One of the recent addition to the genre of psychological thrillers is Peter Sullivan’s Fatal Affair which was released on July 16, 2020, on Netflix. Rasheeda Garner is its co-writer. It starred Nia Long as Ellie Warren, Omar Epps as David Hammond, Stephen Bishop as Marcus Warren, and KJ Smith as Deborah Lee. Also, It was ranked as the top-streamed film on the site on its debut weekend. However, the movie couldn’t become the apple of critics’ eyes and therefore was negatively reviewed in general. Similar movies to Fatal Affair are available on various platforms for viewing.
Often compared to Obsession and Fatal Attraction movies, Fatal Affair centers on a woman named Ellie. Her happily married life turns upside down after her meet-up with a tech consultant and collegemate, David. This meeting turns out to be a nightmare because David begins following Ellie closely despite her repeated warnings. And as the movie moves forward, several secrets of David unravel that upset already disturbed Ellie even more. However, this chaos ends with David’s death. But there are a few more interesting movies similar to Fatal affair which are mentioned in this article. So let’s have a look.
Gone Girl (2014)
David Fincher’s Gone Girl is a psychological thriller from the year 2014 which is based on Gillian Flynn’s 2012 novel with the same title. It was released on September 26, 2014, and became a commercial hit grossing $369 million worldwide against a budget of $61 million. Also, It is Fincher’s highest-grossing film.
It stars Ben Affleck as Nicholas “Nick” Dunne, Rosamund Pike as his wife Amy Elliott Dunne, along with Neil Patrick Harris (as Desi Collings, Amy’s ex-boyfriend) and Tyler Perry (as Nick’s attorney Tanner Bolt).
The story revolves around Nick and Amy, who are a married couple in Missouri. But one day, Nick becomes the prime suspect in his wife’s sudden disappearance. With the progressing case, several past instances unravel, indicating a disintegrating and violent married life between Nick and Amy. But the truth is still unknown. Who the real culprit is unknown. Is Amy really missing, or it’s her own plan to trap his cheating husband? And these are the questions that are answered dramatically throughout the film.
The Gift (2015)
The Gift is a psychological thriller film made in 2015. It is director Joel Edgerton’s debut film Jason Blum and Rebecca Yeldham co-produced. The Gift is a positively reviewed movie for the direction and actors’ performances. It grossed $60 million worldwide on a budget of $5 million. The movie stars Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall in the lead roles as Simon and Robyn Callem, respectively.
Being one of the movies similar to Fatal affair, The Gift starts with a newly shifted married couple, Simon and Robyn. They meet Simon’s old schoolmate, Gordo (Joel Edgerton), whose presence makes Simon uncomfortable.
Additionally, Gordo’s unannounced gifts, including bottles of wine, and koi for their pond, make Simon even more cautious. With the story moving ahead, a series of secrets get revealed about how Simon, along with his friend Greg made Gordo’s life miserable. And hence, Gordo seeks revenge, using Robyn against Simon. Eventually, he succeeds.
Shutter Island (2010)
Based on the 2003 novel with the same title, Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island is an American neo-noir psychological thriller film that stars Titanic star Leonardo DiCaprio as an investigating officer Edward “Teddy” Daniels.
This positively reviewed movie was released on February 19, 2010. It became the National Board of Review’s choice for one of the top ten films of 2010. It grossed $299 million worldwide and became Scorsese’s second highest-grossing film worldwide.
Shutter Island stars Mark Ruffalo as Edward’s companion Chuck Aule, Michelle Williams as Daniels’ wife Dolores Chanal, Ben Kingsley as the lead psychiatrist Dr. John Cawley, and Max von Sydow as a German doctor Dr. Jeremiah Naehring. The film is notably known for its classical music.
The movie plot includes Deputy U.S. Marshal Edward “Teddy” Daniels, who is investigating a psychiatric facility on Shutter Island about a missing patient, Rachel Solando (Patricia Clarkson).
Fractured (2019)
Brad Anderson’s Fractured is an American psychological thriller from the year 2019 that stars Sam Worthington as an alcoholic family man named Ray Monroe, along with Lily Rabe (as his wife 87 Monroe), Stephen Tobolowsky as Dr. Berthram, Adjoa Andoh as Dr. Jacobs, and Lucy Capri as Sam’s daughter Peri Monroe.
