Verity Reminds Us Erotic Thrillers Still Need to Be Fast — These 10 Prove It

Verity is in theaters now, and it comes with a built-in assignment: the erotic thriller is back. The film, starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett, follows a struggling writer who agrees to ghostwrite the unfinished novel of a powerful author named Verity Crawford, who is left incapacitated from an accident. The writer moves into Crawford’s home and becomes entangled with her husband, Jeremy. The genre’s heyday came in the ’80s and ’90s, when VHS rentals made these films huge hits at home, and now it’s having a boom thanks to BookTok bestsellers like Verity and The Housemaid.

If you want more of the same, a new list points you toward classics and cult favorites alike. Here is what the list recommends.

Rebecca and Les Diaboliques

Rebecca is the clearest reference for Verity. The 1938 novel by Daphne du Maurier and its 1940 adaptation from Alfred Hitchcock follow an unnamed woman who falls into a quick relationship with Mr. de Winter, a wealthy man who rescues her from poverty and makes her mistress of Manderley. The problem is that Mr. de Winter was previously married to Rebecca, who haunts every corner of the home.

Les Diaboliques, from 1955, follows a love triangle between Michel, the headmaster of a boarding school, his wife Christina and his mistress Nicole. When the women meet, they connect over Michel’s abusive nature and make a plan to murder him. The film was remade in the ’90s with Sharon Stone, Isabelle Adjani and Kathy Bates, bringing the subtext to the foreground.

Vertigo and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle

Vertigo, from 1958, follows a retired detective named Scottie who is hired to investigate Madeleine, the wife of an old college acquaintance. Madeleine is melancholic and possessed by the spirit of a dead ancestor, and Scottie forms an obsession with her. The film is built on voyeurism, suspense and repressed sexuality.

Curtis Hanson’s The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, from 1992, follows a woman with a mysterious past who infiltrates the home of a family. Claire Bartel, played by Annabella Sciorra, reports her obstetrician for sexual abuse, destroying his career and prompting his suicide. The woman adopts the persona of Peyton Flanders, gets a job at Claire’s home and infiltrates her life, flirting with Claire’s husband and mothering her kid. Julianne Moore appears as a scene-stealer.

Basic Instinct and Wild Things

Basic Instinct hit its peak in 1992. Paul Verhoeven directed a movie that perfects many of the genre’s key elements: a detective, a femme fatale, a voyeuristic writer, homoeroticism and sex. Detective Nick Curran investigates the murder of a rock star killed with an ice pick, and the prime suspect is Catherine Tramell, a wealthy crime novelist dating the victim. Her recent novel features an almost identical murder.

Wild Things, from 1998, stars Matt Dillon, Neve Campbell and Denise Richards. A wealthy cheerleader and an outsider accuse a guidance counselor of rape in Blue Bay, Florida, and a police officer gets involved, finding that there’s much more to the story.

The Talented Mr. Ripley

Patricia Highsmith’s creation Tom Ripley has inspired various film adaptations, but none as star-studded as Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr. Ripley, from 1999. Matt Damon plays the weaselly American con artist who’ll stop at nothing to get the life and status he wants. He is believed to be a Princeton graduate and classmate of Dickie Greenleaf, and he stops at nothing to take Dickie’s place.

The list pairs classic Hitchcock and Clouzot films with later, more explicit entries, drawing a clear line from noir subtext to full-frontal erotic thriller.

Key Facts Box

• Verity stars Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett
• Rebecca is based on Daphne du Maurier’s 1938 novel, adapted in 1940
• Les Diaboliques is from 1955, remade in the ’90s
• Vertigo came out in 1958
• The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is from 1992
• Basic Instinct hit its peak in 1992
• Wild Things came out in 1998
• The Talented Mr. Ripley is from 1999

The genre has spilled over into others, but this list is a primer on the pure form. If you liked Verity, these six films are the logical next stop.

Source material: “10 Erotic Thrillers to Watch After Verity,” Polygon.

Anne Hathaway · classic films · Dakota Johnson · Erotic Thriller · Verity