(Credit: Everyman Cinemas. Check out their cinemas: they're great. I saw "Kid Detective" there and honestly cinema is downhill from that)
Paul Feig continues his trend from the excellent hysterical parody "A Simple Favour" in adapting serpentine Stepford thrillers to the big screen. Based on the runaway obsession novel by Frieda McFadden (obligatory: I have not read it)
This aims for a slightly more serious tone than "Favour" and indeed goes for it, but still remains playful and fun. The cast all get a chance to be hysterical, crazy and campy, and Michele Morrone from the meme-movie "365 Days" appears as a groundskeeper in a cute nod to this sort of thing, and it basically throws back to the "erotic thrillers" of the 90s like "Jade", "Disclosure" and "Fatal Attraction", but adds the twist of being watchable and knowing rather than rinsibly embarrassing (except "Showgirls" - that movie is magical): there are enough saucy shots and titillation to keep it knowing and nudging and rather cheky and tantaising rather than vulgar or crass, and the twists are suitably gasp-inducing rather than making one wince (well, not in that way... there is an effective part with some pliers...); yet the entire affair dances on just the right side of a knife edge. The entire thing is just the right amount of playful, funny, fun and delightful: the cast have fun with it, but not too much. If it were 10% more serious or 10% funnier it would have lost me. Its "Gone Girl"-esque second half (Oh, "Woman on the Train" and "Woman in the Window" are two more there! Only one of those was good) is strong; "A Simple Favour" goes completely goo-goo-bananas off-the-reservation, queerer and crazier and is better for it in my eyes, but this is a far more rock solid, accessible entry to the genre.
Also, between this and drop: don't go to a restaurant with Brandon Skelnar. Even if he's a nice dude, it's going to end horribly.
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