Horror feasts on some of the most fascinating fears ad blemishes of the human psyche, as well as focussing on unconscious desires. Among favorites in the genre is erotic horror, because getting bloody is quite the aphrodisiac, apparently.
Some would say it’s too niche a subgenre, but you’d be shocked with how many are out there, including some of the best films all of horror has to offer. The likes of David Cronenberg love a good bit of nudity in their horror; that is, when the main character isn’t getting aroused by car crashes.
Genre fanatics are throwing out their favorites, and there’s some absolute classics among them, though they’re absolutely not for the faint of heart.
There’s probably no monster which is more sexually charged than vampires, and they’re a near constant in more romantic horror stories. While there’s been a slight dent on vampire’s reputation thanks to Twilight, there’s still some absolute hits like The Hunger. David Bowie as the star man, no less.
Bowie evidently couldn’t get enough of the genre, with him later producing the title track for Cat People, with his song “Cat People (Putting Out Fire)” arguably better remembered than the movie itself.
With Cronenberg, it’s hard to find a film of his that isn’t highly sexual as said before. Videodrome stands out in particular with it one of the few films out there to start with a couple having rough sex with cigarette burns. Whatever floats your boat. Similarly, Jeff Goldblum in The Fly radiates a very certain vibe. Cronenberg, is everything okay at home?
A recent but excellent addition, is the subversive slasher flick X, with the modern generation’s scream queen Mia Goth. Following a group of adult video makers in the 1970s, it’s almost too horny for its own good. Recently seeing a sequel/prequel in the form of Pearl, director Ti West will return for a threequel titled MaXXXine.
Have we mentioned Cronenberg yet? His latest film Crimes of the Future is fascinating even if it’s not his best work. An allegory for government’s control over trans people’s bodies, it features some of the most bizarre intimacy scenes you’ll ever seen.
Then you have flicks like David Lynch’s Lost Highway. Not strictly horror, but home to some truly horrific sequences and a bizarre mind-melting plot. A divisive film, at very least it’ll spark discussion and thought thanks to its graphic sex scenes and themes.
It’s a great time to be a horror fan, as the spooky season is becoming more like a spooky year with excellent releases throughout 2022. The tentpole horror film of the year, Halloween Ends, is due in cinemas Oct. 14.