flavio Parenti, Edoardo Gabbriellini, Alba Rohrwacher

Directed By: Luca Guadagnino

Critics Consensus: Live Flesh surveys the fallout from an act of violence with a mature melodrama that sees Pedro Almodóvar working in surprisingly restrained form.

Synopsis: Victor (Liberto Rabal) goes to meet Elena (Francesca Neri) for a date. Elena, uninterested, tells Victor to leave the apartment before her dealer gets there.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Javier Bardem, Francesca Neri, Liberto Rabal, Ángela Molina

Directed By: Pedro Almodóvar

Critics Consensus: Angel Heart lures viewers into its disturbing, brutal mystery with authentic noir flair and a palpably hypnotic mood.

Synopsis: Harry Angel (Mickey Rourke) is a private detective contracted by Louis Cyphre (Robert De Niro) to track down the iconic singer Johnny Favorite. However, everybody... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet, Charlotte Rampling

Directed By: Alan Parker

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Erica is emotionless and jumps into bed with any man she meets, until she discovers the kindness of strangers.

Starring: Amanda Fuller, Noah Taylor, Marc Senter, Sally Jackson

Directed By: Simon Rumley

Critics Consensus: The stylish Thirst packs plenty of bloody thrills to satisfy fans of both vampire films and director Chan Wook Park.

Synopsis: Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho), a respected priest, volunteers for an experimental procedure that may lead to a cure for a deadly virus. He gets infected and... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Song Kang-ho, Kim Ok-bin, Shin Ha-kyun, Kim Hae-sook

Directed By: Park Chan-wook

Critics Consensus: With arresting visuals and an engrossingly lurid mystery, Dressed to Kill stylishly encapsulates writer-director Brian De Palma's signature strengths.

Synopsis: When Liz Blake (Nancy Allen), a prostitute, sees a mysterious woman brutally slay homemaker Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson), she finds herself trapped in a dangerous... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen, Keith Gordon

Directed By: Brian De Palma

Critics Consensus: A whimsically engaging sex comedy.

Synopsis: Brimming with magical realism, sensuality, and humor, the final film by revered filmmaker Shohei Imamura is "an enlightening, even liberating, experience" (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times)... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Kôji Yakusho, Misa Shimizu, Mitsuko Baishô, Mansaku Fuwa

Directed By: Shôhei Imamura

Critics Consensus: Smartly constructed by writer-director Gina Kim and brought to life by a strong cast led by Vera Farmiga, Never Forever is an unexpectedly engaging melodrama.

Synopsis: An affair with an immigrant worker allows a woman to find her true self.

Starring: Vera Farmiga, Ha Jung-woo, David Lee McInnis, Marceline Hugot

Directed By: Gina Kim

Critics Consensus: Boasting stellar performances by Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan, Shame is a powerful plunge into the mania of addiction affliction.

Synopsis: Successful and handsome New Yorker Brandon (Michael Fassbender) seems to live an ordinary life, but he hides a terrible secret behind his mask of normalcy:... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, James Badge Dale, Nicole Beharie

Directed By: Steve McQueen

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Anne (Daphné Baiwir) reads her younger sister, Marie-Catherine (Lola Créton), the story of Bluebeard. In 17th-century France, another set of sisters -- also named Anne... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Dominique Thomas, Lola Créton, Daphné Baiwir, Marilou Lopes-Benites

Directed By: Catherine Breillat

Critics Consensus: Maggie Gyllenhaal impresses in this romantic comedy with a kinky twist.

Synopsis: Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a young woman with a history of severe emotional problems, is released into the care of her overbearing parents following a... View Full Synopsis

Starring: James Spader, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jeremy Davies, Patrick Bauchau

Directed By: Steven Shainberg

Critics Consensus: Reid gives a fearless, realistic performance in depicting an older woman's sexual blossoming.

Synopsis: May (Anne Reid) is a middle-aged grandmother who lives in Northern England with her husband, Toots (Peter Vaughan). When Toots dies while the couple is... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Anne Reid, Daniel Craig, Steven Mackintosh, Cathryn Bradshaw

Directed By: Roger Michell

Critics Consensus: A compelling and oddly haunting combination of brutal and beautiful imagery.

Synopsis: A man (Seo Jeong) becomes violently obsessive about the woman (Kim Yu-seok) who saved him from committing suicide.

Starring: Seo Jeong, Kim Yu-seok, Park Seong-hui, Jang Hang-sun

Directed By: Kim Ki-duk

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Story of two gorgeous, young French boys who begin a passionate relationship that boils over and threatens to destroy both their lives. Shy Mathieu (Jérémie... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jérémie Elkaïm, Stéphane Rideau, Marie Matheron, Dominique Reymond

Directed By: Sébastien Lifshitz

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A would-be writer (Jean-Hugues Anglade) falls for an unpredictable woman (Béatrice Dalle), then he slowly realizes that she is going insane.

Starring: Béatrice Dalle, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Consuelo De Haviland, Clémentine Célarié

Directed By: Jean-Jacques Beineix

Critics Consensus: The Wayward Cloud may baffle more literally minded viewers, but its surreal pleasures will resonate with fans of thoroughly unique cinema.

Synopsis: Hsiao-Kang reunites with Shiang-chyi during a water shortage.

Starring: Lee Kang-sheng, Shiang-chyi Chen, Yi-Ching Lu

Directed By: Ming-liang Tsai

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Upper-crust British politician Stephen (Jeremy Irons) is in a dull but stable marriage with Ingrid (Miranda Richardson). When Stephen meets the alluring fiancée of his... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jeremy Irons, Juliette Binoche, Miranda Richardson, Rupert Graves

Directed By: Louis Malle

Critics Consensus: More complicated than your average bodice ripper, Catherine Breillat's Last Mistress features beautiful costumes, wrought romances, and a feral performance from Argento.

Synopsis: After notorious libertine Ryno de Marigny (Fu'ad Aït Aatou) wins the hand of Hermangarde (Roxane Mesquida), the most marriageable young woman in all the French... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Asia Argento, Fu'ad Aït Aatou, Roxane Mesquida, Claude Sarraute

Directed By: Catherine Breillat

Critics Consensus: Tasteful, poetic, yet sexually forthright, Lady Chatterley skillfully translates its source novel's high-art erotica onto the big screen.

Synopsis: Young and beautiful Lady Constance Chatterley (Marina Hands) lives a life of comfort on the lavish estate owned by her much older husband, Sir Clifford... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Marina Hands, Jean-Louis Coulloc'h, Hippolyte Girardot, Hélène Alexandridis

Directed By: Pascale Ferran

Critics Consensus: Darkly funny, fearlessly bold, and thoroughly indulgent, Nymphomaniac finds Lars von Trier provoking viewers with customary abandon.

Synopsis: Joe, a self-diagnosed nymphomaniac who is discovered badly beaten in an alley by an older bachelor, Seligman, who takes her into his home. As he... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgård, Stacy Martin, Shia LaBeouf

Directed By: Lars von Trier

Critics Consensus: A potboiler in the finest sense, Fatal Attraction is a sultry, juicy thriller that's hard to look away from once it gets going.

Synopsis: For Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas), life is good. He is on the rise at his New York law firm, is happily married to his wife,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, Anne Archer, Ellen Latzen

Directed By: Adrian Lyne

Critics Consensus: A surprisingly sultry performance from Ally Sheedy elevates High Art from pretentious melodrama to compelling -- if still a little pretentious -- romance.

