Plot: Kara (Elisabeth Harnois) is a therapist who loves to help those in need, a trait which carries over to her personal life as well. Her boyfriend Tyler (Morgan Kelly) had a rough past before the two met, but Kara helped him overcome addiction and get back on his feet. The road hasn’t been an easy one, but the couple is in love and headed toward the altar soon, with marriage on the horizon. But Tyler’s past returns when his ex Elle (Kimberly-Sue Murray) starts to text him again and Kara learns that Elle is one of her clients, so it is quite a shock. Soon Elle is hired at the restaurant where Tyler works and Kara feels trouble ahead, but no one seems to believe her. As Elle becomes more and more aggressive, Kara reaches out to the police to keep her restrained, but it seems to do no good. As tensions rise and Kara is the target of some dangerous situations, will anyone believe her before it is too late?

Entertainment Value: This is a fun, brisk Lifetime thriller that leans on familiar threads, with an obsessed ex, boyfriend with a dark past, and a lead that can’t seem to catch a break, but it throws in some nice, fresh twists as well. I love the Lifetime thriller formula of course, but it is appreciated when some attempts to spice things up are made, so Psycho Ex-Girlfriend earns brownie points there. The movie wastes no time and jumps right into the core of the narrative, so exposition is handled quickly and we’re taken right into the obsessive madness. At the same time, the movie is able to establish both Kara and Elle as characters with solid development, but while the pace is kinetic, the important parts aren’t rushed through. The melodrama is dialed up and that adds to the fun, while the cast embraces the tone of the material. Kimberly-Sue Murray is a lot of fun as our obsessed stalker and brings a lot of charisma to the role, while Morgan Kelly is passable as the boyfriend, but this is Lifetime, so he isn’t given a lot to do as the women take center stage. The psycho usually outshines the more stable characters in these movies, but Elisabeth Harnois holds her own and turns in one of the best protagonist performances I’ve seen in the Lifetime realm. She turns in some impressive work here and really shines, with a lot of charm and presence.

No nakedness. There’s a brief peek at a mild sex tape, while Elle details her skills as a lover in an effort to unnerve Kara, but that’s about all the sexual content. There is some talk about rape fantasies as well, which pushes the usual Lifetime level of sex talk a little past normal boundaries. Minimal blood. The movie has some tense moments of course and confrontations, but minimal violence. The finale amps up that element, but it is still rather mild and little is shown. But I do think Psycho Ex-Girlfriend dials up the tension when needed and the finale delivers, so the lack of wild aggression is never an issue in the least. This one has a lot of fun dialogue, with Elle as a source of frequent fiery lines and Murray’s performance milks all the melodrama and mean girl vibes out of the script, to be sure. The scenes between Elle and Kara are highlights, but she has consistently fun dialogue throughout. Kara isn’t given quite as many memorable lines, but that’s to be expected since she’s the more stable presence. As for craziness, Elle’s wild persona adds to the score and the movie’s effective twists ratchet it up as well, plus all of the melodrama and light kink.

Nudity: 0/10

Blood: 1/10

Dialogue: 6/10

Overall Insanity: 5/10

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