Movies with a strong ERD vibe: Paul Schrader's "Hardcore" (1979) (Also, how do I get images to appear in the main page?)
This post is dedicated to August Ames. Gone but not forgotten.
Paul Schrader obviously came to prominence for his script for "Taxi Driver" (1976), but he's also directed a ton of really good films himself, many of them exploring dark psychological territory. I think that "Hardcore" stands out as a particularly good example, and is one that fans of ERD will want to look into, as it combines the darkness and sleaze that we all find so appealing.
George C. Scott plays a successful, conservative, Calvinist, Grand Rapids businessman, with a prominent role in his community. After his daughter goes on a school trip to Los Angeles, and fails to come back, he is forced to enlist the help of others to track her down. As if the situation couldn't be any more fucked, he discovers that she has started to appear in adult films. He is forced to head out there and find her, plunging himself in the seedy world of 70's Los Angeles sex work culture (not his element).
This was sorta remade as "8mm" (1999), but that movie was a lot darker, and not as good (but a pretty good watch, if you just want to turn off your brain for a while).
Schrader is still making movies, but I feel like his career has been pretty hit or miss. The hits, like "Hardcore", though definitely not for everyone, are usually entertaining and thought provoking. Also check out "American Gigolo" (1980), "Patty Hearst" (1988), about a rich kid become leftist terrorist, and "Auto-Focus" (2002), about the doomed comedic actor Bob Crane.