Synopsis: Syd (Radha Mitchell), a low-level editor at a photography magazine eager to establish herself, discovers her neighbor is the once-celebrated downtown photographer Lucy Berliner (Ally... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Ally Sheedy, Radha Mitchell, Patricia Clarkson, Tammy Grimes

Directed By: Lisa Cholodenko

Critics Consensus: Exemplifying Brian De Palma's filmmaking bravura and polarizing taste, Body Double is a salacious love letter to moviemaking.

Synopsis: After losing an acting role and his girlfriend, Jake Scully (Craig Wasson) finally catches a break: he gets offered a gig house-sitting in the Hollywood... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Craig Wasson, Melanie Griffith, Gregg Henry, Deborah Shelton

Directed By: Brian De Palma

Critics Consensus: Confidently campy and played with groovy conviction, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls is an exuberant expression of both the hilarity and terror that comes with free love.

Synopsis: Three college singers (Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, Marcia McBroom) join a Hollywood scene of debauchery, drugs and rock 'n' roll.

Starring: Dolly Martin, Cynthia Myers, Marcia McBroom, David Gurian

Directed By: Russ Meyer

Critics Consensus: Moody and steadily alluring, Sea of Love benefits immeasurably from the window-fogging chemistry between Ellen Barkin and Al Pacino.

Synopsis: Troubled New York City detective Frank Keller (Al Pacino) investigates a serial killer who finds victims using personal ads in a magazine and leaves the... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin, John Goodman, Michael Rooker

Directed By: Harold Becker

Critics Consensus: Boldly transgressive, ambitious, and undeniably flawed, Pola X overcomes its stumbles with palpable passion.

Synopsis: A writer (Guillaume Depardieu) leaves his upper-class life and journeys with a woman (Yekaterina Golubeva) claiming to be his sister, and her two friends.

Starring: Guillaume Depardieu, Yekaterina Golubeva, Catherine Deneuve, Delphine Chuillot

Directed By: Leos Carax

Critics Consensus: Kubrick's intense study of the human psyche yields an impressive cinematic work.

Synopsis: After Dr. Bill Hartford's (Tom Cruise) wife, Alice (Nicole Kidman), admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Sydney Pollack, Marie Richardson

Directed By: Stanley Kubrick

Critics Consensus: Though hard to watch, this film's disturbing exploration of freedom of expression is both seductive and thought-provoking.

Synopsis: A fictional work that reconstructs the unknown fate of the Marquis de Sade, the writer and sexual deviant who was imprisoned in an insane asylum... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Geoffrey Rush, Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Caine

Directed By: Philip Kaufman

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Germany, the '70s. Leopold, a smug, still-hunky 50-year-old businessman, picks up and seduces fresh-faced, carrot-topped 19-year old Franz who swiftly moves into his bachelor pad.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Bernard Giraudeau, Malik Zidi, Ludivine Sagnier, Anna Thomson

Directed By: François Ozon

Critics Consensus: Ozon may not explore his themes as fully as he should, but Young & Beautiful poses enough intriguing questions -- and features a strong enough performance from Marine Vacth -- to compensate for its frustrations.

Synopsis: Isabelle (Marine Vacth), a 17-year-old student, loses her virginity during a quick holiday romance. When she returns home, she begins a secret life as a... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Marine Vacth, Géraldine Pailhas, Frédéric Pierrot, Fantin Ravat

Directed By: François Ozon

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Mild-mannered composer Jason Kinsky (David Thewlis) hires Shandurai (Thandie Newton), a medical student and recent immigrant from Africa, to work as a part-time maid in... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Thandiwe Newton, David Thewlis, Claudio Santamaria, Cyril Nri

Directed By: Bernardo Bertolucci

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: In 1930s Australia, Anglican clergyman Anthony Campion (Hugh Grant) and his prim wife, Estella (Tara Fitzgerald), are asked to visit noted painter Norman Lindsay (Sam... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Hugh Grant, Tara Fitzgerald, Sam Neill, Elle Macpherson

Directed By: John Duigan

Critics Consensus: Though it makes for rather unpleasant viewing, The Piano Teacher is a riveting and powerful psychosexual drama.

Synopsis: Erika Kohut teaches piano at the Conservatory in Vienna. In her early forties, she lives at home, cooped up with her mother, whose influence Erika... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Annie Girardot, Benoît Magimel, Anna Sigalevitch

Directed By: Michael Haneke

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A middle-aged doctor on a Greek island becomes obsessed with a young tourist when she lets him tag along with her friends.

Starring: Makis Papadimitriou, Dimi Hart, Hara Kotsali, Marcus Collen

Directed By: Argyris Papadimitropoulos

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Harry Madox (Don Johnson) is a drifter who settles into a small Texas town, taking a job at a used car dealership. He proceeds to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Don Johnson, Virginia Madsen, Jennifer Connelly, Charles Martin Smith

Directed By: Dennis Hopper

Critics Consensus: Obsession suffers in comparison to the Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece that it mirrors, but director Brian De Palma's unique preoccupations give this thriller its own compulsive, twisted fingerprint.

Synopsis: Michael Courtland (Cliff Robertson) is a husband and father whose wife, Elizabeth (Geneviève Bujold), and daughter, Amy (Wanda Blackman), have been kidnapped. When a rescue... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Cliff Robertson, Geneviève Bujold, John Lithgow, Sylvia `Kuumba' Williams

Directed By: Brian De Palma

Critics Consensus: Ang Lee's Lust, Caution is a tense, sensual and beautifully-shot espionage film.

Synopsis: During World War II a secret agent (Tang Wei) must seduce, then assassinate an official (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) who works for the Japanese puppet... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Joan Chen, Wei Tang, Leehom Wang

Directed By: Ang Lee

Critics Consensus: Beneath the gratuitous nudity lies a complex and visually striking movie.

Synopsis: After learning that her boyfriend, Lorenzo (Tristán Ulloa), a talented but troubled writer, may have committed suicide, the beautiful Lucía (Paz Vega) decides to escape... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Paz Vega, Tristán Ulloa, Najwa Nimri, Daniel Freire

Directed By: Julio Medem

Critics Consensus: Double Lover offers kinky pleasures that should thrill fans of classic erotic cinema while adding some uniquely transgressive European twists.

Synopsis: Chloé, a fragile young woman, falls in love with her psychoanalyst but soon discovers that her lover is concealing a part of his identity.

Starring: Marine Vacth, Jérémie Renier, Jacqueline Bisset, Myriam Boyer

Directed By: François Ozon

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A veteran prostitute (Viva Bianca) and a rookie hooker (Hanna Mangan Lawrence) are in for one nightmarish night after a trick turns horribly wrong.

Starring: Viva Bianca, Hanna Mangan Lawrence, Belinda McClory, Rowan Witt

Directed By: Jon Hewitt

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Teenager Sandra (Molly Parker) is obsessed with death, so much so that after wandering into a funeral home she wishes to be a mortician. But... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Molly Parker, Peter Outerbridge, Jay Brazeau, Natasha Morley

Directed By: Lynne Stopkewich

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Frank is a brooding Las Vegas chef who has always focused his energy into his culinary talents, until he meets Lola, a young and beautiful... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Michael Shannon, Imogen Poots, Michael Nyqvist, Justin Long

Directed By: Matthew Ross

Critics Consensus: The sex may be explicit, but Mitchell integrates it into the characters' lives and serves the whole story up with a generous dose of sweetness and wit.

