History Film / FATALATTRACTION

* NoAnimalsWereHarmed: Averted in the bunny boiler scene, as a real dead rabbit was boiled.

* {{Hypocrite}}: "YOU'RE A STUPID, SELFISH BITCH!" Said by ''[[IResembleThatRemark Alex]]'' to Beth, ''the woman she cucked.''

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fatalattraction_4031.jpg]][[caption-width-right:300:''[[SignatureScene All this and rabbit stew]]!'']]

''Fatal Attraction'' is a 1987 thriller directed by Adrian Lyne, about a married man named Dan Gallagher (Creator/MichaelDouglas) who has sex with a co-worker named Alex Forrest (Creator/GlennClose) while his wife and child are away. Dan expects their affair to just be a one-night stand, but Alex, who is [[{{Yandere}} a bit on the unbalanced side]], has other ideas.

Alex attempts suicide when Dan explains to her that he has to get back home and get on with his life. He tries to put the affair behind him, but Alex will not let go, and [[StalkerWithACrush stalks Dan with the intent of getting him back]], and as Dan continues to turn her down, Alex gets increasingly unhinged, reaching into his life and his family with devastating effect. It gets to the point where Dan and his family have to move, but Alex still won't leave them alone, continuing to stalk them, [[WomanScorned her obsession turning to hatred over time]], culminating in a horrific scene which coined the phrase "bunny boiler." Dan, who originally wanted to keep the affair secret from his wife, now has to protect his family from a psychotic woman who is willing to do anything, even [[MurderTheHypotenuse kill]], in order to get her man.

''Fatal Attraction'' was the second highest grossing movie of 1987, was nominated for several Academy Awards, and became hugely popular both in the United States and internationally. Alex Forrest was cited as a notable film example of someone with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erotomania erotomania]]. The movie was also the cause of much discussion about marital infidelity (and the DoubleStandard gender politics involved in the StalkingIsLove trope) for a good while afterward.

In 2023 the film was adapted into a miniseries by Creator/ParamountPlus with Creator/JoshuaJackson and Creator/LizzyCaplan as Dan and Alex.

** Dan himself, who truthfully points out that he never lied to her about his marital status, nor led her on to think that he would leave his wife for her, while also pointing out that Alex had previously agreed they would go their separate ways, which means that he has the right when to choose when to leave.

** Dan himself, who truthfully points out that he never lied to her about his marital status, nor led her on to think that he would leave his wife for her.

* MomentOfWeakness: By all accounts Dan is happy with his marriage to Beth, and the scenes after his affair with Alex indicate that he's remorseful for cheating on her and wants to put the affair behind him. Unfortunately, Alex won't let him.

* AllMenArePerverts: If Dan had listened to his "big head" instead of his "little head" regarding Alex, none of this would have happened.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Mental health professionals have a field day trying to figure out precisely what's wrong with Alex, but many agree on Borderline Personality Disorder, as evidenced by the way she declares herself in love with Dan after one weekend and tries to kill herself when he leaves. Some have also speculated that she was a victim of sexual abuse.

* FakePregnancy: A possible interpretation of Alex's claim to pregnancy, as she never actually provides any objective evidence of it. Her StalkerWithACrush obsession with the alleged babydaddy gives her ample reason for such a ruse as well.

* FakePregnancy: A possible interpretation of Alex's claim to pregnancy, as she never actually provides any objective evidence of it.

* TheWoobie: Although not dwelt on for too long, you're left weeping for Ellen's poor pet rabbit. It was just an innocent animal, living happily with it's owner and has no way of comprehending why Alex decided to mercilessly kill it, probably panicking, thinking of Ellen as it was slain.

* TheWoobie: Although not dwelt on for too long, you're left weeping for Ellen's poor pet rabbit. It was just an innocent animal, living happily with it's owner and has no way of comprehending why Alex decided to mercilessly kill it, probably panicking, thinking of Ellen as it was killed.

* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: An interesting spin on this trope, in that the love scenes between Dan and Beth are always filmed as quite tender and pleasurable. The fling with Alex, however constantly comes across as rather comical, and Dan doesn't seem nearly as satisfied with her as one would expect.

* PantyShot: One of Beth, but it's not titillating at ''all''--it's as she's lying on the bathroom floor, struggling with Alex, who's ''trying to kill her''.

* AdultFear: [[spoiler: Alex kidnapping Ellen. It's not just every parent's worst nightmare, but all the elements surrounding it--that your child could go off with a stranger just because he/she seemed nice, that other adults who should have protected your child would instead let them go, that someone could have been watching and stalking your child, just waiting for the right moment to snatch them. And even though Ellen is returned safely, the cold hard fact is that Alex could have harmed her if she wanted to. Dan's demeanor in the police station afterwards demonstrates how really and truly terrified he now is.]]
** The possibility of ruining one's life because of one stupid mistake.
---> " Jimmy, I'm scared. I don't want to lose my family."

* STDImmunity: At a time when the AIDS crisis was kicking into high gear--as well as the myriad of other venereal diseases out there, Dan has unprotected sex with Alex, yet doesn't catch anything or even seem worried about the possibility.

* DownerEnding: The original ending has Alex [[DrivenToSuicide killing herself]] and Dan being accused of murdering her. The final scene though has [[RayOfHopeEnding the strong implication he'll be cleared]] as Beth discovers the tape recording from Alex, confessing to Dan she wants to kill herself. The trauma for the family is still bound to be there though regardless of the outcome.

* BittersweetEnding:
** Ellen's pet bunny is killed and an unborn child doesn’t survive but Alex is finally killed and Dan and his family survive the ordeal, albeit with trauma.
** The original ending had Alex [[DrivenToSuicide killing herself]] and Dan being accused of murdering her. The final scene though has [[RayOfHopeEnding the strong implication he'll be cleared]] as Beth discovers the tape recording from Alex, confessing to Dan she wants to kill herself. The trauma for the family is still bound to be there though regardless of the outcome.

* BittersweetEnding: Ellen's pet bunny is killed and an unborn child doesn’t survive but Alex is finally killed and Dan and his family survive the ordeal, albeit with trauma.

* DeathGlare: Alex's first appearance is her giving one to Jimmy in response to his lame come-on.

* DownerEnding: The original ending had Alex killing herself and framing Dan for it. The final scene has Beth discover tape recording from Alex, confessing to Dan she wants to kill herself.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fatalattraction_4031.jpg]][[caption-width-right:300:''[[TagLine On the other side of drinks, dinner and a one night stand, lies a terrifying love story.]]'']]