Fatal Attraction

Name: Fatal Attraction
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Released: September 18, 1987
Duration: 119 min
Rating: 67
Cast: Anne Archer, Glenn Close, Michael Douglas

1987

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 180 Ratings

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8.2	User Score Universal acclaim based on 180 Ratings

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Fatal Attraction

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Movie Details & Credits

Paramount Pictures | Release Date: September 18, 1987 | R

Starring: Anne Archer, Glenn Close, Michael Douglas

Summary: Fatal Attraction is a story too terrifying to resist, a crackling, tension-packed thriller hinged on the triangle of a man, a wife and vengeful "other woman." This sexy, chic, scary box-office smash grabs hold early-then tops itself with an unforgettably nerve-jolting finale. [Paramount Pictures]

Director: Adrian Lyne

Genre(s): Drama, Thriller

Rating: R

Runtime: 119 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

Hal Hinson

This is a spectacularly well-made thriller. It is an odd thing, really -- the movie is sexy and at the same time a warning about the costs of sex. Read full review

Empire Angie Errigo

Two absolutely riveting performances and a smart reversal of the usual male-female stalker scenario leave behind a nasty taste and an unforgettable cinema experience. Read full review

Janet Maslin

Mr. Lyne takes a brilliantly manipulative approach to what might have been a humdrum subject and shapes a soap opera of exceptional power. Read full review

Edward Guthmann

One of the most effective thrillers in years, Attraction did an excellent job of mixing its suspense with trendy issues of sexual paranoia and monogamy. [27 Dec 1987, p.19]

Michael Wilmington

Passion, obsession, mad love, the violent clash of insider and outsider-all these themes, plus the performances, are rich enough to carry us past that wounded climax, if not to carry the movie past the fatal attractions of the big box-office cliche. [18 Sep 1987, p.1]

David Sterritt

The style is slick, the action is suspenseful, and despite the explicitness of the sex scenes, the message is against extramarital affairs. Read full review

Michael Blowen

Adrian Lyne pulls out more manipulative nonsense than Machiavelli ever thought of. Lyne stops at nothing to provoke artificial sentimental feelings from the audience. Like the movie itself, the audience's reaction is only skin deep. [18 Sep 1987, p.58]

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User Reviews

TylerDurden900

Jul 14, 2014

Fatal Attraction is a superb thriller with Douglss and Close. The movie is realistic and terrifiying because
of the intense suspense throughout the movie. This is one of the best thrillers from the 80's.

12 of 21 users found this helpful129

Ajax80

Dec 14, 2020

Glenn Close and Michael Douglas have an unprecedented chemistry in this exquisitely written thriller, that has become an all time favorite.

1 of 6 users found this helpful15

timone

Jun 12, 2018

So I think people think that this is not the most popular film out there. Well, I disagree with them. Fatal Attraction is a great film about a man named Dan Gallagher who loves Beth but was obsessed by Alex Forrest who is not going be ignored. Great acting, story and directing. MichaelSo I think people think that this is not the most popular film out there. Well, I disagree with them. Fatal Attraction is a great film about a man named Dan Gallagher who loves Beth but was obsessed by Alex Forrest who is not going be ignored. Great acting, story and directing. Michael Douglas and Glenn Close had great acting skills especially Anne Archer. It had some thrills and drama that really does fill the story. It has some erotic scenes in it but it's not just about that, it's about the thrills that really does stick into you. I absolutely love it. I love the scenes that really does thrill. The scene where Dan wants revenge on Alex for kidnapping his son and the ending where he shoves her face in the bath of water killing her.

***WARNING/SPOILER ALERT***

This is not the original ending. What I found out that this is the alternative ending. The original ending is that after he wanted revenge on Alex Forrest and went to the police, the police are at Dan's house telling him that she is dead making him confused and realising that she killed herself telling them he didn't kill her but was arrested. Beth found the tape of Alex recorded her voice making her realize that she can't let go of Dan.

And there you have it. My mum had watch the ending with me watching what was happening. We watch the ending all the way through until we realize that Alex Forrest killing herself by cut her own neck with a sharp knife. Ouch. I actually know that the director told me that the ending that people are watching was not the original ending and told me and others to decide which ending is best for them. Not mention that my mum told me not to get upset and frightened by the bunny boiler where Beth found a dead rabbit in the pan and Dan know that Alex did this. As to say, I am not upset and frightened by that scene because I'm not a wuss. Anyways, that's Fatal Attraction. This is the film like most of the films that is thrilling and gripping that'll keep you on the edge of the seat. While Fatal Attraction is not popular to the audience. I recommend people who haven't seen it, give it a high rating of your life time. You will not regret it. I love it for it's acting, story and the directing. There is a film that is exactly the same thing which is directed by Clint Eastwood.… Expand

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

Chantel07

Dec 4, 2022

This is one of Micheal Douglas good movies in the 80's. Good acting. I liked it.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

MovieGuys

Aug 22, 2015

A classic thriller with very memorable scenes, Fatal Attraction features great performances by Close and Douglas, a chilling score by Jarre, and very off-kilter direction by Lyne (in a good way).

3 of 7 users found this helpful34

Voodoo123

Sep 17, 2022

Compelling cinematography guides the superb cast through a carefully crafted screenplay filled with drama and thrills. Glenn close steals the movie with her performance here. While it is far from original, it is very well done and holds up well in 2022.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

lasttimeisaw

May 7, 2012

I made a promise to watch more Oscar-nominated performances from Glenn Close after ALBERT NOBBS (2011), the first one is this notoriously famous thriller-drama from the genre hotshot Adrian Lyne. The narrative is straightforward and rather inevitable. First of all, the film never fail toI made a promise to watch more Oscar-nominated performances from Glenn Close after ALBERT NOBBS (2011), the first one is this notoriously famous thriller-drama from the genre hotshot Adrian Lyne. The narrative is straightforward and rather inevitable. First of all, the film never fail to keep the appearance engaging and captivating while bypassing a severe flaw in its avowed mantra, it always takes two persons to exert an immoral affair, but eventually the punishment usually always falls on the woman, even grants a pretext of psychopath, a tacky happy ending does fling an anticlimax and one might find himself stuck in a moot situation, who we should feel more sympathetic? So, the moral support is preferably unstable, the film fulfills an educational motive and emblematizes itself as an immaculate prototype of monogamic conformity and a wake-up call to warn all the horny married-man. However the real gem lies in the sterling cast, which has been against all odds to generate a great deal of fidelity to stimulate the flares of lust, possession and destruction (frilled with a somewhat pretentious family value). Close and Archer both received their Oscar nominations, Lyneâ… Expand

0 of 6 users found this helpful06

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