Synopsis: John Cameron Mitchell's SHORTBUS explores the lives of several emotionally challenged characters as they navigate the comic and tragic intersections between love and sex in... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Sook-Yin Lee, Paul Dawson, Lindsay Beamish, PJ DeBoy

Directed By: John Cameron Mitchell

Critics Consensus: Lila Says is a vibrantly told coming-of-age story, helped by the sultry charisma of Giocante.

Synopsis: Chimo (Mohammed Khouas), age 19, lives with his mother. Rather than taking advantage of a Paris writing school scholarship, the unemployed aspiring writer kills time... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Vahina Giocante, Mohammed Khouas, Karim Ben Haddou, Lotfi Chakri

Directed By: Ziad Doueiri

Critics Consensus: Grimly stylish, Ken Russell's baroque opus is both provocative and persuasive in its contention that the greatest blasphemy is the leveraging of faith for power.

Synopsis: In 17th-century France, Father Grandier (Oliver Reed) is a priest whose unorthodox views on sex and religion influence a passionate following of nuns, including the... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Oliver Reed, Vanessa Redgrave, Dudley Sutton, Max Adrian

Directed By: Ken Russell

Critics Consensus: While Paul Schrader's clinical direction and Richard Gere's muted performance don't stir much passion, American Gigolo succeeds as a stylish character study.

Synopsis: Julian, a Beverly Hills escort, commands high prices for his services, living a lavish and emotionally unattached lifestyle under the management of Anne. While secretly... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Richard Gere, Lauren Hutton, Héctor Elizondo, Nina van Pallandt

Directed By: Paul Schrader

Critics Consensus: If it can't quite live up to Nabokov's words, Adrian Lyne's Lolita manages to find new emotional notes in this complicated story, thanks in large part to its solid performances.

Synopsis: A man marries his landlady so that he can take advantage of her daughter.

Starring: Jeremy Irons, Melanie Griffith, Frank Langella, Dominique Swain

Directed By: Adrian Lyne

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A wealthy woman finds her fiancé dead after dreaming of an erotic encounter with a strange creature.

Starring: Sirpa Lane, Lisbeth Hummel, Elisabeth Kaza, Pierre Benedetti

Directed By: Walerian Borowczyk

Critics Consensus: The Pillow Book is undeniably sensual and visually ravishing, but the film's narrative lacks the hypnotic pull of its imagery.

Synopsis: A Japanese model (Vivian Wu) who likes lovers to adorn her body with calligraphy falls for an erotic Englishman (Ewan McGregor).

Starring: Vivian Wu, Ewan McGregor, Yoshi Oida, Ken Ogata

Directed By: Peter Greenaway

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Two young girls turn their after-school hangouts into group hook-ups and start a swinging party craze in their school.

Starring: Finnegan Oldfield, Marilyn Lima, Lorenzo Lefèbvre, Daisy Broom

Directed By: Eva Husson

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: 1794. The Revolution has entered the bloodiest phase of the Terror, and the Marquis de Sade is once again in prison. There he prepares himself... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Daniel Auteuil, Marianne Denicourt, Jeanne Balibar, Grégoire Colin

Directed By: Benoît Jacquot

Critics Consensus: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! undermines its own effectiveness with an excess of camp, but writer-director Pedro Almodóvar and an attractive cast make it all worth watching.

Synopsis: Newly released from a mental institution, Ricky (Antonio Banderas) heads straight for a reunion with the love of his life, B-movie actress Marina (Victoria Abril).... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Victoria Abril, Antonio Banderas, Lolas León, Francisco Rabal

Directed By: Pedro Almodóvar

Critics Consensus: Acted out with both physical and psychological nakedness by its two leads, Intimacy is an unflinchingly honest look at alienation.

Synopsis: A man (Mark Rylance) wants to know more about the nameless woman (Kerry Fox) with whom he has weekly trysts.

Starring: Mark Rylance, Kerry Fox, Timothy Spall, Alastair Galbraith

Directed By: Patrice Chéreau

Critics Consensus: The Night Porter's salaciousness gives its exploration of historical trauma a bitter aftertaste, but audiences seeking provocation are unlikely to forget the sting of this erotic drama.

Synopsis: A Nazi death-camp sadomasochist (Dirk Bogarde) and a woman (Charlotte Rampling) he abused meet again in 1957 Vienna.

Starring: Dirk Bogarde, Charlotte Rampling, Philippe Leroy-Beaulieu, Gabriele Ferzetti

Directed By: Liliana Cavani

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: An alcoholic writer (Peter Coyote) in a wheelchair recalls his sexy wife (Emmanuelle Seigner) for an English aristocrat (Hugh Grant) on an ocean liner.

Starring: Peter Coyote, Emmanuelle Seigner, Hugh Grant, Kristin Scott Thomas

Directed By: Roman Polanski

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: In the wake of Jamaican emancipation, French colonist Annette Cosway (Rachel Ward) falls into poverty and marries racist Englishman Paul Mason (Michael York). But when... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Karina Lombard, Nathaniel Parker, Rachel Ward, Michael York

Directed By: John Duigan

Critics Consensus: Despite the surprisingly distant, clinical direction, Crash's explicit premise and sex is classic Cronenberg territory.

Synopsis: "Crash" is about the strange lure of the auto collision, provoking as it does the human fascination with death and the tendency to eroticize danger.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: James Spader, Holly Hunter, Elias Koteas, Deborah Kara Unger

Directed By: David Cronenberg

Critics Consensus: Henry & June celebrates sensuality and passion, though the portentous filmmaking drags it down by a large degree.

Synopsis: A literary love triangle is explored in this film, which was the first to earn an NC-17 rating. While traveling in Paris, author Henry Miller... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Fred Ward, Uma Thurman, Maria de Medeiros, Richard E. Grant

Directed By: Philip Kaufman

Critics Consensus: Paul Schrader's kinky reimagining of Cat People may prove too grisly and lurid for some audiences, but its provocative style and Natassja Kinski's hypnotic performance should please viewers who like a little gasoline with their fire.

Synopsis: In this sensual and violent horror tale, Irena Gallier (Nastassia Kinski) has a dark family secret, one that resurfaces dramatically when she reconnects with her... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Nastassja Kinski, Malcolm McDowell, John Heard, Annette O'Toole

Directed By: Paul Schrader

Critics Consensus: A grim mood piece with good performances from the leads.

Synopsis: An amoral drifter (Ewan McGregor) has an affair with a woman (Tilda Swinton) stuck in a passionless marriage in 1950s Scotland.

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Tilda Swinton, Peter Mullan, Emily Mortimer

Directed By: David Mackenzie

Critics Consensus: Wild Things is a delightfully salacious, flesh-exposed romp that also requires a high degree of love for trash cinema.

Synopsis: When teen debutante Kelly (Denise Richards) fails to attract the attention of her hunky guidance counselor, Sam (Matt Dillon), she cries rape, igniting a scandal... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Kevin Bacon, Matt Dillon, Neve Campbell, Theresa Russell

Directed By: John McNaughton

Critics Consensus: This one bites in a mostly good way: Kiss of the Damned is an erotic gorefest reminiscent of gaudy '70s horror flicks, presented in plain packaging and not meant for direct sunlight.

