By: Elena Mart
The Young and the Restless alum Max Ehrich and actor Bryan James (Youthful Daze, Bloodbath, upcoming film Gigolo) are teaming up in Reckless, a contemporary reimagining of Fatal Attraction that redefines obsession and consequence for the digital age. The feature film, now in post-production, will premiere online on November 21, streaming exclusively via www.recklessmovie.net.
Reckless takes the bones of the 1987 classic — infidelity, fixation, and psychological unraveling — and reframes them for a world where privacy no longer exists. Ehrich stars as Dan Gallagher, a successful Los Angeles attorney living what appears to be the perfect life until a brief encounter with charismatic TV star Alex Forrest (played by James) detonates everything he’s built.
“What begins as temptation quickly spirals into terror,” the film’s synopsis reads. “Haunted by public scandal and desperate to reclaim control, Alex’s charm soon twists into fixation. As Dan attempts to pull away, Alex’s obsession escalates into stalking, manipulation, and violence — threatening not just Dan’s marriage and career, but the safety of his family.”
James says the film preserves the spirit of the original while diving deeper into the psychology of fame and exposure. “The essence and the core of Fatal Attraction are very much intact,” he tells The Hollywood Reporter. “But the context is completely different now. In 1987, obsession was private. In 2025, it’s viral.”
Reversal of Roles
The new take on Reckless flips the gender dynamics of the original, turning the story of seduction and destruction into a commentary on power, image, and celebrity. Ehrich’s Dan, accustomed to control and success, meets his match in James’ Alex — a public figure whose life is lived through cameras and screens.
“The idea of changing the sex of the central antagonist was immediately compelling,” James explains. “Alex isn’t at the outset an outsider like Glenn Close’s version — he’s a man who lives in the spotlight. But after inappropriate behavior behind the scenes gets him canceled in society at large, and rather publicly, he begins to morph into a personality that mirrors the iconically rendered character from the original movie.”
For Ehrich, the film marks a dramatic return to center stage following his Emmy-nominated run on The Young and the Restless and subsequent roles in Under the Dome and The Path. Known for his public engagement with singer Demi Lovato, Ehrich says Reckless gave him the chance to explore vulnerability through a more grounded lens.
“Dan isn’t a bad man — he’s just human,” Ehrich says. “He makes one terrible decision that unravels everything. What fascinated me is how small choices can snowball into life-ruining consequences, especially in a time where every mistake can become a headline.”
A Thriller for the Age of Exposure
Filmed on location in Los Angeles, Reckless trades the sleek corporate backdrops of the ’80s for minimalist glass houses, modern law offices, and the blue glow of phone screens. Its tone is intimate but unnerving — a slow-burn thriller steeped in voyeurism and emotional claustrophobia.
James describes the aesthetic as “psychological realism meets digital paranoia.”
“Fatal Attraction was about privacy and guilt,” he says. “Reckless is mirroring those themes but is also dabbling in deeper musings about self-loathing and isolation in a world where identity is formed through attention.” Reckless was approached as both a homage and a reinterpretation. This update highlights how the universal themes of the original movie can be successfully recontextualized in modern-day discourse. It flows seamlessly in many ways.”
Psychological Warfare, Updated
The dynamic between Ehrich and James drives the tension. Their early chemistry gives way to a spiral of mistrust, guilt, and control that mirrors the fractured mirror of modern relationships. According to early notes from the creative team, the film’s climax honors the shock of the original Fatal Attraction but refracts it through the lens of contemporary fame. Cinematographer Andriy Semenyuk captures the aesthetic of the original while mining a new vision of distinction for this remake.
“Everything that made the original so gripping — the fear, the intimacy, the blurred morality — is still there,” James notes. “And this movie is not what I think people are expecting it to be. It’s deeply layered in rich psychological musings about what culpability society itself plays in this dramatic circumstance unfolding throughout the run time of the picture.”
Ehrich echoes that sentiment: “It’s not just a thriller — it’s a character study. It’s about how people break when fundamentally their needs aren’t being met, and the no pun intended, reckless consequence that can transpire accordingly.”
Release and Distribution
Following post-production, Reckless will debut digitally on November 21, streaming exclusively through www.recklessmovie.net. The film will be available for rent and purchase through the website.
A Modern Morality Tale
At its core, Reckless is less about infidelity and more about identity — a story about what happens when the hunger to be desired turns self-destructive. Both Ehrich and James view it as a mirror to modern culture’s fascination with obsession, scandal, and the collapse of privacy.
“It’s about the cost of being seen,” James says. “Everyone wants attention, but nobody thinks about what happens when that attention turns dark or when there is a consequence for the behavior that gave them the attention to begin with. We live in a society that loves to elevate people, only to bring them down later, almost for sport. Everything and everyone is reckless now.”
With its November release date timed ahead of the holidays — a season that has historically produced sleeper hits in the thriller genre — Reckless aims to tap into a growing appetite for psychological suspense that feels both intimate and timely.
“I grew up on movies like Fatal Attraction, Unfaithful, Gone Girl — stories that mix sex and danger with emotional realism,” James says. “We wanted to make something that honors that tradition while saying something new about how obsession looks now, and making the movie about a self-loathing internalized identity crisis gave it something I could intellectually make sense of when justifying the extreme acts my character takes in the movie in response to things they deem unacceptable in society at large today.”
Reckless, starring Bryan James and Max Ehrich, is sure to make waves, celebrating the familiar while also delivering something fresh. It’s a classic reimagined you won’t want to miss. The feature film releases on November 21, streaming exclusively at www.recklessmovie.net.
