'My Husband's Deadly Past' Review: Starts out strong but disintegrates into madness
On paper, Karen Croft (Sarah Butler) seems to have a perfect life — a loving daughter, Jordan (Maddy Hills), a caring husband, Otto (Peter Benson), a wholesome family that loves each other and a job that she is dedicated to. It looks like nothing could possibly go wrong in Karen's life.
That is until she starts getting visions of killing a young girl. These visions initially start out as nightmares, where it seems like she is killing this young girl by hitting her repeatedly over her head. At the time, she brushes it away not talking to her psychiatrist husband about the visions and the nightmares. Despite her asking her again and again, prodding her to think deeper over these visions, Karen seems to take them lightly.
Actually, Karen simply doesn't know what she should be doing. So she goes about her work as usual but is constantly haunted by the same young girl. When she finds out that this girl is actually missing after coming across a missing poster of hers, Karen is beyond any consolation but she is also beyond any iota of understanding. From here, things start getting very creepy. As Karen continues to remain shrouded under uncertainty and confusion, she begins to incriminate herself. In a state of confusion, she goes atop a bridge and then stands to jump into the waterfall in a suicide attempt. What she doesn't know yet, is that this incrimination comes from manipulation.
She is saved by Dr Hugh Gossett (Brendon Zub), who, for some reason, can immediately tell that there is hardly anything wrong with Karen ethically or morally. And that everything that she has been up to is a result of some external factor. But the evidence is against her and the police take her into custody. Detective Chandra (Lucia Walters) also knows there might be something off about this case from the get-go. She cannot bring herself to fully take into the possibility that Karen is a murderer. And so, she too sets out to prove Karen's innocence.
Elsewhere, suspicions against Otto continue rising. His motives and him constantly pushing the idea that Karen is a murderer, manipulating his daughter into believing that the evidence is right, even hypnotizing her into killing someone is really eerie for our liking. Actually, our biggest grievance is for when Otto transforms into a full-fledged murderer on a rampage without remorse.
'My Husband's Deadly Past' starts out well with a strong direction and convincing plotline. Soon enough though this falters giving way to a long-drawn climax that could have been made interesting with more thought. The movie is not actually a murder thriller about a woman who is haunted and manipulated into doing something but it really is a portrait of a narcissistic who is ready to go to any lengths to get what he wants.
At 1.37 hours, 'My Husband's Deadly Past' gets a good direction by Troy Scott but then disintegrates into a wild chase for a man who always seems to be above the law and ahead of everyone. And to think that this entire saga began with a small slip-up on his very end. Sarah Butler is unconvincing on occasions even as she has chemistry with Brendon Zub. In a romantic movie, this pairing would have worked wonders, but it doesn't fit 'My Husband's Deadly Past'.
