The Rules of Attraction

The Rules of Attraction (2002) is Roger Avary's pitch-black campus drama, and you can watch online on iFILM. Adapted from Bret Easton Ellis's novel, it drops you among the spoiled students of fictional Camden College.

At its center sits a love triangle with no likeable corner. Sean (James Van Der Beek) deals drugs and falls for Lauren, who is saving her virginity for the wrong boy and misreading all the others. Hovering nearby is Paul, a bisexual classmate carrying his own torch for Sean. The three trade unsigned notes, mistake lust for love, and spiral through parties, overdoses and casual betrayal. Avary cuts it all to pieces, using rewinds, split screens and frozen frames that turn dorm life into a jittery confession.

This one is an acquired taste: cold, cynical, occasionally cruel, with no tidy lesson at the end. It suits anyone who liked American Psycho or the raw early-2000s indie streak. Watch for Ian Somerhalder, Jessica Biel and Kate Bosworth in smaller parts. Stream The Rules of Attraction (2002) online on iFILM.