Devil in the Flesh (1998)

Fatal attraction involving a high school girl and her teacher

In the Los Angeles area, a teenager (Rose McGowan) has to move in with her strict grandmother after a dubious house fire kills her mother & boyfriend. At her new school she sets her sights on the creative writing teacher (Alex McArthur), who already has a serious girlfriend (Sherrie Rose).

“Devil in the Flesh” (1998), also known as “Dearly Devoted,” is a coming-of-rage drama/thriller cut from the same cloth as other lethal Lolita flicks like "Poison Ivy" (1992) and “The Crush” (1993), as well as earlier ones "Summer Girl" (1983) and "The Babysitter" (1980). It’s basically a variation of “Fatal Attraction” (1987) with a teenage female. This one has its nuances so it’s not an exact copy.

It begins impressively with an artistic flair, so I was expecting the imaginative expertise of “Poison Ivy,” but it settles into a rather pedestrian story stressing the alluring power of a beautiful young woman combined with the foolish obsession of a teenager.

Naturally, the best thing about it is sultry McGowan, who was 24 during shooting. But it has other entertaining bits, such as the catchy rock soundtrack featuring several no-name bands of the 90s.

The film runs about 1 hour, 32 minutes, and was shot in Altadena, California, which is just north of Pasadena in the Los Angeles area.

GRADE: B-/C+