10 Best Erotic Thrillers Ever
9. Body Heat
While 1992's Basic Instinct came to epitomise the erotic thriller, in some respects this 1981 movie from legendary writer Lawrence Kasdan (making an assured directorial debut) was where the genre really began.
The first big screen outing of both lead actors, William Hurt and Kathleen Turner, Body Heat centres on the illicit romance of Hurt's small-time attorney and Turner's rich trophy wife, and their subsequent plan to murder the husband (Richard Crenna) and ride off into the sunset. Not that things could ever be that simple...
Plot-wise, Body Heat adheres pretty closely to the conventions of classic film noir (aimless drifter, femme fatale, rich old man); but, whereas the standards of years gone by forbade anything beyond moderate sexual connotation, in 1981 they were free to present sex in a very frank manner indeed.
However, whilst Hurt and Turner may spend a large portion of their screentime naked and sweaty, it's their performances rather than their physiques that we're left gaping in awe at. As heightened as the drama is, both actors play it as real as any straight drama, and the results are thoroughly compelling.
Small wonder that Turner became a major sex symbol in the years ahead - indeed, this is not the only time her name will appear in this list.