The brainchild of provocateur extraordinaires Paul Verhoeven and Joe Eszterhas, Basic Instinct was one of the most controversial films of the 90s (protested by LGBTQ activists for its portrayal of the film’s bisexual femme fatale) and a runaway box office smash. When detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) becomes ensnared in a web of sex, lies, and violence, all the evidence points to Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone, in a star-making role), a seductive, mysterious crime novelist. As the bodies pile up and hidden obsessions are revealed, Curran begins to doubt his investigatory instincts and give in to his baser ones.