These sexy lesbian movies are scorching hot!
IFC Midnight; A24; New Line Cinema
The release of the fantastic lesbian erotic thriller Loves Lies Bleeding made us crave more horny lesbian films, so we went on a hunt to track down all of the best raunchy sapphic movies!
Lesbians are underrepresented in cinema, and while that’s getting better — Love Lies Bleeding and Drive Away Dolls are both great recent examples — they are still few and far between. And sometimes we don’t want to watch a story about the trauma of coming out, or the trials and tribulations of having kids, or the stress of bringing your date home for the holidays; what we want is a horny film with hot sex scenes, loads of sexual tension or raunchy humor that will have us giggling all night long.
Lucky for us, it only took a little digging to find some great — and incredibly hot — lesbian-centric movies that you’ll want to add to your “Must Watch” list ASAP.From erotic thrillers to sex comedies to historical dramas, there is a horny lesbian movie for every taste!
All film descriptions are courtesy of their production companies.
Love Lies Bleeding (2024)
A24
Synopsis: From Director Rose Glass comes an electric new love story; reclusive gym manager Lou (Kristen Stewart) falls hard for Jackie (Katy O'Brian), an ambitious bodybuilder headed through town to Vegas in pursuit of her dream. But their love ignites violence, pulling them deep into the web of Lou’s criminal family.
Why you need to see it: Not only is the chemistry between the two leads incredibly intense, but the lesbian love scenes are raw in a way that is rare to see depicted on screen.
Where to watch:HBO Max
Drive-Away Dolls (2024)
Focus Features
Synopsis: In search of a fresh start, two women (played by Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan) embark on an impromptu road trip to Tallahassee, Fla. However, things quickly go awry when they cross paths with a group of inept criminals along the way.
Why you need to see it: This transgressive and quirky movie from the mind of Ethan Coen gives you the women-behaving-badly plot lines you’ve been craving.
Where to watch:Prime Video
Bottoms (2023)
MGM Synopsis: Unpopular best friends PJ (Rachel Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebiri) start a high school fight club to meet girls and lose their virginity. They soon find themselves in over their heads when the most popular students start beating each other up in the name of self-defense.
Why you need to see it:Bottoms is the lesbian version of the raunchy teen comedy we all grew up with. Think Superbad but make it queer.
Where to watch:Prime Video
Bound (1996)
Gramercy Pictures
Synopsis: Sparks fly when Violet (Jennifer Tilly) sets eyes on Corky (Gina Gershon) in an elevator. Violet is the girlfriend of a violent gangster, Caesar (Joe Pantoliano), while Corky is fresh out of prison and doing renovations on the apartment next door. As the two women launch into a passionate love affair, they assemble an intricate plan for Violet to escape from Caesar, with two million dollars of the mob's money -- but the important part is to make it out alive.
Why you need to see it: The quintessential lesbian erotic thriller that has inspired countless films that have followed is as exciting as it is hot. If you want crime, violence, intrigue, and hot lesbian sex all in a single movie, then Bound should be moved to the very top of your “must watch” list.
Where to watch: AppleTV+
The Handmaiden (2016)
Courtesy of Magnolia PicturesSynopsis: With help from an orphaned pickpocket (Kim Tae-ri), a Korean con man (Ha Jung-woo) devises an elaborate plot to seduce and bilk a Japanese woman (Kim Min-hee) out of her inheritance.
Why you need to see it: Even if you’ve never read the novel Fingersmith by Sarah Waters that the movie was based on, The Handmaiden is hauntingly beautiful, emotionally brutal, and so spicy it’ll have you blushing. All reasons to watch it asap!
Where to watch:Prime Video
The Favourite (2018)
FOX SEARCHLIGHTSynopsis: In the early 18th century, England is at war with the French. Nevertheless, duck racing and pineapple eating are thriving. A frail Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) occupies the throne, and her close friend, Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz), governs the country in her stead, while tending to Anne's ill health and mercurial temper. When a new servant, Abigail (Emma Stone), arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah. Sarah takes Abigail under her wing, and Abigail sees a chance to return to her aristocratic roots.
