During the 1940s, classic film noir was one of the most popular film genres, spanning for several decades with major success. By the 1960s, the iconic genre had been revamped and revitalized for a modern audience but still features original elements such as the classic femme fatale and a cynical, jaded protagonist, that still coincide with the traditional tropes of the genre. One of the vast differences from the classic film noir genre to the neo-noir genre is the heightened sexual appeal and steamy content.
Popular movies such as Body Heat, Night Moves, and The Big Easy are just a few neo-noirs that successfully convey human desires and sexual temptations without overshadowing the core of the plot. While a majority of neo-noirs depict a certain level of smoldering seduction and sultry heat, there is a selection of titles including American Gigolo, The Last Seduction, and The Postman Always Rings Twice that are considered to be the sexiest and steamiest noir films to date.
10 ‘Bound’ (1996)
Directed by Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski
When Violet (Jennifer Tilly) and Corky (Gina Gershon) cross paths for the first time, it’s immediately love at first with sparks and all. Unfortunately, Corky is dating a violent gangster, Caesar (Joe Pantoliano), but despite Corky’s status, the two begin a steamy affair that eventually leads them to plotting a way to escape from Caesar along with two million dollars of the mob’s money.
Lilly and Lana Wachowski made their directorial debut with the erotic neo-noir thriller, Bound, which overflows with gripping violence and intense passion, saturating the silver screen with sexual tension. Tilly and Gershon are pure heat together, delivering exceptional performances that earned them immense praise from critics. Even though it was initially met with mixed reviews, Bound is a bold testament to the neo-noir genre and an all-out steamfest.
9 ‘Body Double’ (1984)
Directed by Brian De Palma
Jake Scully (Craig Wasson) is a down-on-his-luck actor who lands a job house-sitting at his friend’s home in the Hollywood Hills. While peering through a telescope in the house one night, Scully spots an attractive blonde next door and becomes enamored with her. When he witnesses her murder, he soon finds himself on a quest into the adult entertainment industry with the help of an actress (Melanie Griffith) as his guide.
Brian De Palma‘s 1984 neo-noir film, Body Double, is one of the director’s most thrilling films and a fitting homage to classic noirs such as Alfred Hitchcock‘s Rear Window and Vertigo, set against the wicked underworld of Los Angeles and features a heavy touch of lust and voyeurism. Upon the film’s initial release, Body Double was a commercial flop, but many commended the film’s visually alluring sense of style and various Hitchcockian themes, as well as the overall cast’s performances. Film critic, Roger Ebert, was highly impressed with Body Double and gave it three out of four stars, noting it as an exhilarating example of filmmaking in the tradition of Hitchcock.
8 ‘The Hot Spot’ (1990)
Directed by Dennis Hopper
Don Johnson stars in The Hot Spot as an elusive drifter, Harry Madox, who decides to settle in a small town in Texas where he takes a job at a used car dealership. Once acquainted with his new surroundings, Madox soon finds himself juggling two affairs, one with his boss’ wife, Dolly (Virginia Madsen), and the other with a strikingly beautiful accountant, Gloria (Jennifer Connelly). Unbeknownst to the townspeople, Madox has been secretly plotting to rob a local bank, but he soon runs into trouble regarding his double affair that he failed to think through.
The Hot Spot is a romantic neo-noir thriller based on the 1953 novel Hell Hath No Fury written by Charles Williams, who also co-wrote the film’s screenplay. While it may not be an Oscar-worthy film, The Hot Spot still earned generally positive reviews from critics, many praising the director, Dennis Hopper, for his rough and tough direction. The Hot Spot follows a classic turbulent love triangle that has an appealing combination of crime and lust that will satisfy any audience.
7 ‘The Last Seduction’ (1994)
Directed by John Dahl
Bridget Gregory (Linda Florentino) is a telemarketer who wants to escape her marriage but, for financial reasons, she can’t afford a divorce. She decides to convince her husband (Bill Pullman) to sell cocaine and once he makes enough money, she takes off to Chicago with the profits. There, she meets an insurance salesman, Mike Swale (Peter Berg), who secures her a job, but Swale begins to regret his decision after Gregory not only tries to recruit him in a scam, but also bump off her husband.
The Last Seduction is a riveting erotic neo-noir film that is considered by many to be a cult classic in the film genre. The character of Bridget Gregory is also credited as one of the most iconic femme fatales of all time, ranking next to notable noir names such as Double Indemnity‘s Phyllis Dietrichson and Out of the Past‘s Kathie Moffat. Florentino gives a showstopping performance that is both sinister and sexy, effortlessly fogging up the big screen with her sheer sultry presence and unapologetic ambition.
6 ‘The Big Easy’ (1986)
Directed by Jim McBride
Dennis Quaid stars as a New Orleans detective, Remy McSwain, who is tasked with investigating a recent murder of a local mobster and begins to suspect an ongoing war between the two crime families. While McSwain works on the case, he begins to develop a romantic relationship with a righteous district attorney, Anne Osborne (Ellen Barkin), who is determined to snuff out the corruption that plagues his department.