Synopsis: When a handsome young writer falls for a gorgeous, seductive vampire, their wild romance seems destined for the ages -- until the appearance of her... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Joséphine de La Baume, Milo Ventimiglia, Roxane Mesquida, Anna Mouglalis

Directed By: Xan Cassavetes

Critics Consensus: 9 1/2 Weeks' famously steamy sex scenes titillate though the drama unfolding between the beddings is relatively standard for the genre.

Synopsis: Two strangers, Wall Street trader John (Mickey Rourke) and art gallery assistant Elizabeth (Kim Basinger), become involved in a new relationship. What begins as a... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Mickey Rourke, Kim Basinger, Margaret Whitton, David Margulies

Directed By: Adrian Lyne

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A young nurse (Katrina Bowden) begins to suspect that a sexy colleague (Paz de la Huerta) is responsible for murdering a string of unfaithful men.

Starring: Paz de la Huerta, Katrina Bowden, Corbin Bleu, Judd Nelson

Directed By: Douglas Aarniokoski

Critics Consensus: Though lushly atmospheric, The Dreamers doesn't engage or provoke as much as it should.

Synopsis: In May 1968, the student riots in Paris only exacerbate the isolation felt by three youths: an American exchange student named Matthew (Michael Pitt) and... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Michael Pitt, Eva Green, Louis Garrel, Robin Renucci

Directed By: Bernardo Bertolucci

Critics Consensus: Jumbled and shallow yet easy to watch, Kaboom is a one-night stand that isn't meant to lead anywhere -- but is fun enough while it lasts.

Synopsis: Smith (Thomas Dekker), a typical young college student who likes partying and engaging in acts of random sex and debauchery, has been having some interesting... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Thomas Dekker, Haley Bennett, Chris Zylka, Roxane Mesquida

Directed By: Gregg Araki

Critics Consensus: While entertaining and fitfully provocative, Disclosure ultimately trades narrative depth for glossy cynicism and superficial treatment of its serious themes.

Synopsis: In this Michael Crichton adaptation, Tom Sanders (Michael Douglas) is a senior executive at a cutting-edge technology corporation on the verge of releasing an innovative... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Michael Douglas, Demi Moore, Donald Sutherland, Caroline Goodall

Directed By: Barry Levinson

Critics Consensus: Touch Me Not deserves admiration for its efforts to debunk stereotypes and further a necessary dialogue, even if the execution never lives up to those lofty ambitions.

Synopsis: A filmmaker and her characters begin a personal research project about intimacy.

Starring: Laura Benson, Tómas Lemarquis, Irmena Chichikova, Seani Love

Directed By: Adina Pintilie

Critics Consensus: Jason's Lyric is a sexually charged film whose violent streak weakens or, depending on your perspective, supports the melodrama.

Synopsis: In a violent, drug-infested neighborhood in Houston, Jason (Allen Payne) dreams of something better. He works as a TV salesman and helps out his mother,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Allen Payne, Jada Pinkett Smith, Bokeem Woodbine, Treach

Directed By: Doug McHenry

Critics Consensus: Unevenly echoing the work of Alfred Hitchcock, Basic Instinct contains a star-making performance from Sharon Stone but is ultimately undone by its problematic, overly lurid plot.

Synopsis: The mysterious Catherine Tramell, a beautiful crime novelist, becomes a suspect when she is linked to the brutal death of a rock star. Investigated by... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, George Dzundza, Jeanne Tripplehorn

Directed By: Paul Verhoeven

Critics Consensus: Stylish yet hollow, The Hunger is a well-cast vampire thriller that mistakes erotic moments for a satisfying story.

Synopsis: John (David Bowie) is the lover of the gorgeous immortal vampire Miriam (Catherine Deneuve), and he's been led to believe that he'll live forever, too.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, Susan Sarandon, Cliff DeYoung

Directed By: Tony Scott

Critics Consensus: This darkly comic drama and its attractive young cast are easy on the eyes, but uneven performances and an uninspired script conspire to foil Cruel Intentions.

Synopsis: Annette (Reese Witherspoon) unwittingly becomes a pawn in Sebastian's (Ryan Phillippe) and Kathryn's (Sarah Michelle Gellar) deliciously diabolical wager of sexual conquest when she writes... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, Selma Blair

Directed By: Roger Kumble

Critics Consensus: With its lingering shots of naked teenage bodies, Bully feels more sordidly exploitative than realistic.

Synopsis: As Bobby Kent lay bleeding on July 14, 1993, he called out for help, and then mercy from his friends. Their response was quick and... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Brad Renfro, Rachel Miner, Nick Stahl, Bijou Phillips

Directed By: Larry Clark

Critics Consensus: Malena ends up objectifying the character of the movie's title. Also, the young boy's emotional investment with Malena is never convincing, as she doesn't feel like a three-dimensional person.

Synopsis: In 1941, Renato was 13 years old and although the world was at war, nothing ever happened in this sleepy village in Sicily. Until the... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Monica Bellucci, Giuseppe Sulfaro, Luciano Federico, Matilde Piana

Directed By: Giuseppe Tornatore

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Isaac Barr (Richard Gere) is a psychologist treating Diana Baylor (Uma Thurman), but when he talks with her sister, Heather (Kim Basinger), about their troubled... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Richard Gere, Kim Basinger, Uma Thurman, Eric Roberts

Directed By: Phil Joanou

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Starring: Hedy Lamarr, Aribert Mog, André Nox, Pierre Nay

Directed By: Gustav Machatý

Critics Consensus: Single White Female benefits from a pair of outstanding leads, neither of whom are well served by a storyline that wavers between thrillingly tense and utterly ridiculous.

Synopsis: Having recently split from fiancé Sam Rawson (Steven Weber), Allison Jones (Bridget Fonda) welcomes new roommate Hedra Carlson (Jennifer Jason Leigh). The young women quickly... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Bridget Fonda, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Steven Weber, Peter Friedman

Directed By: Barbet Schroeder

Critics Consensus: An erotic thriller dulled by a messy narrative.

Synopsis: Scientist Shane Brown (Vincent Gallo) neglects his new bride (Tricia Vessey), instead spending their honeymoon searching for an old colleague who disappeared after a research... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Vincent Gallo, Tricia Vessey, Béatrice Dalle, Alex Descas

Directed By: Claire Denis

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: An actress (Asia Argento) experiments with drugs and meets a musician who leaves her lovesick and pregnant.

Starring: Asia Argento, Herbert Fritsch, Joe Coleman, Francesca d'Aloja

Directed By: Asia Argento

Critics Consensus: Despite its promising pedigree and a titillating premise, Chloe ultimately fails to deliver the heat -- or the thrills -- expected of a sexual thriller.

Synopsis: Catherine and David Stewart (Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson) are a well-to-do couple living in a posh area of Toronto, but all is not well in... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson, Amanda Seyfried, Max Thieriot

Directed By: Atom Egoyan

Critics Consensus: Diane Lane shines in the role, but the movie adds nothing new to the genre and the resolution is unsatisfying.

Synopsis: Described by director Adrian Lyne ("Fatal Attraction") as "an erotic thriller about the body language of guilt." When Edward innocently learns that his wife Connie... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Richard Gere, Diane Lane, Olivier Martinez, Erik Per Sullivan

Directed By: Adrian Lyne

Critics Consensus: Two Girls and a Guy has an intriguing premise and a talented trio of leads, but doesn't do quite enough with any of them to make the end result truly worth a watch.

