Credit: Netflix

There’s only so much for love and all its grand promises. In the lifetime of movies, we’ve seen people get in bed for passion or money or anything far more lucrative, but something cinema still pretends to do is to give every steamy encounter some meaning or grand declaration of undying love.

Take showbusiness, where desirability is practically a currency and people will sacrifice their dignity for a shot at fame. And the filthy rich? Even an affair can become a calculated move to climb the social ladder.

Some filmmakers use eroticism to challenge artistic conventions or expose the lengths grown adults will go to avoid admitting they’ve caught feelings. Sex becomes a way to show how foolish people can be, rather than just something to make the movies more steamy.

Netflix has a bunch of such movies to spice up your ‘Netflix and Chill’ night. After all, a bit of carnal pleasure needn’t come with a marriage proposal.

Five steamy movies perfect for a ‘Netflix and Chill’ night

Showgirls (Paul Verhoeven, 1995)

Las Vegas dangles fame and fortune in front of anyone desperate enough to chase it, but the things people have to sacrifice to get a taste of the high life are insane! And Showgirls isn’t shy about exposing the business behind all that glamour. Elizabeth Berkley’s Nomi Malone comes to the city dreaming of stardom and, instead, gets lumbered with a job at a seedy strip club. But just then, she catches the attention of Cristal Connors (Gina Gershon), the reigning queen of a lavish casino production.

Cristal gets Nomi an audition for her show, Goddess, and the girl manages to get a place among the dancers, but oh, don’t go thinking she’s found herself a generous mentor! Cristal enjoys humiliating her, and things get downright scandalous when Nomi attracts the attention of Zack Carey (Kyle MacLachlan), the casino’s entertainment director, who also happens to be Cristal’s lover. Before long, the two women are fighting over far more than a place in the spotlight, and Verhoeven exposes an industry where sleeping with the right person can get you further than talent ever will.

Mapplethorpe (Ondi Timoner, 2018)

Robert Mapplethorpe wasn’t interested in taking only pretty pictures of flowers; oh no, his photographs of male nudes and BDSM scenes challenged what galleries were prepared to show. Matt Smith plays the photographer as a struggling artist living at the Chelsea Hotel with musician Patti Smith (Marianne Rendón) before his attraction to men draws him into the city’s underground gay scene. And the photographs he starts taking? Well, the conservative art crowd had no idea what to make of them.

Then along comes wealthy art collector Sam Wagstaff, who becomes his lover and helps open doors in the art world. But Mapplethorpe’s ambition makes him a right selfish bastard towards those helping him. Ondi Timoner doesn’t excuse his behaviour either, and his relationships take a battering as his reputation grows. The nudity is there, all right, but the film has got plenty to say about what his ambitions cost the people closest to him.

Sleeping with Other People (Leslye Headland, 2015)

There are awkward reunions, and then there is bumping into the person you lost your virginity to at a sex-addiction meeting. One hell of an embarrassing moment, but don’t worry, the embarrassment doesn’t end there, because Jake (Jason Sudeikis) has become a serial womaniser, while Lainey (Alison Brie) is having an affair with Matthew, a married doctor who treats her affections as an inconvenience. Twelve years after their university fling, Jake and Lainey reconnect and decide to become friends, with one golden rule: no sleeping together.

And director Leslye Headland has a wicked sense of humour, because these two have no problem getting into bed with strangers, but the moment real feelings get involved, they are scared stiff. And as their friendship grows, those feelings become harder to ignore.

High Society (Byun Hyuk, 2018)

Seoul’s filthy rich have got some funny ideas about respectability, and High Society has a right laugh at their expense. And wait till you see what these posh snobs get up to behind closed doors. It starts with economics professor Jang Tae-jun, who fancies getting into politics, while his wife Oh Su-yeon has her sights set on running a prestigious art gallery. Cool, cool, nothing wrong with a bit of ambition. All good until you realise the things these two are willing to put up with just to rub shoulders with the wealthy elite, and “shameless” doesn’t even begin to describe it.

The bedroom scandals in this Netflix film are preposterous! Tae-jun gets himself stuck in an affair with a younger aide, while Su-yeon’s ambitions leave her exposed to sexual exploitation and blackmail. Director Byun Hyuk has a field day exposing their hypocrisy, and watching what people will sacrifice for a bit of status will make your eyes roll all the way to the back of your head.

Eden (Ron Howard, 2025)

The irony in Eden is painful, because imagine running away from civilisation for a bit of peace, only to end up surrounded by people who make you wish you’d never left! Ron Howard’s Eden has Dr Friedrich Ritter and his lover Dore Strauch packing their bags and buggering off to a remote Galápagos island, hoping to live life on their own terms. Sounds rather lovely, doesn’t it? Well, not for long! The Wittmer family shows up, and before you know it, their little paradise has become one almighty neighbourhood squabble.

And then, along comes Ana de Armas, playing a self-proclaimed Baroness with two lovers and dreams of building a luxury hotel. Woman, these people are struggling to survive, and you are planning a five-star getaway? The sheer audacity! She knows how to use her seductive charms to get what she wants, mind you, and the other settlers are having none of her demands. Based on the real-life Galápagos Affair, Eden makes you wonder why these people bothered escaping society when they’ve brought all its problems with them.