The Big Easy is an edgy romantic neo-noir film and without a doubt one of the steamiest thrillers of the 1980s. The film manages to depict the perfect percentage of violence and criminal activity while also drenching the screen with sizzling sexual chemistry from Quaid and Barkin. Today, The Big Easy is renowned for its on-edge, complex plot and well-developed characters who are all expertly executed by an all-star cast.
5 ‘Night Moves’ (1975)
Directed by Arthur Penn
The 1975 neo-noir film, Night Moves, stars Gene Hackman as a Los Angeles private investigator, Harry Moseby, who is hired by a former B-list actress to find her young daughter, Delly (Melanie Griffith), who has seemingly disappeared. When Moseby’s investigator leads him to the Florida Keys, he manages to find Delly but also lands himself in the middle of a much larger scandal than just a teenage runaway.
Night Moves is a maze of a neo-noir thriller that features a highly unexpected final twist as well as a constant underlying sexual tone that leaves an anxious impression on audiences. The film’s charm lies in initially conveying a typical teenage runaway case only to mold it into an unexpected crime of greed and murder that Hackman and the audiences never anticipated. Night Moves also oozes sexuality and sensuality, which surprisingly, isn’t a distraction, but simply lures audiences further into this steamy noir film with little to no effort.
4 ‘American Gigolo’ (1980)
Directed by Paul Schrader
Richard Gere stars in American Gigolo as a handsome, high-priced male escort, Julian Kay, who tends to an elite crowd of clients and enjoys his lavish, unattached lifestyle. While secretly moonlighting for a pimp, Leon (Bill Duke), he’s hired to entertain a married couple, but he bails when their violent tastes unnerve him. When the wife winds up murdered, no one is willing to speak up for Kay, making him the prime suspect in the grizzly murder.
American Gigolo is a seductive, sex-induced neo-noir, which ultimately established Gere as a promising leading man and is considered to be one of Gere’s best films. The movie pairs an enticing level of sexuality with a rather devastating tale of loneliness and fear of commitment that makes American Gigolo a rare commodity of a film. American Gigolo remains true to the classic noir of sexual temptation and murder but also adds a surprisingly sentimental value, bringing a heavy depth of human emotion to an undoubtedly steamy noir.
3 ‘The Postman Always Rings Twice’ (1981)
Directed by Bob Rafelson
When Frank Chambers (Jack Nicholson) stops at a roadside diner to eat, he meets Cora Papadaski (Jessica Lange), who is married to the owner of the diner, Nick (John Colicos). Surprised by Chambers’ presence, Nick offers him a job, which Chambers happily accepts without hesitation. Shortly after starting his new job, Chambers and Cora develop a secret affair, eventually leading them to plot a way to get rid of Nick without getting caught.
The Postman Always Rings Twice is a remake of the 1946 film by the same name and is without question one of the best film noir remakes of all time. It’s hard to top the success of an original classic film, but the 1981 version of The Postman Always Rings Twice is one exception that succeeds the original. While it’s no hard knock against the original, the remake’s smoldering, steam-filled chemistry between Nicholson and Lange adds a higher level of anxiety and anticipation that the 1946 version fails to fully grasp (which is no fault of its own).
2 ‘Basic Instinct’ (1992)
Directed by Paul Verhoeven
Michael Douglas stars in the erotic neo-noir thriller, Basic Instinct, as a homicide detective, Nick Curran, who is assigned to investigate the murder of a former rockstar. When the detective zeroes in on a famous crime novelist, Catherine Tarmell (Sharon Stone), she not only becomes the number one suspect in the case but manages to seduce Curran into an intense love affair.
Basic Instinct has virtually every element of a Hitchcock film but with a sensual touch of sexuality and seduction that makes it one of the best erotic thrillers of all time. While Douglas delivers a phenomenal performance, Stone essentially runs away with this cinematic guilty pleasure, giving an epic knockout performance as a modern femme fatale. Despite initial mixed reviews, Basic Instinct has since been credited as not only one of Stone’s greatest films, but also a steamy, sex-filled noir that is a must-see for any fan of the genre.
1 ‘Body Heat’ (1981)
Directed by Lawrence Kasdan
In the sexpot neo-noir, Body Heat, William Hurt stars as a handsome attorney, Ned Racine, who finds himself entangled in a sex-infused affair with a beautiful but married woman, Matty Walker (Kathleen Turner). As their affair reaches insatiable heights, the two soon start plotting the murder of Walker’s husband, but when their plan goes off course, Racine soon finds himself in a dangerous and potentially deadly situation.
Whenever film fans think of steamy films, Lawrence Kasdan‘s Body Heat is almost always the first film to come to mind. Considering the film is set during a terrible Florida summer heat wave, audiences can almost feel the humidity and sweat seeping through the screen, especially during Turner and Hurt’s heavily intimate scenes. The film has been considered to be an unofficial remake of Billy Wilder‘s Double Indemnity and while Wilder’s film has immense sexual tension, Body Heat plays out the relentless attraction without cutting any corners, plus a shocking twist of events that heats this steamy noir up to an unbearable temperature.
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