A Forgotten Jennifer Lopez Erotic Thriller Is Getting A Second Life Thanks To Netflix

When the Jennifer Lopez-led erotic thriller "The Boy Next Door" was released in 2015, it was deemed a commercial success at the box office. However, the Rob Cohen-directed film failed to impress critics, as its on-the-nose camp factor did little to ground the clichéd narrative, despite Lopez delivering a memorable performance to salvage its flimsy premise. Well, it seems as though "The Boy Next Door" has been granted another chance, as the erotic thriller has found its way into the U.S. Netflix Top 10 list over the past few weeks. Given its immense popularity among moviegoers when it was first released in theaters, it is not surprising that audiences appreciate the entertainment quotient and the thrills offered by this twisted tale of obsession.

The Netflix-JLo combination usually works well in terms of audience popularity, as her sci-fi action-thriller "Atlas" also reigned the Netflix Top 10 charts for quite some time after its debut on the streaming platform earlier this year. "Atlas" follows a brilliant data analyst (Lopez) on a mission to retrieve a renegade robot despite her distrust of artificial intelligence, and it is easy to understand why such a premise could be enthralling. The film reflects the anxieties surrounding the rapid progression of humanity's status quo with artificial intelligence and introduces the ethical dilemmas that come with such a precarious subject matter. "The Boy Next Door" is much more mundane when compared to a high-concept science fiction drama, yet it explores the vignettes of obsession — albeit, in a rather clumsy and inspiring way — and sets up a high-stakes situation befitting the kind of world the movie establishes.

Now, let's dive into what this film is about to try and understand its appeal to steaming audiences. Needless to say, spoilers for "The Boy Next Door" to follow. 

Claire Peterson (Lopez), a high school teacher, separates from her husband after he's caught cheating, and attempts to find solace by going on a double date, which ends miserably. Although Claire is understandably upset and on edge due to the separation, she has sex with one of her students, Noah (Ryan Guzman), an orphaned 19-year-old who had moved next door and befriended her son weeks prior. Claire regrets the decision the morning after, which enrages Noah, kickstarting an unsavory chain of blackmail and obsession that escalates over time.

The film posits Noah as someone with a troubled past, but the root of his obsession is never explored, apart from some oblique references to him killing his parents and being expelled from schools due to disordered conduct. He's also adept at manipulation, donning the mask of a savior when he beats up school bullies, but the mask quickly slips when Noah threatens Claire and her child when she refuses to indulge him again. While there's a conversation to be had about Claire's onus as an adult to never have engaged with Noah in the first place — the gross power imbalance emerging as a key factor here — Noah's actions are so desperately despicable that the film ends up morphing into a psychological thriller after a certain point.

Despite the heavy themes entrenched within the narrative, there's a misplaced sense of levity that undermines them, especially with Noah's over-the-top villainy that is unleashed at the slightest provocation. Also, for some reason, Noah is equally obsessed with "The Illiad," and this epic poem is referenced throughout his exchanges with Claire(?). Nonetheless, it is entertaining to watch these shenanigans unfold, which, perhaps, should be the only expectation and takeaway from this predictable erotic thriller's sudden resurgence.