New DVD Obsessed : Other Scary Stalker Films

Fatal Attraction, Secret Smile, Enduring Love, Enough

Aug 6, 2009

Some people take a brush-off personally. Here are some well-crafted films about crimes of passion, and rejected lovers who just wouldn't take no for an answer.

From the 2009 film Obsessed to the 1967 movie Fatal Attraction, obsession and stalking has been a theme of many tense thriller movies. Sometimes the victim is a woman, other times it is a man who is being followed or harassed by a rejected lover or a stranger who has fantasized about a nonexistent relationship.

Obsessed

In a film reminiscent of Fatal Attraction, Derek Charles (Idris Elba) is a happily married businessman with a new baby whose office temp begins to come on to him. When he turns down her attempts to seduce him, she begins to stalk him and takes drastic measures to make it appear the two of them are having an affair. His wife Sharon, played by Beyonce Knowles, begins to doubt him. Derek is afraid to report his tormentor for fear she will turn the tables on him and accuse him of sexual harassment. As in Fatal Attraction, the psychotic woman begins to threaten his wife and child.

Fatal Attraction

In the 1967 film Fatal Attraction, married businessman Dan Gallaher, played by Michael Douglas, has a one-night stand. He pays a big price when Alex Forrest, played by Glen Close, refuses to give him up. She begins to stalk him and his family, going to the extremes of boiling a pet rabbit on the stove. This tense thriller was nominated for Best Picture and is believed by many to be the best of the stalker films.

Secret Smile

When Miranda Cotton has a brief fling with a stranger, she soon discovers he is not the charming man she takes him to be. After catching him snooping around her house when she’s not home and reading her personal diary, she senses something is wrong and breaks off with him. Enraged by her rejection, he begins to court her sister. He convinces everyone that he jilted Miranda and makes it look as if jealousy is behind her accusations that he is an abusive manipulator out to destroy the family. This serial, originally a BBC TV mystery, is now a two-part DVD series.

Enduring Love

Perhaps the strangest film ever about obsession, this 2004 British film is based on a novel by Ian McEwan. It is about two strangers who by chance witness a hot air balloon accident. The event traumatizes Jeb, who feels the experience has given him an inseparable emotional tie to Joe. He begins to stalk Joe (played by Daniel Craig, now of James Bond fame). Jeb starts to show up everywhere, in the crowd, standing outside Joe's apartment window late at night. Jeb becomes more and more possessive and when Joe begins to back away from his obsessive need for kinship, he become more and more threatening.

Enough

In this 2002 movie, Jennifer Lopez finally has had enough. Wooed and wedded by an abusive man who turns out to be a real bully, she changes her identity and runs away. When her mean and bullying ex continues to track her down, she embarks upon a plan of revenge that includes a visit to the gym.

The copyright of the article New DVD Obsessed : Other Scary Stalker Films in Action Films/Thrillers is owned by Vickie Britton. Permission to republish New DVD Obsessed : Other Scary Stalker Films in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.