Last year’s What/If proved Netflix’s dedication to offering up addictively trashy fare (revolving around extra-marital drama) with a polished pedigree. Revenge‘s Mike Kelly engineered that anthologized hit in series form, and now, the streaming giant’s offering what can only be interpreted — what else can one gather from a title like Fatal Affair? — as a straight-up homage to 1987’s Fatal Attraction. That Glenn Close-starring classic, of course, has inspired films before, including the Beyonce-led Obsessed in 2009, and my goodness, what a cautionary tale this trailer weaves.
Nia Long stars as a wife (Ellie) with a “perfect marriage” to Stephen Bishop’s Marcus, but of course, temptation strikes because (I guess) she’s bored, and the passion has faded away. Enter David (portrayed by Omar Epps), who lures Ellie into a passionate encounter, and although her conscience strikes at the last possible moment, it’s far too late to get rid of David. Soon, he’s infiltrating her whole life, and this looks like pure melodrama that should get about 24 million views.
Let this be a lesson to all who consider grabbing a drink with that “old friend” from Facebook that you didn’t know all that well in the first place. David is “dangerous and unstable,” according to the synopsis, and I believe it. The film’s directed by Peter Sullivan, who previously directed 2018’s Secret Obsession starring Brenda Song, so it seems as though this project landed in the most appropriate hands possible.
Fatal Affair streams on July 16.