These movies aren’t afraid to turn up the heat. For this list of the sexiest movies now on Netflix, we’re including erotically-charged thrillers and dramas, films with red-hot chemistry front-and-center, and more. This list features classics and new favorites from around the world, theatrical releases as well as Netflix originals.
Here are the 15 steamiest movies on Netflix right now.
Related: Here’s Everything Coming to Netflix in Sept. 2019
1. Y Tu Mamá También (2001)
Alfonso Cuarón‘s coming-of-age masterpiece is an erotic drama with a lot more than sex on its mind. Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna and Maribel Verdú star in the picture that’s, on the surface, about two 17-year-old best friends who embark on a road trip with a beautiful older woman. What it’s really about, though, is life and death—and social unrest in Mexico, where it’s set. Y Tu Mamá También sparked controversy for its frank depiction of sexuality, ultimately released without a rating in the U.S. because an NC-17 (the kiss of box-office death) would have been unavoidable. Many critics including Roger Ebert were outraged by the film’s treatment by censors and the MPAA. The picture has been widely acclaimed, and received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
In Spanish with subtitles.
Related: We Ranked All 10 Harry Potter Movies, including Cuarón’s Prisoner of Azkaban
2. Cabaret (1972)
Liza Minelli electrifies in one of the best screen musicals of all time. Based on the 1966 stage production, and set in 1930s Berlin, Cabaret depicts a love triangle against the backdrop of the rise of the Nazi party. With eight Oscars including Best Director (Bob Fosse), Best Actress (Minelli), and Best Supporting Actor (Joel Grey), Cabaret holds the record for most ever won by a film that didn’t win Best Picture. It came out the same year as The Godfather.
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3. Carol (2015)
Based on the 1952 novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith, what is arguably the best film of Todd Haynes‘s illustrious career to date tells the story of forbidden love between a young photographer (Rooney Mara) and an older woman (Cate Blanchett) going through a rough divorce. This is an utterly riveting, even exhausting watch, as the lovers must overcome disheartening, dehumanizing adversity.
Mara won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival, but was submitted for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars. Carol was nominated for six Academy Awards total, surprisingly shut out of Best Picture and Best Director categories.
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4. Cam (2018)
Directed by Daniel Goldhaber, this Netflix original is about an adult webcam performer who discovers a sinister presence has taken her place on the internet. Cam has some truly frightening moments, and it examines the subject matter of sex work with appropriate care and thought. Most notably, it showcases a head-turning lead performance by The Handmaid‘s Tale‘s Madeline Brewer, often playing multiple entities on-screen at the same time. Thanks to a perceptive script by real-life former cam girl Isa Mazzei, Cam is often an examination of fractured identity, something that’s definitely not limited to the world of adult entertainment. Cam stumbles a bit at the ending, but it’s full of provocative ideas, and Brewer just floors you.
5. God’s Own Country (2017)
Francis Lee‘s quiet, optimistic stunner about the healing powers of a love between two farmhands is something like perfection. Set in the filmmaker’s native Yorkshire, God’s Own Country has a uniquely tactile quality about it, and lead actors Josh O’Connor and Alec Secareanu don’t hit a false note.
The emotional arc and through-line here is as simple and clear as it is effective. It all sneaks up on you, then knocks the stuffing out of you. Best of luck not sobbing uncontrollably.
Related: Parade‘s Review of God’s Own Country
6. Love (2015)
Gaspar Noé makes some of the most shocking, even abrasive movies around (see: Irréversible, Enter the Void, and his recent horror drug trip with dance numbers, Climax). For all the controversy Love caused for its graphic sexual content, it should be noted this is the director’s most tender film. Originally released in 3D, Love is a technically innovative, highly intimate exploration of an ill-fated romance, and all kinds of baggage surrounding it.
7. American Psycho (2000)—coming to Netflix Sept. 1
This darkly satiric adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis‘ 1991 novel was in development hell for nearly a decade. Christian Bale had his heart set on the role of narcissistic Wall Street homicidal maniac Patrick Bateman, but Lionsgate wanted Leonardo DiCaprio.
David Cronenberg, Oliver Stone, Martin Scorsese and Danny Boyle were all in the running to direct at some point, but Mary Harron was the right choice. She milked the material for maximum black humor, and she insisted on Bale, who is perfect in the lead role. Now widely considered one of our most prominent method actors, Bale spoke in an American accent throughout filming. When he spoke in his native Welsh accent at the wrap party, everyone thought he was prepping for a different role.
Another touch Harron brought to the film, and one of several reasons this movie is appreciated by many, is the way she flips the male gaze, even as she explores a male-centric narrative. It’s no secret that many horror films throughout history have been problematic in their objectification of women. In American Psycho, Bale’s Patrick Bateman is obsessed with his looks—often onscreen in some state of undress—and Harron’s camera makes the most of this.
