By Maria Loreto Published Oct 3, 2026, 11:00 PM EDT Polygon Lists From Alfred Hitchcock to Paul Verhoeven
Image: Tristar/Everett Collection Sign in to your Polygon.com account Add Us Like Like follow Follow followed Followed Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap Verity is out in theaters. Starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, and Josh Hartnett, the film follows Lowen (Johnson), a struggling writer presented with a life-changing opportunity: ghostwriting the unfinished novel of Verity Crawford (Hathaway), one of the world's biggest authors. She accepts and soon finds herself living in Verity’s home and entangled with her husband, Jeremy (Hartnett). The snag is that Verity, left incapacitated from an accident, lies in a bed upstairs.
The movie is a welcome addition to the erotic thriller canon. The genre has a prominent history in Hollywood, originating in classic film noirs, which were packed with hidden subtext, femme fatales, and detectives. The erotic thriller makes all of that subtext explicit, and it drew theatergoers in droves back in the '80s and '90s. Its heyday coincided with the rise of the VHS rental market, making these films huge hits at home too.
The genre has since spilled over into others, but it’s now experiencing a boom of sorts, aided in part by BookTok bestsellers like Verity and The Housemaid , which bring the genre’s trappings to a new generation.
If you’ve already seen Verity and hope to find movies that explore similar concerns, or are simply looking for a primer on the genre, this list is for you. Here are 10 erotic thrillers you can watch.
Image: ABC Rebecca is the clearest reference for Verity. It’s in the title, with both films/books named after the absent woman who haunts the protagonist. Written by Daphne du Maurier in 1938 and adapted into one of Alfred Hitchcock’s best films in 1940, the story follows an unnamed woman (Joan Fontaine) who falls into a quick relationship with Mr. de Winter (Laurence Olivier), an older and wealthy man. When he proposes, Mr. de Winter rescues the young woman from poverty, transforming her from the paid companion of an insufferable socialite into the mistress of Manderley, a stunning manor. The problem is that Mr. de Winter was previously married to the late Rebecca, who haunts every corner of the home.
Image: Criterion Les Diaboliques came out in 1955 and is filled with twists and sexual undertones, becoming a key precursor to the erotic thriller. Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, the story follows a love triangle between Michel (Paul Meurisse), the headmaster of a rundown boys' boarding school, his wife Christina (Véra Clouzot), and his mistress Nicole (Simone Signoret). 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, starring Sharon Stone, Isabelle Adjani, and Kathy Bates, bringing some of the erotic thriller subtext to the foreground while adapting the story to contemporary audiences.
Image: Paramount Pictures Voyeurism, suspense, and repressed sexuality were foundational to Hitchcock’s films. Vertigo (1958) is one of his most famous, following a retired detective, Scottie (James Stewart), who’s hired to investigate Madeleine (Kim Novak), the wife of an old college acquaintance. Scottie’s old friend claims Madeleine is melancholic and possessed by the spirit of a dea…