Will the themes presented in Fatal Attraction ever get old? Not likely, since infidelity is as much prime horror/thriller grounds as are premarital sex or sexual promiscuity, illicit drug use, being black, being pretty and/or popular, being a cocky jock, and many other typical slasher tropes. (But this is not a slasher movie.)
And although we often cite Fatal Attraction as the mother of the infidelity horror genre, it was hardly the first. Go ahead and check out Clint Eastwood’s Play Misty for Me (1971) and Alfred Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder (1954).
But I digress before even getting started.
Scorned, written by Mark Jones and Sadie Katz and directed by Mark Jones, stars AnnaLynne McCord, Billy Zane, and Viva Bianca. You already know that there’s infidelity in the film, so there’s not much to give away. It’s a simple story of betrayal and revenge. Billy Zane is just as despicable as ever, Viva Bianca is competent but not stellar, and AnnaLynne McCord is sensational as the victim-turned-tormentor.
The film borrows from others, specifically with torment and torture techniques, such as microwaving an animal, the idea of cooking an animal, and, most overtly, breaking ankles with a sledgehammer. Scorned also deployed some improbable conveniences to help our villainess, and although they’re pretty major to the outcome, just take it as entertainment and enjoy.
The look and color tones of the film are nice too. Very warm and comforting, which is a stark contrast to the ensuing violence.
There are also moments in the second half of the film that I felt like I was watching a made-for-TV movie, and some of the special effects (specifically smoke) were poorly executed.
