Secret Obsession Is an Even Creepier Version of You —So Get Ready

The premise of Netflix's new thriller Secret Obsession, now streaming, is right in the title: A deranged stalker, Russell (Mike Vogel), forms an all-consuming fixation on Jennifer (Brenda Song). When Jennifer wakes up from a car accident with severe memory loss, Russell is there claiming to be her husband. Oddly, no one at the hospital questions this, and so Jennifer believes him. She goes home to what Russell tells her is their beautiful (albeit secluded) mansion, but soon cracks appear in his plan. Jennifer starts getting suspicious—as does a detective—and Russell does everything in his power to keep his charade going. Including, as you'd expect, killing people.

If that premise sounds familiar to you, it's because...well, it is. Not only is the stalker genre a staple in entertainment—please see Fatal Attraction, Obsessed, The Boy Next Door—but it's had a strong resurgence this year due in large part to You, the thriller series about a bookstore clerk (Penn Badgley) who uses technology to cyberstalk a woman. The show became a viral sensation late last year, when Netflix acquired the rights to it from Lifetime. Secret Obsession is essentially You's feature-length twin: Both pieces are campy and over-the-top but nonetheless disturbing. The former has all the ingredients to become major social media fodder, just like the latter.

"I do feel like there is a similar aspect [between Secret Obsession and You]," Song tells Glamour. "Stories like this really take us out of our lives. Regardless of what anyone says, we all love scaring ourselves with worst-case scenarios and sort of living out that nightmare-slash-fantasy without actually being a part of it."

Both of these nightmares, You and Secret Obsession, have one similarity that stands out above all: the "hotness" of the male stalkers. Fans were so smitten by Joe on You that they seemed to forget he's a serial killer—something Penn Badgley pointed out countless times on Twitter.

Song already knows what she'll say to fans who may swoon over Secret Obsession's chiseled but chilling antagonist, Russell. "Just because someone's handsome doesn't mean they aren't crazy," she says. "You have to remember that when romanticizing these killers, stalkers, rapists—whatever they are—you still have to remember the crimes they did and the lives they affected, if we're talking about real life."

It's also important to remember the "love" characters like Russell and Joe have for these women is dangerous. In Secret Obsession Russell wants his life with Jennifer to play out like a romantic comedy. He showers her with gifts and flowers and cheesy compliments, but it's all a lie. The foundation of their relationship is built on deception and murder. This isn't a romantic comedy. It's an anti-romantic comedy—a nickname several outlets gave Secret Obsession when the trailer dropped last week. Song agrees with that assessment.

"Russell is so handsome, so charming, and all of the things you think would be such a great husband," Song says. "Jennifer comes home to this amazing house, and the story could go very different—but it doesn't. Don't get me wrong: I love a good rom-com, but it's really fun to play up a different side of a romantic relationship."

It's a side that Song hadn't really explored in her career until this movie. With a back catalog filled with lighthearted comedies and Disney Channel staples, the 31-year-old actress says she often isn't considered for more dramatic projects. "I've always wanted to explore [thrillers], but my body of work has been the exact opposite: feel-good, happy, silly things," she says. "This was the first time I feel like I got to really challenge myself in a completely different way and got to explore a side of me that I had never gotten to explore."

Now that she's experienced Secret Obsession, she's ready to take on more horror and thriller projects—and even has ideas about where the genre could go. "I think what would be really fun is having the roles reversed: having a female [antagonist] to a male," she says. "I don't think that there should be any limits to it. I think we're in a great place—not just as females but with everyone—where genders can be reversed. It's fun because it changes the dynamic and the feel of the movie. I would love that. I would love to see more role reversals in these movies to see where they go."

Could that be the premise for a sequel? Only time will tell, but for now Secret Obsession is streaming on Netflix.

Christopher Rosa is the staff entertainment writer at Glamour. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrosa92.

Originally Appeared on Glamour