Why you need to see it: Not only does The Favourite have a star studded cast (Weisz, Colman, and Stone in a single movie? Yes, please!), but it's a period piece that explores queer themes in the hottest way ever. Get into it!
Where to watch: Rent on Prime Video
Jagged Mind (2023)
Courtesy of Hulu Synopsis: A woman (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) plagued by blackouts and strange visions discovers she's stuck in a series of time loops, possibly related to her mysterious new girlfriend (Shannon Woodward).
Why you need to see it: Directed by Kelley Kali, this twisty horror movie centers on a lesbian couple, explores abuse within a relationship, and has a great sapphic villain. It's peak lesbian chaos, and you won't want to miss it.
Where to watch:Hulu
The Duke of Burgundy (2014)
Sundance Selects
Synopsis: A drama about the relationship between a pair of female lovers (Sidse Babett Knudsen and Chiara D'Anna) who play games of dominance and subservience.
Why you need to see it: It’s an erotic period piece about two women engaging in a Dom-sub relationship. We shouldn’t need to say more than that, but The Duke of Burgundy is also beautifully acted and while there is no actual nudity, the movie still manages to be scorching hot.
Where to watch:AMC+
Concussion (2013)
RADiUS-TWC
Synopsis: A fateful blow to the head makes a middle-aged lesbian housewife (Robin Weigert) seek satisfaction as a high-end escort.
Why you need to see it: Directed by Stacie Passon, you won’t want to miss this movie about a lesbian who is trying out the world of sex work. Contemplative, sexy, and feminist — it’s a must watch!
Where to watch: Starz
Benedetta (2021)
IFC Films
Synopsis: Directed by Paul Verhoeven and based on a true story, a 17th-century nun becomes entangled in a forbidden lesbian affair with a novice. But it is Benedetta's (Virginie Efira) shocking religious visions that threaten to shake the Church to its core.
Why you need to see it: Benedetta has become an infamous lesbian movie for one main reason that you won’t want to miss seeing: a statuette of the Virgin Mary is used as a sex toy. ‘Nuff said.
Where to watch: Criterion
Duck Butter (2018)
Duck ButterNetflixSynopsis: Dissatisfied with the dishonesty they see in dating, strangers Naima (Alia Shawkat) and Sergio (Laia Costa) make a pact to spend 24 straight hours together in an attempt to fast forward their relationship.
Why you need to see it: This indie darling, directed by Miguel Arteta, starts out as a sex romp full of realistic lesbian sex, but becomes an exploration of identity and intimate bonds.
Where to watch:Netflix
Room in Rome (2010)
Room in RomeIFC Films
Synopsis: Two young women (played by Elena Anaya and Natasha Yarovenko) meet while on holiday in Rome and share a night of intense passion while exchanging stories about their dreadful pasts.
Why you need to see it:Room to Rome is a Spanish film directed by Julio Medem is not only beautifully shot, but has a lot of steamy sex scene that will you glued to the screen even if you’re not normally a foreign film lover.
Where to watch:AMC+
Better than Chocolate (1999)
Trimark PicturesSynopsis: A young, closeted lesbian (Karyn Dwyer) grapples with concealing her budding relationship from her family, who have unexpectedly become her roommates.
Why you need to see it. First, because lesbian-centric movies in the ‘90s were almost unheard of so this is a piece of queer film history. And second, because director Anne Wheeler’s rom-com is both funny and heartwarming.
Where to watch: Rent on Prime Video
The Watermelon Woman (1996)
Criterion CollectionSynopsis: Cheryl, a twenty-something black lesbian (Cheryl Dunye), struggles to make a documentary about an elusive 1930s film actress known as the Watermelon Woman.
