The Ex

The Ex is such a great addition to the legacy of THE-movies (i.e. The Nurse, The Fiancee, The Landlady). Yancy Butler is incredible as a no nonsense nut case who will do anything to get her ex-hubby back. Best part of the movie are the great oneliners she delivers after murdering each victm.

She may not be a great actress, but Yancy Butler has an unmistakable name, face and voice. Her striking eyes and brows make me think she'd be perfect as the lead in a remake of 'The Wasp Woman.' And that throaty gurgle of a voice is positively un-natural. It's unfortunate that she's had alcohol issues that threw her out of the acting game for a while. But that does make me think how she's appeared so uncomfortable on-camera in most of her roles over the years... even this one. Perhaps it's just this film's sledgehammer of a script making her uneasy here, even as a villain. It's obvious that this thing is riding the same track trodded down previously by 'Fatal Attraction' (although 'Attraction' itself is a variation on an even older film: Clint Eastwood's 'Play Misty For Me'). Yancy gets the juicy role of the crazed ex-wife who terrorizes ex-hubby Mancuso and his second wife Amis. It all leads to an achingly predictable conclusion. Sure, you don't know what will do ol' Yance in, but you know it's coming (and you can figure it won't involve a tub since that would be way too close to 'Fatal Attraction'-- although this film does rely on tubs for Yancy's killing spree). I agree with a fellow commentator who was annoyed with the child actor: indeed, the young boy is truly terrible. They could have used a dog in place of the kid and gotten a better performance. The only interesting facet was having Mancuso be into rough sex. From that, I think a more startling conclusion would have been having Mancuso and Yancy re-uniting---because they're obsessed with each other and play this sick game of rough love that extends to even killing Yancy's sister and Mancuso's new wife. As it is, this is just a b-grade thriller/time-killer.

"I must say that this film somewhat surprised me and that after a short while I found myself still attached to the tube (at 12:30) a.m. in the morning (something which I didn't expect when the film began). The main reason for me staying up late to see this through, was the sometimes great acting by Yancy Butler (Deirdre). I mean she makes for one hell of a psycho in the end, although I must admit that her 'act' was a bit overdone at one or two times and didn't come off believable anymore. Since the story and the other characters were OK to good as well, I enjoyed the movie up until the end, when finally the bummer came. What a simple and lame ending this film has. It ruined it all for me and I felt as if I was in 'Child's Play 4'or something. Too bad, but because of the ending (ONLY)...

5 out of 10

This film works on so many levels.. For example, when that guy takes a drag of his cigarette whenever he forgets his lines... & when that chick gets her nor ks out.. & when someone got drowned.. & when that guy goes "NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WHY!?!" when his girlfriend dies.. & when that other thing happened.. & when that black guy calls the main dude a "Bastard".. & when the little kid sets the girl on fire.. & old ladies getting killed by a handbag.. Brilliant!!!! It changed my life. Also, it was good. Much better than X men. Thats another film with X as the first word, therefore it's the only film that can be compared. Nine thumbs up!

The architect David Kenyon (Nick Mancuso) is married with Molly (Suzy Amis), they have an almost 6 year old son named Michael. Unexpectedly, Kenyon's ex-wife Deirdre (Yancy Butler) returns and stalks the family, becoming Molly's friend under a false name. We learn that Deirdre has been treated in a lunatic asylum and committed at least 2 murders. She must be planning something really evil...

Worth watching for the excellent performances of the two female leads. Suzy Amis ("Twister", "Firestorm") plays the wife who has to ask herself after 6 years of a perfectly happy marriage: does she really trust her husband or will she believe the lies Deirdre spreads? After all, he didn't even tell her he was married before! Yancy Butler ("Witchblade", "Drop Zone") is truly terrifying as the mad woman, full of hate, who kills without regret - and asks others to kill her because she lives in such a distorted world. Yancy has got the devilish grin and the evil eyebrows for the role, perfect choice! The movie may have a couple of weak points. Better explanations and more information could have filled a few gaps on the way, but in the end the thriller succeeds at its raison d'etre: to thrill!