Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £6.99 a month
In the Cut
Jane Campion’s feminist erotic thriller starring Meg Ryan and Mark Ruffalo adds a frisson of dangerous sex to a murder investigation.
Director: Jane Campion
Overview
Jane Campion’s boldly sensual erotic thriller sees Frannie – a writing professor – caught up in the investigation of a series of grisly murders in her New York City neighbourhood. Drawn to the homicide detective investigating the case, she discovers the dark side of passion when she embarks on a turbulent affair with him, coming to wonder if her lover is hiding a secret as the death toll rises.
Controversial and critically derided upon release, Campion’s giallo-influenced thriller (based upon the novel by Susanna Moore) is a masterful take on female desire, subjectivity, and traditional heterosexual dynamics.
Related
The Beasts The Beasts
Thriller 2022 138 mins Director: Rodrigo Sorogoyen
Denis Ménochet stars as a small-town farmer whose idyllic lifestyle turns into a living nightmare, in this rivetingly structured, slow-burn thriller.
Twilight Twilight
Thriller 1990 100 mins Director: György Fehér
Transcendent murder-mystery about an obsessive detective, directed by a Béla Tarr associate and based on the same novel as Sean Penn's The Pledge.
Motel Destino Motel Destino
Thriller 2024 115 mins Director: Karim Aïnouz
Acclaimed filmmaker Karim Aïnouz’s Brazilian erotic noir sees an escaped young hustler flee to a roadside sex motel run by a hot-headed couple.
Mother Mother
Thriller 2009 129 mins Director: Bong Joon-ho
Acclaimed Korean actor Kim Hye-ja is outstanding as a mother who will do anything to protect her son, in Bong Joon Ho’s fourth feature.
Islands Islands
Drama 2025 121 mins Director: Jan-Ole Gerster
A mysterious disappearance sets off this noirish thriller with echoes of Hitchcock and Highsmith, starring Sam Riley and Stacey Martin.
Sweet Sweetback’s Baadassss Song Sweet Sweetback’s Baadassss Song
Thriller 1971 98 mins Director: Melvin Van Peebles
Melvin Van Peebles’ seminal, taboo-breaking Blaxploitation thriller about a young Black man on the run from corrupt cops in 1970s Los Angeles.
Swimming Pool Swimming Pool
Drama 2003 102 mins Director: François Ozon
A crime novelist seeks peace but gets a dangerous muse in this twisted bilingual thriller from François Ozon.
Dogtooth Dogtooth
Drama 2009 93 mins Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Yorgos Lanthimos' scary, witty tale of a dysfunctional Greek family is original, ingenious and sadly relevant as a study of parent-child relationships
Memories of Murder Memories of Murder
Detective drama 2003 131 mins Director: Bong Joon-ho
A pair of detectives clash trying to solve the brutal murder of two women, in Bong Joon Ho’s masterful blend of true crime and dark social satire.
Insomnia Insomnia
Thriller 2002 118 mins Director: Christopher Nolan
Al Pacino shines in Christopher Nolan’s smart psychological thriller about a weary detective chasing a murder suspect in remote Alaska.
Manhunter Manhunter
Crime 1986 124 mins Director: Michael Mann
Michael Mann’s chilling and stylish adaptation of Thomas Harris’ bestseller introduced Hannibal Lecktor to cinema audiences for the first time.
The Piano Teacher The Piano Teacher
Drama 2001 131 mins Director: Michael Haneke
Isabelle Huppert’s turn as a woman disturbed yet consumed by her own desires has lost none of its gut-punching torment, in Haneke’s unsettling drama.
La Reine Margot La Reine Margot
Historical drama 1994 158 mins Director: Patrice Chéreau
Sumptuous historical drama starring Isabelle Adjani and Daniel Auteuil; a thunderous yarn full of dastardly plots, familial hatred and perverse desire
Scrubbers Scrubbers
Drama 1982 93 mins Director: Mai Zetterling
1980s borstal drama – billed as the female Scum – featuring Amanda York and Kathy Burke as inmates in a ruthless women’s prison.
Mona Lisa Mona Lisa
Gangster 1986 100 mins Director: Neil Jordan
An ungainly cockney chauffeur navigates the seedy streets of London, gradually falling for the elegant and mysterious prostitute who is his passenger.
Showgirls Showgirls
Melodrama 1995 126 mins Director: Paul Verhoeven
Reviled upon its release, now reclaimed as a cult classic - one can only submit to the trash-tastic delights of Paul Verhoeven's erotic disasterpiece.
The Outrun The Outrun
Drama 2024 118 mins Director: Nora Fingscheidt
Saoirse Ronan gives a bracing performance as a young recovering alcoholic returning home to Orkney in this moving adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s memoir.
Birdy Birdy
Drama 1984 120 mins Director: Alan Parker
Alan Parker’s elliptical, ethereal adaptation of the acclaimed, ‘unfilmable’ novel by William Wharton, about a boy who dreams of flying.