The Ex

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!

Ok, it's not a big budget film and the cast isn't exactly up to par, but there's one awesome reason to love this movie - Yancy Butler. Her performance is fierce, and so is the character she plays. If you love bad guys, they don't get any badder than this.

It's not particularly original, but has some high level thrills, largely owing to Yancy Butler's contributions.

The Ex ticks a lot of entertainment boxes. The storyline we've seen before but there is a real commitment here to bring us an enjoyably fast paced thriller. Butler is the psycho, creepy, sinister ex of a husband whom she is obsessed with and can't let go of. Certainly she is out of control mentally, and a violent killer, but it's hard to dislike her. I felt I could relate with her character in some ways and her unpredictable and often times surprising actions are convincingly portrayed. Reminded me of Mia Goth and her unhinged character in Pearl and like Goth, Butler is excellent at showing different personas in quick transition.

The support cast is a bit ordinary but they do ok. I think they tried to make Butler's ex husband like Michael Douglas in Fatal Attraction, which doesn't quite work that great but enough is done to carry the story along. His new wife is pretty much a simple, goody-two-shoes type so she's a bit boring and by the numbers, but their young son is just creepy as. His eyes and expression look really spooky and I could see his mother's genealogy being passed on like she's feeding him through a drip.

Quite a decent little thriller, with plenty of gnarly kills albeit the script at times erring on the side of the old cliches, The Ex will probably entertain and please most viewers who enjoy simple but effective, target-hitting movies.

"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

At first glance, this film seems to be about a murderous ex-wife who is resorting to vengeance to vindicate her previous relationship. However, I do actually believe that 'The Ex' is way more than that. As a psychological thriller, it features one of the most distressing studies of psychotic and mental disorders that I have seen in a long time and proves how dangerous they can be if they are left unchecked.

I found Yancy Butler's performance as Deidre Kenyon in this film to be brilliant. Not only was she absolutely stunning here, even my girlfriend kept going on about how beautiful Butler's eyes are when my girlfriend has green eyes herself, but she nails what must have been a difficult portrayal of a very troubled mental disorder patient with homicidal tendencies. She is the star of this film, I believe she was truly outstanding here.

As far as psychological thrillers go, 'The Ex' is perfectly enjoyable despite some minor flaw here and there (I would have chosen a different child actor as Michael Kenyon, for example as he was not a proper fit for such a role). Its best parts are when the story focuses on aspects of crime and the criminal system.