New films and series are released on Netflix every week, piling up over the years and then getting forgotten. But a film from 2020 seems to be the perfect erotic thriller for fans of 50 Shades of Grey.
What movie is it about? In 2020, the film Fatal Affair was released on Netflix. The film was produced by and exclusively for the streamer. Ellie, played by Nia Long, moves to a new suburb with her husband. But their marriage doesn’t seem to be working so well.
At work, she meets her old friend David, played by Omar Epps. There seems to be a spark between the two, as they get dangerously close on a night out at the club. Ellie ends the affair quickly, but David is more dangerous than he seems.
You can also find really good thrillers on this list: These are the 7 best Korean films of all time via IMDb.
You can see a first trailer for Fatal Affair here:
Fatal Affair – Trailer for the erotic thriller on Netflix
More videos
Autoplay
An erotic thriller in the shadow of You
With You, Netflix was able to land a hit series. The mix of eroticism and morbid obsession kept many viewers glued to their screens. Fatal Affair seems like a film that tries something similar. Here, too, the main theme is obsession. A classic stalker story that has been seen many times before.
Despite the exciting premise, the film was not a success with critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a critic score of 18% from 38 reviews. The user score is also really bad at 16% from over 100 reviews.
What does the film do wrong? The most important thing in a thriller is the tension. The atmosphere that holds the viewer captive. According to the critics, this is exactly where Fatal Affair fails. Despite its short length of just 1.5 hours, the film manages to create boredom. The film seems too contrived. So there is little new to be done with the stalker trope.
What does the film do right? Despite the great criticism, there are also aspects of the film that have been praised by critics. First and foremost the two main actors, Nia Long as the protagonist and Omar Epps as the stalker. The performance of the two actors is a ray of hope for many.
Why should you watch the film despite the bad reviews? A frequently cited point of criticism is the illogical actions of the characters, but for many this is also part of a fun evening with perhaps mediocre horror and thriller films.
This mix of eroticism and the question of why the protagonists make such stupid decisions might appeal to fans of 50 Shades of Grey or Perfect Addiction. With a running time of just 1.5 hours, fans of these films could expect an entertaining evening. If you want to watch something harder on Netflix, you should check this out: There’s a new horror film on Netflix for ages 18 and up – it starts off so exciting that you can hardly stand it until the guy from Die Hard 4 messes everything up