Dr. DVD

Thinking back to 1992 when this movie was released, there are a lot of aspects to this studio movie you never see anymore when it comes to erotic thrillers.

-A list talent and Oscar winning actor Michael Douglas in the lead.
- Auteur director Paul Verhoeven given a lot of creative control.
-Graphic sex, violence, nudity, and homosexuality (not graphic, but pretty in your face with its presentation) .
-A pretty large budget considering the content ($49 million, which probably approaches $100 million today).
-An original screenplay not based on a pre-existing property.

Please don't point to the "50 Shades" movies , it's a pre-existing property, and their content does not come close to Basic Instinct in terms of risque material.

Bluelitespecial

No, because pc politics wouldn't allow it, and they seem to be running Hollywood right now. Yeah guys enjoying seeing a naked woman is bad, but women objectiving men in Magic Mike is just fine.

Jay G.

The rise of the internet and the proliferation of pornography on it, not to mention the MPAA's continued prudishness in its ratings, has made wide-release "erotic" films less appealing to both studios and audiences. I mean, why pay to go to a theater for a half-second glimpse of a vagina when you can stay home and get so much more for free?

Almost all similar films since Basic Instinct have flopped (including Basic Instinct 2), so studios aren't really lining up to spend money on them.

And yes, using a pre-existing property with an established fanbase is a lot less of a risk.

Finally, graphic violence has never really gone away, although it shifted to horror "torture porn," while most action movies watered it down to get PG-13 ratings, the better to get the teens in seats. Also, I feel homosexuality is just getting more and more "in your face," in TV and films as it's become a lot more acceptable to have such characters, although it's not often played up for its salaciousness like in Basic Instinct anymore.

Bluelitespecial

It would be fun to see another movie like Basic Instinct or Showgirls made today. So many sjws would go nuts, protest, and would try to get it banned from theaters.

Abob Teff

No ... to spiral out of another thread, a studio will never allow a director to have that level of creative control. Plus there is no originality in Hollywood.

I actually don't think hiring talent (actors) would be an issue IF the project was a good project. Which leads me to ...

...The biggest problem is how a project like this would be approached. Today it would be tackled with the emphasis on "erotic" and not on "thriller". To be successful, the story should be in control and the actions of the characters should stem from it. Instead, we live in a day and age where Hollywood starts with a concept and fakes the story around it -- what gimmick can we market?

Abob Teff

No cock = no foul.

Why So Blu?

Not in the U.S. But foreign territories, sure. Blue is the Warmest Color, etc.

We WILL get in on television - premium programming. We get lots of sex on shows like Game of Thrones, Banshee, etc. That'll continue but not necessarily for mainstream theatrical U.S. flicks.

Decker

Isn't Fifty Shades kind of Basic Instinct for 2017? No A-List stars but big budget and high grosses.

Abob Teff

I thought 50 Shades was a rip-off of Secretary.

Jay G.

According to the OP, Blue is the Warmest Color doesn't qualify since it's based on source material:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_I...Color_(comics)

Sex is easier to sell in the privacy of one's home.

Why So Blu?

Ah, double true.

DthRdrX

Sadly it seems like every comedy nowadays is featuring one shot of male frontal nudity. I miss the 80s.

Dr. DVD

My original post meant that it has to have all of the elements I mentioned AND not be based on previous material.

DJariya

There were so many Basic Instinct knockoffs in the mid to late 90's and early 2000's.

I know Shannon Tweed starred in quite a few of them.

Is the genre even relevant anymore in this day and age?

Jay G made some good points in his post. Basic Instinct 2 came out in 2006 and was a box office bomb. Shows the public had virtually no interest in it, plus being released 14 years later didn't help either with a much older Sharon Stone. The type of sex and sadistic violence that was introduced in the movie back then is pretty irrelevant now.

Jay G.

I mean, Sharon Stone herself starred in Sliver, screenplay written by the same guy as Basic Instinct, a few years later and it didn't do great.

Showgirls reunited both the writer and director of Basic Instinct and famously bombed.

I feel the timing is even worse now for a hit "erotic" original film in the US, but even back in the day, Basic Instinct was a bit of a fluke.

RichC2

The original screenplay part would probably be hard to come by, but otherwise I don't see why not.

Mostly, the foreign scene has a lot of them with highly rated movies generally featuring something noteworthy in the original post.
Elle was supposed to be in English originally but apparently Verhoeven had trouble finding an actress for the role, largely due to the 3rd act which involves
The Handmaiden (which is unrated in the US but would be NC-17) is from the director of Oldboy and features prolonged lesbian lovemaking and the gruesome violence that the director is known for (albeit more restrained)

Of course, both of those are based on previously existing material.

Considering how successful Fifty Shades of Gray has been, I would expect a comeback for the erotic thriller in due time, granted they can get the actors and actresses to sign up for it. I think there will be another, original one, in the not too terribly distant future, hopefully there's some writing know-how out there. fwiw, I'd take another Wild Things too.

I'm actually not sure what Bluelitespecial is going on about in terms of sjw, two big things with them has been letting women be naked anytime they want and homosexuality, that actually helps out in this regard.

inri222

Not from a major studio, but someone who doesn't give a fuck like William Friedkin, Brian De Palma or Nicolas Winding Refn is capable of doing something like that.

Ash Ketchum

Only if they look like Lena Dunham. If they look like Sharon Stone (ca. 1992) and men get excited, then it's a no-no. We can't privilege the hetero male gaze anymore.

RichC2

Margot Robbie and Alicia Vikander seemed to pull it off alright

majorjoe23

True, it's so hard to find female nudity anymore. Oh wait, that's insane. I can find naked photos of basically any female celeb in two seconds.

The problem is studios are so focused on the profitable PG-13 films that they don't want to divert funds and screens to "edgier" films that make $8 million bucks. As pointed out above, the market for these films dried up so fast after Basic Instinct that its questionable if there truly was a market beyond that film.

Shannon Nutt

I have a theory that these types of movies went out of fad basically when the Internet took off (around 2000 or so). Prior to then - short of renting porn at the video store (and risking getting caught by someone you knew!) - having nudity was a huge selling point for movies (just look at all the erotic thrillers and raunchy sex comedies of the 80s and 90s). Once you could see stuff on your home computer for free, it was less of a big deal. Movies still have nudity to be sure, but they're rarely the selling point of the film anymore. Just my 2 cents worth.

Jay G.

Really? That's so interesting.

mrhan

I thought Malena was one of the best dramas I've ever seen and the original Italian release was really pushing the envelope. I guess that's why the U.S. got the butchered version.

OldBoy

I'm so glad I imported this one. Don't know where from but I think uncut and region free.

mrhan

I originally bought the uncut Korean DVD and later upgraded it to the BD/DVD combo.