The movie plot begins with Ray (Sam), Joanne (Lily), and Peri (Lucy) returning from a late-night Thanksgiving visit to Joanne’s parents. But this return turns tragic at a gas station where they stop for a while, and Ray gets drunk. A series of events then follow makes Ray suspicious of his real-life events and his hallucinations.
Ray reaches the hospital with injured Peri (as he thinks so), but can’t find his wife and daughter after he wakes up from a brief nap. Ultimately he learns that both Peri and Joanna died at the gas station only, and their corpse lies in the trunk of his car.
Fractured was released on Netflix on October 11, 2019. It was positively reviewed by the critics for its reasonably diverting mystery with enough thrills.
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Fatal Attraction (1987)
One of the much similar movies to Fatal affair is Adrian Lyne’s Fatal Attraction, written by James Dearden in 1987. It’s a psychological thriller film starring Michael Douglas (as Dan Gallagher), Glenn Close (as Alex Forrest), and Anne Archer (as Beth Rogerson Gallagher) in prime roles. Paramount Pictures released Fatal Attraction on September 18, 1987. Although received well by critics, the movie landed in controversy at the time of its release.
However, unlike a Fatal affair which centers on a woman, Fatal attraction centers on a man whose extramarital affair turns into an obsession. Daniel is happily married to Beth. However, his weekend holiday with Beth, and his daughter, Ellen, turns into an affair with his colleague Alexandra. But this casual affair becomes a hurdle for Daniel, as Alex refuses to let go. Obsessed, Alex tries everything to get Dan but is killed eventually in a struggle between her, Dan, and Beth.
Fatal Attraction was a box office hit and grossed $320.1 million against a $14 million budget. Thus became the highest-grossing film of 1987 worldwide.
Earthquake Bird (2019)
Earthquake Bird is a 2019 psychological thriller film starring Alicia Vikander, Riley Keough, Naoki Kobayashi, and Jack Huston in prime roles. Wash Westmoreland is the director as well as the writer for the movie based on Susanna Jones’s 2001 novel with the same title. It was released on November 1, 2019, before releasing on Netflix (on November 15, 2019).
Earthquake Bird’s plot is set in the Japanese town of Tokyo in 1989. Lucy (Alicia Vikander) is a Swedish female immigrant who works as a translator for a manufacturing company. But one day, her friend Lily (Riley Keough) goes missing, and she becomes the prime suspect in her murder.
The film then goes on to reveal Lucy’s past through flashbacks and her tumultuous love triangle involving her, Teiji, and Lily. And in the end, Teiji is unmasked to be Lily’s murderer.
The movie stands as a moderately good movie a with weak implementation of the story. The reviews were hence mixed ones.
The Woman in the Window (2021)
The Woman in the Window is a fresh addition to the list of amazing psychological thriller movies similar to Fatal affair, which was released on May 14, 2021. Joe Wright’s direction and Tracy Letts’s screenplay were something that critics didn’t like, although they praised the actors. It is based on A. J. Finn’s novel from 2018. The COVID pandemic led to an online release on May 14, 2021, on Netflix.
The movie plot is about an agoraphobic woman named Dr. Anna Fox (Amy Adams) who begins spying on her new neighbors. But unfortunately, she becomes a witness to a crime in their apartment, but no one believes her.
The neighbors include Alistair Russell (Gary Oldman), Jane Russell (Jennifer Jason Leigh), their son Ethan Russell (Fred Hechinger), and Katherine Melli (Julianne Moore). In the end, she learns that Ethan is a serial killer whose next target is none other than Anna.
However, she is saved and shifts to a new home, and begins a new life.
The Intruder (2019)
One of the similar movies to Fatal affair but not exactly the same kind of story is a psychological thriller, The Intruder. It’s an American thriller from 2019 that was a commercial success despite the negative reviews from critics. It was able to gross $40 million worldwide against its $8 million budget. It was released on May 3, 2019.
The intruder stars Michael Ealy as Scott Howard and Meagan Good as Annie Howard, who is a newly shifted married couple in their newly bought home. But they are unknowingly they are being spied on by its previous owner Charlie Peck (Dennis Quaid), who refuses to let it go. And hence begins a hide and seek between the three. In the end, however, Charlie is shot dead by Scott while attacking the couple.
So these are some of the movies similar to Fatal Affair, which are equally entertaining suspense and thrillers to be enjoyed once.
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