Synopsis: Two women (Heather Graham, Natasha Gregson Wagner) confront their boyfriend (Robert Downey Jr.), a two-timing actor who professed eternal love to each.

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Heather Graham, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Angel David

Directed By: James Toback

Critics Consensus: Though it tries to be provocative, Battle in Heaven is lethargic and mind-numbing.

Synopsis: A man (Marcos Hernández) struggles with his conscience after the baby he and his wife kidnapped accidentally dies.

Starring: Marcos Hernández, Anapola Mushkadiz, Bertha Ruiz, David Bornstien

Directed By: Carlos Reygadas

Critics Consensus: Cruising glides along confidently thanks to filmmaking craft and Al Pacino's committed performance, but this hot-button thriller struggles to engage its subject matter sensitively or justify its brutality.

Synopsis: A psychopath is scouring New York City gay clubs and viciously slaying homosexuals. Detective Steve Burns (Al Pacino) is ordered to don leather attire, hang... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Al Pacino, Paul Sorvino, Karen Allen, Richard Cox

Directed By: William Friedkin

Critics Consensus: Pretentious and trashy.

Synopsis: When Sandrine (Sabrina Seyvecou), a bartender at a strip club, loses her job for refusing to have sex with a customer, she moves in with... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Coralie Revel, Sabrina Seyvecou, Roger Miremont, Fabrice Deville

Directed By: Jean-Claude Brisseau

Critics Consensus: Romance is a slim look into a woman's sexual psyche, with sex scenes that slightly excite while exploring human emotions.

Synopsis: A woman (Caroline Ducey) has several affairs, trying to spark the interest of her lover (Sagamore Stévenin), a self-absorbed, male model.

Starring: Caroline Ducey, Sagamore Stévenin, François Berléand, Rocco Siffredi

Directed By: Catherine Breillat

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: The winner (Carole Laure) of the Miss World Virginity contest marries, escapes from her masochistic husband and ends up involved in a world of debauchery.

Starring: Carole Laure, Pierre Clémenti, Anna Prucnal, Sami Frey

Directed By: Dusan Makavejev

Critics Consensus: It's a pleasure to see Hollywood produce a romance this refreshingly adult, but Love and Other Drugs struggles to find a balance between its disparate plot elements.

Synopsis: Handsome pharmaceutical salesman Jamie Randall (Jake Gyllenhaal) always has good luck with women. A chance encounter with Maggie Murdock (Anne Hathaway), a free-spirited Parkinson's patient,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria

Directed By: Edward Zwick

Critics Consensus: The thriller Femme Fatale is overheated, nonsensical, and silly.

Synopsis: Laure (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos), a member of a crime ring, lifts an extravagant set of jewels from a model at a red carpet event. But instead... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Rebecca Romijn, Antonio Banderas, Peter Coyote, Eriq Ebouaney

Directed By: Brian De Palma

Critics Consensus: Explicit and shocking, but there is no substance or statement on human behavior underneath the taboo-breaking.

Synopsis: After an actress makes an intimate confession, a filmmaker (Frédéric van den Driessche) starts an experimental project about the nature of female sexuality and how... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Frédéric van den Driessche, Maroussia Dubreuil, Lise Bellynck, Marie Allan

Directed By: Jean-Claude Brisseau

Critics Consensus: Sleeping Beauty's provocative premise and luminous art design is hampered by a clinical, remote presentation, delivering boredom and shock in equal measure.

Synopsis: A college student (Emily Browning) becomes a niche sex worker for a high-end brothel where customers pay to fondle her while she sleeps.

Starring: Emily Browning, Rachael Blake, Ewen Leslie, Peter Carroll

Directed By: Julia Leigh

Critics Consensus: Strong performances and an inclusive approach to sexual awakening aren't enough to make Summer Storm a truly memorable coming-of-age story.

Synopsis: A teenager comes to terms with his sexuality and his feelings for his best friend over the course of a summer. Tobi and Achim are... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Robert Stadlober, Kostja Ullmann, Alicja Bachleda-Curuś, Miriam Morgenstern

Directed By: Marco Kreuzpaintner

Critics Consensus: More dull than hypnotic, The Brown Bunny is a pretentious and self-indulgent bore.

Synopsis: A motorcycle racer (Vincent Gallo) journeys cross country in search of women to take the place of the one true love (Chloë Sevigny) of his... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Vincent Gallo, Chloë Sevigny, Cheryl Tiegs

Directed By: Vincent Gallo

Critics Consensus: An unlikable protagonist, messy editing, and gratuitous nudity might make audiences ask for their cash back.

Synopsis: Would-be artist Ben (Sean Biggerstaff) realizes he has an extraordinary way of dealing with the tedium of his dead-end job stocking shelves at a store... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Sean Biggerstaff, Emilia Fox, Shaun Evans, Michelle Ryan

Directed By: Sean Ellis

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A bisexual man (Devid Striesow) has affairs with both members (Sophie Rois, Sebastian Schipper) of a longtime couple who have lost their sexual spark.

Starring: Sophie Rois, Sebastian Schipper, Devid Striesow, Annedore Kleist

Directed By: Tom Tykwer

Critics Consensus: In Darkness blindly stumbles through routine thriller antics, supported by a steady Natalie Dormer, but not much else.

Synopsis: Blind pianist Sofia overhears a struggle in the apartment on the floor above her, and it leads to the death of her neighbor Veronique. It... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Natalie Dormer, Ed Skrein, Emily Ratajkowski, Jan Bijvoet

Directed By: Anthony Byrne

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A series of loosely connected vignettes and flashbacks explores the life of a filmmaker named Nic (Julian Sands). In one, a pair of identical twins... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Julian Sands, Saffron Burrows, Stefano Dionisi, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers

Directed By: Mike Figgis

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Friends (Lizzie Brocheré, Arthur Dupont, Guillaume Baché) enjoy carefree days and plentiful sex.

Starring: Lizzie Brocheré, Arthur Dupont, Guillaume Baché, Pierre Perrier

Directed By: Pascal Arnold, Jean-Marc Barr

Critics Consensus: Death in Love has the depth of its convictions, but not even the game efforts of a talented cast are enough to overcome this drama's stilted story and unlikable characters.

Synopsis: Two sons struggle to deal with their mother's affair with the Nazi doctor who experimented on them.

Starring: Josh Lucas, Adam Brody, Jacqueline Bisset, Lukas Haas

Directed By: Boaz Yakin

Critics Consensus: Lurid without enough evident deeper meaning to justify its prurient impulses, Bad Guy runs the gamut from confusing to simply off-putting.

Synopsis: A gangster (Cho Jae-hyun) meets a college student (Seo Won) who is desperate for money and forces her into prostitution.

Starring: Cho Jae-hyun, Seo Won, Choi Duk-moon, Kim Jung-young

Directed By: Kim Ki-duk

Critics Consensus: This romance is more soapy than historically compelling.

Synopsis: Baroness Dudevant (Juliette Binoche) leaves her husband, begins a new life as writer George Sand and has a tumultuous affair with poet Alfred de Musset... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Juliette Binoche, Benoît Magimel, Stefano Dionisi, Robin Renucci

Directed By: Diane Kurys

Critics Consensus: Species shows flashes of the potential to blend exploitation and sci-fi horror in ingenious ways, but is ultimately mainly interested in flashing star Natasha Henstridge's skin.

