In Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man, Elisabeth Moss plays Cecilia, a woman whose nightmare is only just beginning after escaping from an abusive relationship. Her ex commits suicide and leaves her his fortune under specific criteria, but she soon suspects that his death was a hoax. That he’s still there, unseen and stalking her.
Based on the trailer, Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) looks downright terrifying while “alive.” Still, the freedom to torture Cecilia under the mask of invisibility looks to take the terror to a whole new unrelenting level. In anticipation, we look back at some of horror’s most intimidating and psychotic exes.
What Lies Beneath – Norman Spencer
After her daughter leaves for college, creepy things start happening around Claire’s house. She thinks she’s haunted, her husband Norman thinks she’s coping with empty nest syndrome. It doesn’t help that she notices her neighbors’ volatile relationship or that Norman is always away at work. Claire isn’t losing her mind, though; her husband’s secret lover is haunting her. And the undead ex wants justice. Norman murdered the woman when she threatened to expose the affair, and when he couldn’t gaslight his wife any longer, he tried to kill her, too. On the surface, Norman is a charming scientist and doting husband, but it’s an airtight mask for the homicidal narcissist underneath. That he’s so socially adept and cunning makes him a far more dangerous; you won’t know you’re in harm’s way until far too late. You can stream this now on Netflix and Tubi.
Scream 4 – Jill Roberts
Sidney Prescott’s niece seems perfectly well adjusted for most of the movie. At least all things considered. She’s still reeling from a recent breakup with her boyfriend Trevor, who took her virginity then slept with another girl. Then there’s the matter of Ghostface, who’s resurfaced in conjunction with Sidney’s return to Woodsboro to slay again. It turns out hell hath no fury like a psycho scorned, though, and Jill reveals herself to be the murdering mastermind of the film. Still holding a serious grudge against her ex, she not only sets him up as her patsy, but she shoots him in the crotch before executing him.
Hellbound: Hellraiser II – Frank and Julia Cotton
In the sordid saga of the Cotton family, exes Frank and Julia are equally psychotic. Nevermind that Julia cheated on her husband Larry with his brother Frank while Frank was alive, or that she murdered for him so he could regenerate his flesh after escaping Hell. When Frank shows no remorse for killing Julia in Hellraiser, it sparks a severe grudge match in Hellbound. Both are ruthless killers, and yet there’s not enough room in Hell for these former lovers. Hellbound: Hellraiser II is currently streaming on Hulu and Prime Video.
May – May Dove Canady
From the moment we meet May, it’s clear she’s off-kilter. Socially awkward and friendless, save for her doll Suzie, May longs for connection. She finds that with Adam. At least until she becomes sexually aroused by cannibal horror and tries to emulate it in a makeout session. He’s repulsed. Then she begins a fling with the flirtatious Polly but is devastated to discover Polly moves on quickly. May grows increasingly delusional and depressed by the rejections, and a triggering event causes her to snap. It doesn’t end well for her exes. May is available now on Tubi.
Fear – David McCall
Teen Nicole Walker finds herself immediately attracted to the older, bad boy David (Mark Wahlberg). The feeling is mutual, much to the chagrin of her father. After a while, though, his charm wears thin and gives way to angry and controlling behavior. Then he rapes her best friend and murders another. Naturally, Nicole decides it’s time to break up. David doesn’t take the rejection well, and he becomes violently unhinged.
Play Misty For Me – Evelyn Draper
When you think of psychotic exes, Glenn Close’s unhinged stilted lover in Fatal Attraction tends to come to mind. Evelyn Draper is the deadlier precursor. Radio DJ Dave happens across Evelyn at a bar, and the two embark on a casual relationship. Except, Evelyn didn’t meet Dave by chance, she was already a fan of his radio show. Her obsessive behavior grows progressively worrisome until Dave breaks it off with her. Cue the suicide attempts, vandalism, and physical assaults on those in Dave’s life. It culminates in an explosive finale where people wind up dead.
Audition – Asami Yamazaki
Shigeharu Aoyama thinks he’s found the perfect new mate in the docile Asami. Neither he nor the viewer realize until far too late that Asami has a serious jealousy streak. Lovers that don’t have eyes for her, and her only, suffer the worst possible fate. We know this because Shigeharu slowly discovers a grisly trail of Asami’s former lovers. More importantly, we know this because Asami keeps an ex of hers in a burlap sack, many of his limbs amputated. She feeds him her vomit. Shigeharu’s on his way to becoming her next former lover. Audition is currently streaming on Shudder.
Nightmare – George Tatum
After spending years in a mental institution recovering from a break that resulted in the murder of a family in New York, George is released. He decides to head to Florida to see his ex-wife and their children. The only problem is that it doesn’t take much to trigger his psychosis, and his road trip to Florida is littered with a lot of dead bodies. This Video Nasty slasher gets gory, and George’s instability is extra dangerous for his former family. Nightmare is currently available to stream on Prime Video and Tubi.
Possession – Anna
When Mark returns home, his wife tells him she wants a divorce. Thus, one of horror’s most challenging, complex, and bizarre portraits of a marriage’s disintegration begins. Mark follows Anna, beats her human lover, discovers an inhuman lover, and keeps human body parts in the fridge. That’s just the tip of the iceberg in her breakdown. Of Mark’s as well. This is a psychotronic breakup movie that refuses to adhere to linear storytelling or traditional tropes. It’s insanity at its best.
The Brood – Nola Carveth
Nola is in the midst of a painful custody battle with her ex over their daughter. She’s also an extremely disturbed woman undergoing experimental therapy that’s supposed to allow the patient to let go of their suppressed emotions through physiological changes to their bodies. For Nola, that means giving birth to asexual children through her psychoplasmically-induced external womb, creating a brood of them that brutally murder those involved in her ex’s life. David Cronenberg’s divorce movie goes heavy on body horror and psychosis, in the best way. The Brood is available on Kanopy or the Criterion Channel.