Related: 5 Essential Horror Movies Directed by Women
8. Concussion (2013)
Stacie Passon‘s drama stars Robin Weigert as a disillusioned housewife who decides to try her hand at high-end escorting, following a head injury. Concussion is a fresh and unusual drama about a marriage on the rocks. It premiered at Sundance, and won a special Jury Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Related: The 15 Best LGBTQ Movies on Netflix
9. The Pass (2016)
Russell Tovey and Arinze Kene star in Ben A. Williams‘ drama about a taboo relationship between two London footballers. The Pass is set in confined spaces, and feels like a filmed play at times, but it’s an engrossing character study. The takeaway is Tovey (he previously appeared in HBO’s Looking), who gives a career-best performance, with emotional depth and striking physicality. The Pass was BAFTA Award-nominated, and it currently boasts a 93% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.
10. Personal Shopper (2017)
Master of understatement Kristen Stewart drives Olivier Assayas‘ ambitious blend of restrained, elegant ghost story, scathing and hilarious social satire, introspective character study, atmospheric and leisurely mood piece, nerve-jangling Hitchcockian thriller, and horror movie. On the surface, it’s pure cinematic pleasure. Personal Shopper is a gripping and poignant study of grief, too, all the more effective for its uniqueness. It wouldn’t work without Stewart, who’s proven herself over and over to be one of her generation’s finest, most adventurous talents.
11. Nymphomaniac Vol. 1 and 2
Charlotte Gainsbourg stars alongside an ensemble cast including Shia LaBeouf, Christian Slater, Jamie Bell and Willem Dafoe in Lars Von Trier‘s sprawling, four-hour (it originally ran as long as five) depiction of the life and times of a self-diagnosed nymphomaniac. In line with a lot of Von Trier’s work, it’s wild and often completely brilliant.
The best part? A brief but unforgettable appearance by Uma Thurman, who walks away with the whole saga. She has a few minutes of screen time, playing a heartbroken wife and mother whose life has been eviscerated by infidelity. It’s darkly comic, also so raw and upsetting it could affect your mood for some time after you’ve watched the movie.
Related: We Ranked All Nine Quentin Tarantino Movies, From Kill Bill to Pulp Fiction
12. 9 1/2 Weeks (1986)
Before there was Fifty Shades of Grey, there was 9 1/2 Weeks (a better movie). Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger star in Adrian Lyne‘s drama about a short-lived but intense affair between an art gallery employee and a Wall Street broker.
9 1/2 Weeks was the source of tons of hype and press in its day, largely because of its racy content. The picture was heavily edited for its U.S. release to tone this down, and it bombed here. It was released in an uncut version internationally, where it was a smash hit.
Many critics dog-piled on the movie when it came out, but it’s gained a following over time, with positive retrospective reviews. Roger Ebert gave 9 1/2 Weeks a highly positive review when it came out, saying he was “surprised by how thoughtful the movie is, how clearly it sees what really happens between its characters.”
13. Berlin Syndrome (2017)
So abundant we might as well make them their own genre, movies about kidnapped females generally go one of two ways: It’s either all about the suspense, figuring out how and if she will get out—or there’s the nastier route, when some movies focus on a woman’s torture and humiliation, turning it into spectacle.
Though Australian director Cate Shortland‘s adaptation of Melanie Joosten‘s novel about a tourist imprisoned by a handsome teacher after a passionate one-night-stand is a thriller (quite heart-pounding at times), and much of the woman’s mistreatment is extremely hard to watch, this highly absorbing psychological drama stands out because it’s all about the characters and what’s going on in their heads. It also differs from other films of its ilk in that this nightmare begins with genuine erotic tension and heat, a mutual attraction.
Aussie-born Teresa Palmer of Hacksaw Ridge fame delivers a ripper of a performance as a victim suffering in stages not unlike the stages of grieving. German Max Riemelt (Sense8) keeps up every step of the way as her chilling and multifaceted captor, but this is Palmer’s film, and it gave the dynamite actress long-relegated to playing love-interest side characters a serious calling card in Hollywood.
Related: The 15 Best, Most Suspenseful Thrillers on Netflix Right Now
14. Head On (1998)
This Australian drama stars Alex Dimitriades as a Greek youth exploring his sexuality, and sometimes flirting with danger. Head On received fairly positive reviews upon release, and sparked some was controversy due to its sexual content. Writer/director Ana Kokkinos received L.A. Outfest’s Grand Jury Award for Outstanding Foreign Narrative Feature.
15. Blue is the Warmest Color (2013)
Its reputation somewhat marred by controversy and a highly publicized falling-out between star and director, Blue is the Warmest Color is an undeniably moving epic, carried by sensational lead performances by Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos. Blue is the Warmest Color unanimously won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, also winning awards for director Abdellatif Kechiche and the actresses. Sadly, the director’s latest, Mektoub, My Love: Intermezzo, was marred by even grislier behind-the-scenes controversy, and is one of the biggest critical disappointments in Cannes history.
Related: The 15 Best LGBTQ Romance Movies of All Time
Steamy honorable mentions on Netflix: Oscar-nominated drama Blue Valentine starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, rom-com Sleeping With Other People with Alison Brie and Jason Sudeikis, illuminating documentary Rocco, and sci-fi masterwork Under the Skin starring Scarlett Johansson.
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