Synopsis: When government scientist Xavier Fitch (Ben Kingsley) intercepts a space transmission containing the genetic sequence for an alien life form, he uses it to produce... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Ben Kingsley, Michael Madsen, Alfred Molina, Forest Whitaker

Directed By: Roger Donaldson

Critics Consensus: The belabored noir plotting feels unbelievable, thus removing any sense of suspense. Also, Lohman is badly miscast.

Synopsis: An ambitious reporter (Alison Lohman) probes the reasons behind the sudden split of a 1950s comedy team (Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth).

Starring: Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth, Alison Lohman, Rachel Blanchard

Directed By: Atom Egoyan

Critics Consensus: Although it benefits from a strong cast, In Secret's stars can't totally compensate for the movie's sodden pacing and overly familiar story.

Synopsis: A woman (Elizabeth Olsen) and her lover (Oscar Isaac) conspire to murder her mild-mannered husband (Tom Felton), but overwhelming guilt soon turns their passion into... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Oscar Isaac, Tom Felton, Jessica Lange

Directed By: Charlie Stratton

Critics Consensus: Love sees writer-director Gaspar Noé delivering some of his warmest and most personal work; unfortunately, it's also among his most undeveloped and least compelling.

Synopsis: Murphy (Karl Glusman) is an American living in Paris who has a highly sexual and emotionally charged relationship with the unstable Electra (Aomi Muyock). Unaware... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Karl Glusman, Aomi Muyock, Klara Kristin, Juan Saaverda

Directed By: Gaspar Noé

Critics Consensus: Kama Sutra refreshingly approaches sensuality from a female perspective, but audiences will be turned off by this romance's silly plotting.

Synopsis: In 16th-century India, Princess Tara (Sarita Choudhury) is raised alongside her maid Maya (Indira Varma). The two best friends turn into enemies when Tara becomes... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Indira Varma, Sarita Choudhury, Ramon Tikaram, Naveen Andrews

Directed By: Mira Nair

Critics Consensus: An unpleasant thriller that lacks the self-awareness to dilute its sordid undertones, Poison Ivy is liable to give audiences a rash.

Synopsis: Dejected about her relationship with her father, Darryl (Tom Skerritt), a teen girl, Sylvie Cooper (Sara Gilbert), grows closer to a fiery fellow student named... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Drew Barrymore, Tom Skerritt, Sara Gilbert, Cheryl Ladd

Directed By: Andy Ruben, Katt Shea

Critics Consensus: Knock Knock brings a lot of talent to bear on its satirical approach to torture horror, but not effectively enough to overcome its repetitive story or misguidedly campy tone.

Synopsis: Two nubile, stranded women reveal a sinister agenda after they spend the night with a married architect.

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Ana de Armas, Lorenza Izzo, Ignacia Allamand

Directed By: Eli Roth

Critics Consensus: Viewers desperately seeking a new erotic thriller might find Deep Water worth a dip, but it's far from director Adrian Lyne's best work.

Synopsis: Based on the celebrated novel by famed mystery writer Patricia Highsmith (The Talented Mr. Ripley), "Deep Water" takes us inside the marriage of picture-perfect Vic... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Ben Affleck, Ana de Armas, Tracy Letts, Lil Rel Howery

Directed By: Adrian Lyne

Critics Consensus: This catastrophic adaptation of Patrick McGrath's novel gets sillier and more implausible as it goes along.

Synopsis: An administrator's bored wife (Natasha Richardson) begins a torrid affair with an institutionalized artist (Marton Csokas) who beat his wife to death.

Starring: Natasha Richardson, Ian McKellen, Marton Csokas, Hugh Bonneville

Directed By: David Mackenzie

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Over one night, four couples and a group of friends trying a threesome navigate the complexities of modern sex. While Andrew (Josh Dean) and Abby... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Aaron Abrams, Carly Pope, Kristin Booth, Josh Dean

Directed By: Martin Gero

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A fetish photographer and a homicide detective develop an unlikely friendship as they probe the murder of a model.

Starring: Adam Wingard, Simon Barrett, Helen Rogers, Caroline White

Directed By: Joe Swanberg

Critics Consensus: Director/co-writer Jane Campion takes a stab at subverting the psycho-sexual thriller genre with In the Cut, but gets tangled in her own abstraction.

Synopsis: An English teacher (Meg Ryan) has an affair with a detective (Mark Ruffalo), though she suspects him of murdering a woman.

Starring: Meg Ryan, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Damici

Directed By: Jane Campion

Critics Consensus: For all its tease, the movie doesn't have more to say than money can't buy you love.

Synopsis: Desire carries two young people into deep, uncharted emotional waters in Wayne Wang's candid drama "The Center of the World." A story of a straightforward... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Peter Sarsgaard, Molly Parker, Carla Gugino, Balthazar Getty

Directed By: Wayne Wang

Critics Consensus: Though Wong's short lives up to the promise of the title, Antonioni's is a serious disappointment.

Synopsis: This anthology film features three different tales of passion. In "The Hand," young tailor Zhang (Chen Chang) is attracted to high-priced prostitute Miss Hua (Gong... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Gong Li, Chang Chen, Tien Feng, Robert Downey Jr.

Directed By: Michelangelo Antonioni, Steven Soderbergh, Kar-Wai Wong

Critics Consensus: Lurid but acted with gusto, Indecent Proposal has difficulty keeping it up beyond its initial titillating premise.

Synopsis: David (Woody Harrelson) and Diana Murphy (Demi Moore) are a loving couple with a bright future. David is a talented architect; Diana is a top-notch... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Robert Redford, Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson, Oliver Platt

Directed By: Adrian Lyne

Critics Consensus: For better as well as worse, Passion is vintage De Palma sexploitation -- although with a storyline sillier than most, it fails to generate as much heat as his steamiest work.

Synopsis: A power struggle between two advertising executives (Rachel McAdams, Noomi Rapace) escalates after one steals the other's idea for a new campaign.

Starring: Rachel McAdams, Noomi Rapace, Karoline Herfurth, Paul Anderson

Directed By: Brian De Palma

Critics Consensus: Naomi Watts and Robin Wright give it their all, but they can't quite make Adore's trashy, absurd plot believable.

Synopsis: Two lifelong best friends (Robin Wright, Naomi Watts) each begin a steamy affair with the other's son, but trouble begins to brew when one of... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Robin Wright, Naomi Watts, Ben Mendelsohn, Xavier Samuel

Directed By: Anne Fontaine

Critics Consensus: Neve Campbell bares all in this seemingly misogynistic trifle.

Synopsis: Feeling ignored by her hustler boyfriend, Ford Welles (Frederick Weller), Vera Barrie (Neve Campbell) has begun numerous affairs. Ford, however, knows all about her affairs,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Neve Campbell, Dominic Chianese, Frederick Weller, Karen Allen

Directed By: James Toback

Critics Consensus: Boarding Gate has little substance beneath its faux-thriller surface, and marks a step down from director Olivier Assayas' usual work.

Synopsis: A sordid and complex series of events unfolds when an ex-prostitute (Asia Argento) becomes involved with a couple in Hong Kong.

Starring: Asia Argento, Michael Madsen, Carl Ng, Kelly Lin Hsi-Lei

Directed By: Olivier Assayas

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Set in 1920s colonial Indochina, a pretty, virginal French teenager meets a handsome Chinese playboy from a respectable family. Going against the conventions of their... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jane March, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Frédérique Meininger, Arnaud Giovaninetti

Directed By: Jean-Jacques Annaud

Critics Consensus: Unforgettable's talented cast makes this domestic thriller consistently watchable, even if its failure to fully embrace its premise's campy possibilities prevents it from living up to its title.

