Review of Fatal Attraction (1987) by Guy G — 23 Feb 2012

[C+/65] A horror-thriller about extramarital sex, with an alluring, frighteningly obsessive, psycho book editor as the monster (Glenn Close, who is very good). Much of the banter about feminism and hidden agendas that accompanied its popularity and reputation seems superfluous, as this is a sometimes unsettling and eerie piece of guilt-trip suspense, though its treatment of the medusa-like antagonist is utterly hamfisted and without dramatic justice. Come to think of it, all the characters, from top to bottom, are shallow, unlikable set-ups with a dreadful lack of dimension, although Douglas and Close do well enough with what they have. The ending, however, is so badly pedestrian and farcical it very nearly sinks the whole show.

If you have the choice, catch Eastwood's far more interesting and more efficient Play Misty For Me, which was one of the founding precursors to these kinds of erotic thrillers.