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Spotsylvania County residents Shamila Beslow and Vernon Beslow III are premiering their first feature film Oct. 24 at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Woodbridge.
“When Fatal Attraction Hits Home” is a psychological thriller drawn from their own story. In the film, Brenda falls in love with a man she meets online and then becomes the target of his obsessive ex, Karen. The movie’s tagline is, “If she can’t have him, no one will.”
Shamila co-wrote, co-directed and produced the film for Resilient Films. Vernon is her co-filmmaker. They sat for an interview last week in downtown Fredericksburg, on Caroline Street — one of the places that appears on screen.
The premiere falls in Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Shamila said that was the point.
“Often we think of domestic violence being physical all the time, and it’s not always physical,” she said. “It is mental. It’s emotional.”
The story, she said, runs through stalking, obsessive behavior and harassment — including slashed tires and repeated calls to police.
“Cops come in almost every other week to the house,” Vernon said. “It’s embarrassing.”
They also described calls to an employer and accusations of criminal activity. Vernon said he almost lost a security clearance and they hired a clearance lawyer.
“Nobody believed us, as a matter of fact,” Shamila said.
The film is also aimed at men who stay quiet, she said.
“Most men don’t speak about this stuff,” Shamila said. “This movie is to show men, hey, that things can happen, but you can get past it.”
The name Karen is not an accident. Shamila said it came from the 1987 film “Fatal Attraction,” which also has a character named Karen.
“That’s where I got the name from,” she said. “I was doing a podcast, and I had to give her a name, and that was the very first thing that popped up in my head.”
The official synopsis follows Brenda and Donnie as they try to build a life together while Karen — “mysterious, unpredictable, and operating from the shadows” — pushes into it. The site for the film asks whether Karen is the villain everyone believes she is, or whether something else is underneath.
Much of the movie was shot in Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania. Shamila said viewers will see Caroline Street; the downtown library, including outside shots, the theater and the lobby; Waterfront Park; and the old Spotsylvania Courthouse, plus the parking lot at the new courthouse.
Shamila grew up in Fairfax County after starting out in Emporia and said the couple moved to Spotsylvania in 2018. Vernon is from the Chesapeake area.
The leads are playing the Beslows.
Autumn Joi, a Fox 5 personality and radio host, plays Brenda. Shamila said Joi was recently named one of the top 100 radio journalists in Washington. Ryheem Johnson, a comedian and actor, plays Donnie. Dana Hicks-Hungerford plays Karen — a part Shamila said the actress asked for because it pulled her out of her usual range.
Auditions were held at the library. Shamila estimated about 70 people tried out.
“It’s hard to watch somebody play you and be able to have your mannerisms,” she said. “It was fun. But it was hard to watch some of the stuff.”
The filmmakers said the Woodbridge premiere sold out within a month of tickets going on sale. Details are at wfahh.com.
