Fatal Affair is a new Netflix original thriller movie that is very similar to a classic ’80s thriller with a similar name.
The movie has a similar storyline as the 1987 Michael Douglas and Glenn Close movie Fatal Attraction, with a few interesting twists.
Here is a look at Fatal Affair and whether or not it is worth streaming on Netflix now that it has hit the streaming service.
Fatal Affair on Netflix review
Right off the bat, Fatal Affair has a connection for fans of Nia Long and Omar Epps, as they re-team for the first time since the 2004 film Alfie, where Epps played a guy who wanted to win back his ex-girlfriend, played by Long.
Fatal Affair has a similar story.
Omar Epps is David, a guy who had a major crush on Ellie (Long) when they were in college together. We know they were friends from college from their conversation when they reconnected at a law firm where Ellie was helping out.
We know she had no idea he was obsessed with her until an old college friend told her.
That is what happens a lot in this movie. People tell each other things that we need to know in very convenient situations. For example, the same friend that told Ellie that David was obsessed with her also told her that his wife was murdered, but David was not suspected of the murder.
By the way, the movie opens with a murder.
And the fact that the third time we see David in the movie, he has gone full psycho stalker, it is clear what he did and what he plans to do to Elle and her husband, who happened to get hit by a truck while biking before they moved to a secluded beach house.
Wonder who was responsible for that.
Anyway, Fatal Affair is the same story as Fatal Attraction, except it is the guy who goes psycho after a night with her former college friend (and an affair is a stretch of the word since it was just some minor making out in a bar).
Things go as you would expect with David setting his sights on Ellie, and no one will get in his way until he gets what he wants – which is to be with her.
Peter Sullivan, who directed and co-wrote the movie with Rasheeda Garner, has developed a nice career on Netflix. As a matter of fact, Sullivan has carved himself out a nice career since becoming a Stephen King Dollar Baby Filmmaker back in 2002.
He has directed and produced a ton of fun movies over the years, from the guilty pleasures like Christmas Twister with Casper Van Dien (as director) and Jersey Shore Shark Attack (as producer) to critically acclaimed movies like his BET classic Eve’s Christmas (as the writer).
More recently, he has started working more for Netflix. In 2019, he directed the thriller Secret Obsession, and he is back this year with another thriller in Fatal Affair.
He, as always, gets excellent performances from his actors, with Nia Long exceptional in her role as Ellie and Omar Epps, just the right kinds of creepy as David.
Fatal Affair: Final thoughts
Fatal Affair is just a late-night weekend movie, and there is nothing wrong with that.
There is nothing too deep here.
The affair was tame, making the entire obsession stalking seem a little sudden. However, there were moments that Sullivan added through his script that hinted there was more to this than just a sudden obsession, and David might have been planning this out, way in advance.
The problem is that the movie just kind of flies past those structure building moments. Checking in at 90 minutes, this is junk food to consume and move on, possibly with a big bowl of popcorn.
It is also a good movie to have on when doing something else because when things happen, it is something to catch your attention, and there is nothing wrong with popcorn movies meant just to be light entertainment.
Don’t come into Fatal Affair expecting something that reinvents the wheel, but if you just want something light to take your mind off the world for 90 minutes, it is fun enough for that purpose.
Fatal Affair is now streaming on Netflix.