--- title: "Fatal Attraction: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/fatal-attraction/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/fatal-attraction" critics_score: 64 critics_reviews: 11 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Fatal Attraction (1987): what the critics said Critics' score 64 from 11 reviews: 7 positive, 2 mixed, 2 negative. Most critics come down in favour, though the praise is of a particular kind: this is a glossy studio thriller, and the reviews that like it admire it for being exactly that. Glenn Close is the one point of near-total agreement, singled out in review after review as the reason the film holds together. Adrian Lyne is credited with milking the tension and giving the affair a seductive, tactile surface, and Michael Douglas gets steady if less excited notice. The reservations gather around the script and the ending. Several critics find the screenplay shallow and predictable, and a recurring complaint is that the ending was reshot after test screenings and pushes the film towards slasher territory. The spread is wide. The New Yorker and Time Out both object to what the film says about women, reading it as hostile to feminism or flattering to those who dislike them, while The Ringer argues it endures because of those flaws rather than despite them. ## Empire — Angie Errigo Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. Adrian Lyne's slick thriller is praised as a gripping, suspenseful hit driven by two riveting performances, with Glenn Close's unhinged portrayal singled out as spectacular. The reversal of the typical stalker dynamic leaves a nasty but unforgettable impression. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/fatal-attraction-review/) ## Radio Times — John Ferguson Rating 4/5. The critic notes it helped create the 'crazed female from hell' genre, praises Glenn Close's excellent performance and Adrian Lyne's skill at milking tension and slick power, while acknowledging the dubious message about affairs. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-dckjqv/fatal-attraction/) ## The AV Club — Alex McLevy Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 20 February 2017. The critic calls Fatal Attraction a glossy but pulpy studio thriller that became a cultural phenomenon and Oscar nominee despite its trashy story of an affair gone wrong. They single out its effective dread, strong performances, and honest embrace of its sensationalism over deeper ambiguity. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/before-silence-of-the-lambs-a-trashy-adultery-thriller-1798258080) ## Los Angeles Times — Michael Wilmington Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 18 September 1987. The movie is an exciting New York thriller built on the idea that casual sex without bonds can lead to psychopathology, with tight direction and strong performances that keep viewers gripped for most of its runtime. The botched climax turns it toward slasher territory and undermines its potential complexity. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-09-18-ca-5596-story.html) ## The New York Times — Janet Maslin Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 18 September 1987. The film is a thoroughly conventional thriller elevated by director Adrian Lyne's slick, seductive style and visual imagery that makes every element tactile and rich. Michael Douglas and Glenn Close deliver strong performances in a manipulative soap opera of exceptional power. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/18/movies/film-fatal-attraction-with-douglas-and-close.html) ## The Independent — John Lyttle Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). 21 October 1992. The critic examines the video re-release featuring the original darker ending, in which the protagonist is framed for murder after the mistress's suicide, and contrasts it favorably with the theatrical happy ending. Hollywood's preference for feel-good resolutions is critiqued as undermining the story's moral ambiguity. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-tying-up-the-loose-ends-fatal-attraction-is-back-and-this-time-it-all-goes-horribly-wrong-john-lyttle-on-the-revenge-of-the-original-ending-1558888.html) ## Slant Magazine — Ed Gonzalez Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 14 April 2002. The critic finds the film notable mainly for Glenn Close’s resilient and complex performance as Alex, which gives physical form to inner torment. They single out Adrian Lyne’s visual style and use of layers and lighting for praise, while complaining that the screenplay is shallow and the reshot ending undermines the original intent. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/fatal-attraction/) ## Time Out — NF Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. The critic describes it as a glossy but clichéd Hitchcock-by-numbers thriller whose overheated visual style clashes with a tepid script, ultimately a predictable collection of thriller tropes that will appeal to those holding misogynistic views. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/fatal-attraction) ## The New Yorker — Pauline Kael Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 12 October 1987. The picture is a skillfully made cautionary tale about the perils of casual sex and adultery, but it offers a hostile version of feminism through its portrayal of the obsessed woman. Glenn Close plays the character as pitiable and biologically driven in bravura demonstrations of passion directed by Adrian Lyne. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1987/10/19/pauline-kael-fatal-attraction-review-the-feminine-mystique) ## Eye for Film — Jennie Kermode Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 30 August 2009. The critic praises the film's core chemistry and ambiguity, which raises questions about whose side the audience should take, along with strong casting that makes the central performances convincing and intense. She notes that test-audience changes to the ending shifted it toward more conventional thriller territory but still finds much to appreciate in its intelligent story, passion, scares and character work. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/fatal-attraction-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) ## The Ringer — Adam Nayman Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 28 April 2023. The critic views the film as a cultural phenomenon and enduring classic precisely because of its flaws, including its strategically finessed misogyny and crowd-pleasing ending changes, rather than in spite of them. They single out Glenn Close's performance and the film's glossy, prestige-packaged erotic thriller style for praise while critiquing its conservative, button-pushing approach to gender dynamics. [Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2023/04/28/movies/fatal-attraction-movie-paramount-plus-series) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/fatal-attraction.md