Why you need to see it:The Watermelon Womanis consider to be the first feature-length film written and directed by a Black lesbian (Dunye), but if that’s not enough of a reason to give it a shot, it’s was also shot on a shoestring budget and still manages to be funny, beautiful, and full of nuanced queer characters.
Where to watch:Criterion
A Perfect Ending (2012)
Wolfe Releasing
Synopsis: A married middle-aged woman (Barbara Niven) who is sexually unsatisfied and repressed is encouraged by her friends to explore her with an escort (Jessica Clark) and goes on a journey of sexual awakening.
Why you need to see it: Nicole Conn (Claire of the Moon) directs this erotic drama that is both emotionally moving and highly erotic. Niven and Clark have incredible sexual chemistry, which is good because this film features a lot of scenes of them getting busy. Not that we’re complaining!
Where to watch: Prime Video & Hulu
Henry & June (1990)
Universal Pictures
Synopsis: Henry and June depict the erotic love triangle between Anais Nin (Maria de Medeiros) author Henry Miller and his wife June (Uma Thurman).
Why you need to see it: This movie is a sapphic classic for a reason, for one it was one of the early films to highlight bisexual desire and the sex scene between the women in this historical first-ever NC-17 movie is truly breathtaking.
Where to watch: Roku
Blue is the Warmest Color (2013)
Sundance Selects
Synopsis: Based on the graphic novel by Julie Maroh and directed by Abdellatif Kechiche this powerful, heartbreaking, and steamy coming-of-age story follows French teenager Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos) who embarks on a passionate romance with fellow student Emma (Léa Seydoux).
Why you need to see it: Obviously this film belongs on the sexiest sapphic films list. We all know why, the scissoring scene. While in the years since its release (and winning the Palme d'Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival), the film has faced some controversy over its filming and depiction of sapphic sexuality, what remains undeniable is the powerful chemistry between its leads.
Where to watch:AMC+
Mommy is Coming (2012)
GMfilms
Synopsis: This erotic comedy from Cheryl Dunye sees Claudia (Papí Coxxx) seeking out new sexual experiences in the queer underground BDSM scene in Berlin, which is disrupted with her mother surprises her by coming to town.
Why you need to see it: Not only is this movie extremely sexy it features prominent queer adult stars including Coxxx and Jiz Lee.
Where to watch: Rent on Prime Video
Summertime (La Belle Saison) (2016)
Pyramide Distribution
Synopsis: The film from director Catherine Corsini is set in 1971 and follows Delphine (Izïa Higelin) a young woman who escapes her conservative hometown and gets involved with a feminist group where she meets a woman named Carol (Cécile de France) with whom she strikes up a passionate romance. When tragedy back home forces her to return, their relationship faces new challenges in that conservative setting.
Why you need to see it: This sun-drenched romance sees plenty of sapphic lovemaking in the countryside. What’s not to love?
Where to watch: Prime Video
Below Her Mouth (2016)
Gunpowder & Sky
Synopsis: In Below Her Mouth Jasmin (Natalie Krill), an engaged woman, is drawn inexorably to Dallas (Erika Linder) when the two meet. Unable to get Dallas out of her head Jasmin pursues a romantic and sexual relationship with her, leading her on not only a sexual awakening but forcing her to reckon with her identity.
Why you need to see it: If you're looking for a film that is unapologetically erotic, look no further than this. The sex is passionate, explicit, and apologetically titillating.
Where to watch: Roku
Ma Belle, My Beauty (2021)
Good Deed Entertainment
Synopsis: A surprise reunion in the South of France reignites passions and jealousies between two women (played by Idella Johnson and Hannah Pepper-Cunningham) who were formerly in a polyamorous relationship.
Why you need to see it: Lesbian drama heightens the sexual tension between the characters, and so the sexual chemistry is really powerful. When that finally sparks into an encounter, it not only feels inevitable — but pretty dang hot.
Where to watch: Tubi