Synopsis: Barely coping with the end of her marriage, Tessa Connover learns that her ex-husband, David, is now happily engaged to Julia. Trying to settle into... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Rosario Dawson, Katherine Heigl, Geoff Stults, Isabella Kai Rice

Directed By: Denise Di Novi

Critics Consensus: Threesome's titillating title belies a dreadfully dull drama whose attractive stars are handily outmatched by a shallow script.

Synopsis: At a sizable public college, high-minded student Eddy (Josh Charles) is forced to room with the slovenly Stuart (Stephen Baldwin), but the pair strike up... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Lara Flynn Boyle, Stephen Baldwin, Josh Charles, Alexis Arquette

Directed By: Andrew Fleming

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Jack Grimaldi (Gary Oldman) is a cop who offers tips to the Mafia for money, and cheats on his loving wife with a young mistress.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Gary Oldman, Lena Olin, Annabella Sciorra, Juliette Lewis

Directed By: Peter Medak

Critics Consensus: Sex and Death 101 aspires to be a clever sex comedy, but has little life behind the sex or the death.

Synopsis: A week before his marriage to Fiona (Julie Bowen), fast-food executive Roderick (Simon Baker) receives an email with the names of 101 women, 29 of... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Simon Baker, Winona Ryder, Leslie Bibb, Mindy Cohn

Directed By: Daniel Waters

Critics Consensus: While creatively better endowed than its print counterpart, Fifty Shades of Grey is a less than satisfying experience on the screen.

Synopsis: When college senior Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) steps in for her sick roommate to interview prominent businessman Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) for their campus paper,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Jennifer Ehle, Eloise Mumford

Directed By: Sam Taylor-Johnson

Critics Consensus: Ponderous, pretentious, and -- considering the subject matter -- dull.

Synopsis: After attempting suicide, a young woman makes a startling proposition and pays a homosexual man to observe her naked body at her isolated home.

Starring: Amira Casar, Rocco Siffredi, Jacques Monge, Claudio Carvalho

Directed By: Catherine Breillat

Critics Consensus: Fitfully amusing until 3-D Sex and Zen takes a casual, nearly positive stance on rape and sexual torture.

Starring: Leni Lan, Hiro Hayama, Vonnie Lui, Saori Hara

Directed By: Christopher Sun

Critics Consensus: The unerotic sex scenes quickly become tedious to watch, and the lovers lack the personality necessary to make viewers care about them.

Synopsis: A man (Kieran O'Brien) reminisces about his steamy affair with an American woman (Margo Stilley) he met at a rock concert in England.

Starring: Margo Stilley, Kieran O'Brien, Huw Bunford, Cian Ciaran

Directed By: Michael Winterbottom

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Writer Nick Eliot moves to a new city for a magazine job and rents a room in the house of Cliff and Liv Forrester, whose... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Cary Elwes, Alicia Silverstone, Jennifer Rubin, Amber Benson

Directed By: Alan Shapiro

Critics Consensus: Vile, contemptible, garish, and misogynistic -- and that might just be exactly Showgirls' point.

Synopsis: Nomi (Elizabeth Berkley) arrives in Las Vegas with only a suitcase and a dream of becoming a top showgirl. She quickly befriends Molly (Gina Ravera),... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Elizabeth Berkley Lauren, Kyle MacLachlan, Gina Gershon, Glenn Plummer

Directed By: Paul Verhoeven

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A journalist (Juliette Binoche) tries to balance the duties of marriage and motherhood while researching a piece on college women who work as prostitutes to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Juliette Binoche, Anaïs Demoustier, Joanna Kulig, Louis-Do de Lencquesaing

Directed By: Małgorzata Szumowska

Critics Consensus: Endlessly perverse and indulgent, Caligula throws in hardcore sex every time the plot threatens to get interesting.

Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Teresa Ann Savoy, Helen Mirren, Peter O'Toole

Directed By: Tinto Brass

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: "Dancing at the Blue Iguana" offers a rare glimpse into the often misunderstood world of the strip club, which is much more than the sum... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Charlotte Ayanna, Daryl Hannah, Sheila Kelley, Elias Koteas

Directed By: Michael Radford

Critics Consensus: Despite occasional detours into surprisingly dark territory, Spread overall is an ineffectual celebration of vacuous Los Angeles high life rather than a deconstruction of it.

Synopsis: Young, charming and handsome, Nikki (Ashton Kutcher) lives the good life in Hollywood by giving rich, older women plenty of what they want: sex. While... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Anne Heche, Margarita Levieva, Sebastian Stan

Directed By: David Mackenzie

Critics Consensus: Bruce willie shot aside, the only other things popping out in Color of Night are some ridiculous plot contortions and majorly camp moments.

Synopsis: Attempts on his life escalate as a New York psychologist (Bruce Willis) closes in on a colleague's killer in Los Angeles.

Starring: Bruce Willis, Jane March, Rubén Blades, Lesley Ann Warren

Directed By: Richard Rush

Critics Consensus: Oppressively misanthropic and ineptly made, The Canyons serves as a sour footnote in Paul Schrader's career -- but it does feature some decent late-period work from Lindsay Lohan.

Synopsis: The discovery of an illicit love affair leads two young Angelenos on a violent, sexually charged tour through the dark side of human nature.

Starring: Lindsay Lohan, James Deen, Nolan Gerard Funk, Gus Van Sant

Directed By: Paul Schrader

Critics Consensus: Below Her Mouth delivers two understated performances of intrigue leading the way for gratuitous erotica with no plot, no character development, unsavory dialogue, and enough nudity to bore.

Synopsis: Jasmine is a successful fashion editor living with her fiancé. On a night out in the city with her best friend, she meets Dallas, a... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Natalie Krill, Erika Linder, Mayko Nguyen, Tommie-Amber Pirie

Directed By: April Mullen

Critics Consensus: The inevitable Fatal Attraction comparisons aside, Obsessed is a generic, toothless thriller both instantly predictable and instantly forgettable.

Synopsis: Things couldn't be better for Derek Charles (Idris Elba). He's just received a big promotion at work, and has a wonderful marriage with his beautiful... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Idris Elba, Beyoncé, Ali Larter, Christine Lahti

Directed By: Steve Shill

Critics Consensus: Unseemly, unsettling, and unremittingly bleak, Downloading Nancy is slickly made but mostly unpleasant.

Synopsis: In the depths of despair, a woman (Maria Bello) hires a man (Jason Patric) she met online to torture and kill her.

Starring: Maria Bello, Jason Patric, Rufus Sewell, Amy Brenneman

Directed By: Johan Renck

Critics Consensus: Audiences yearning for a modern update on the erotic thriller formula will be sorely disappointed by this turgid incarnation, hobbled by stale plotting and a curious lack of sensuality.

Synopsis: Complications arise when a young man (Nick Jonas) has an affair with the seductive wife (Isabel Lucas) of an investment banker (Dermot Mulroney).

Starring: Nick Jonas, Isabel Lucas, Paul Sorvino, Kandyse McClure

Directed By: Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum

Critics Consensus: Never Talk to Strangers -- and never make the mistake of believing this silly stalker mystery is the best available viewing option.

Synopsis: Police psychologist Dr. Sarah Taylor (Rebecca De Mornay) guards herself from emotional attachment, but uncharacteristically succumbs to the smooth advances of mysterious new lover Tony... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Rebecca De Mornay, Antonio Banderas, Dennis Miller, Len Cariou

Directed By: Peter Hall

Critics Consensus: Pretentious, overly perverse and dull.

Synopsis: An impulsive widow (Isabelle Huppert) and her 17-year-old son (Louis Garrel) become increasingly attracted to each other at their summer house.

Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Louis Garrel, Joana Preiss, Jean-Baptiste Montagut

Directed By: Christophe Honoré

Critics Consensus: Populated with characters as unpleasant as its sleazy storyline, The Loft is uninhabitable for all but the least demanding erotic thriller fans.

Synopsis: For five men (Karl Urban, James Marsden, Wentworth Miller, Eric Stonestreet, Matthias Schoenaerts), the opportunity to share a penthouse in the city -- in which... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Karl Urban, James Marsden, Wentworth Miller, Eric Stonestreet

Directed By: Erik Van Looy

Critics Consensus: An ostensible erotic thriller that's largely neither erotic nor thrilling, Jade marks one of several unfortunate low points for aggressively sexual mid-'90s cinema.

Synopsis: When a prominent art dealer is found murdered, the man's death leads to an intriguing investigation steeped in sex, corruption and crime. District Attorney David... View Full Synopsis

Starring: David Caruso, Linda Fiorentino, Chazz Palminteri, Michael Biehn

Directed By: William Friedkin

Critics Consensus: The Boy Next Door may get a few howls out of fans of stalker thrillers, but for most viewers, it won't even rise to "so bad it's good" status.

Synopsis: When a handsome, charming teenager named Noah (Ryan Guzman) moves in next door, newly separated high-school teacher Claire Peterson (Jennifer Lopez) encourages his friendship and... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Ryan Guzman, John Corbett, Kristin Chenoweth

Directed By: Rob Cohen

Critics Consensus: Laughably melodramatic, Original Sin features bad acting, bad dialogue, and bad plotting.

Synopsis: Luis (Antonio Banderas) and Julia (Angelina Jolie) are bound together first by matrimony, and then, by fierce love and desire. But the closer Luis becomes... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Antonio Banderas, Angelina Jolie, Thomas Jane, Jack Thompson

Directed By: Michael Cristofer

Critics Consensus: Shallow, clichéd, and silly instead of suspenseful, When the Bough Breaks offers nothing domestic thriller fans haven't already seen before -- and done far better.

Synopsis: Young, professional and successful, John and Laura (Regina Hall) Taylor desperately want to have a baby, but are unable to conceive. After exhausting all other... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Morris Chestnut, Regina Hall, Romany Malco, Michael Kenneth Williams

Directed By: Jon Cassar

Critics Consensus: Lacking enough chemistry, heat, or narrative friction to satisfy, the limp Fifty Shades Darker wants to be kinky but only serves as its own form of punishment.

Synopsis: When a wounded Christian Grey tries to entice a cautious Anastasia Steele back into his life, she demands a new arrangement before she will give... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Eric Johnson, Eloise Mumford

Directed By: James Foley

Critics Consensus: Fifty Shades Freed brings its titillating trilogy to a clumsy conclusion, making for a film franchise that adds up to a distinctly dissatisfying ménage à trois.

Synopsis: Believing they've left behind the shadowy figures from the past, billionaire Christian Grey and his new wife, Anastasia, fully embrace their inextricable connection and shared... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Eric Johnson, Rita Ora

Directed By: James Foley

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: The Los Angeles club scene is a place of booze-fueled decadence and debauchery. In a night full of possibilities, eight 20-somethings take to the clubs... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Sean Patrick Flanery, Jerry O'Connell, Amanda Peet, Tara Reid

Directed By: Michael Cristofer

Critics Consensus: Sliver is an absurd erotic thriller with technobabble and posits prime Sharon Stone as a professional book nerd.

Synopsis: Well-to-do book editor Carly Norris (Sharon Stone) moves into a luxury apartment building before learning that a number of female tenants have been dying in... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Sharon Stone, William Baldwin, Tom Berenger, Polly Walker

Directed By: Phillip Noyce

Critics Consensus: Body Orchid is a tease-too-long, with overblown editing with an already slipping Mickey Rourke and unexperienced actress Carrie Otis.

Synopsis: Attorney Emily Reed (Carre Otis) is hired by Claudia Lirones (Jacqueline Bisset), a businesswoman in the final stages of a big real estate deal. When... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Mickey Rourke, Jacqueline Bisset, Carré Otis, Assumpta Serna

Directed By: Zalman King

Critics Consensus: Body of Evidence's sex scenes may be kinky, but the ludicrous concept is further undone by the ridiculous dialogue.

Synopsis: When an elderly millionaire is found dead with cocaine in his system, his will leaves $8 million to Rebecca Carlson (Madonna), who was having an... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Madonna, Willem Dafoe, Joe Mantegna, Anne Archer

Directed By: Uli Edel

Critics Consensus: A piece of lovely dreck, The Blue Lagoon is a naughty fantasy that's also too chaste to be truly entertaining.

Synopsis: Seven-year-old cousins Emmeline (Elva Josephson) and Richard (Glenn Kohan) survive a shipwreck and find themselves marooned on a beautiful island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Brooke Shields, Christopher Atkins, Leo McKern, William Daniels

Directed By: Randal Kleiser

Critics Consensus: Unable to match the suspense and titilation of its predecessor, Basic Instinct 2 boasts a plot so ludicrous and predictable it borders on "so-bad-it's-good."

Synopsis: After a crash that kills her boyfriend, Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone) has her car searched by the police, who find illegal drugs. Prosecutors handling her... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Sharon Stone, David Morrissey, Charlotte Rampling, David Thewlis

Directed By: Michael Caton-Jones

Critics Consensus: Despite its lush tropical scenery and attractive leads, Return to the Blue Lagoon is as ridiculous as its predecessor, and lacks the prurience and unintentional laughs that might make it a guilty pleasure.

Synopsis: When widow Sarah Hargrave (Lisa Pelikan) washes ashore on a tropical island with her daughter and adopted son, she learns how to survive and raise... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Brian Krause, Lisa Pelikan, Courtney Phillips

Directed By: William Graham

Critics Consensus: Bolero combines a ludicrous storyline and wildly mismatched cast in its desperate attempts to titillate, but only succeeds in arousing boredom.

Synopsis: A 1920s English heiress (Bo Derek) seeks ecstasy with a sheik in Morocco and a bullfighter (Andrea Occhipinti) in Spain.

Starring: Bo Derek, George Kennedy, Andrea Occhipinti, Ana García Obregón

Directed By: John Derek

Critics Consensus: Respected director Chen Kaige's first English-language film is a spectacularly misguided erotic thriller, with ludicrous plot twists and cringe-worthy dialogue.

Synopsis: A young American in London begins a passionate and kinky affair with a handsome stranger who may be a killer.

Starring: Heather Graham, Joseph Fiennes, Natascha McElhone, Ulrich Thomsen

Directed By: Chen Kaige

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: In order to save her relationship from falling apart, a woman goes to Sicily, where she meets a dangerous man named Massimo.

Starring: Michele Morrone, Bronisław Wrocławski, Otar Saralidze, Magdalena Lamparska

Directed By: Barbara Białowąs, Tomasz Mandes