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Netflix’s docuseries, Worst Ex Ever<\/em><\/strong>, details the stories of terrifying abuse at the hands of significant others. Significant others who, once professed love, only to flip the script to something far darker and contemptible. And what the brave survivors have to say is the stuff of nightmares<\/strong>. From the same team that brought Worst Roommate Ever<\/em><\/strong> to Netflix, Worst Ex Ever<\/em> shifts the focus from roommates to lovers, “from chilling betrayals to murder plots, this true-crime docuseries dissects the dark side of love through eyewitness testimonies.” Each episode interviews survivors, their families, and investigators to provide a thorough account of each horrifying case.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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\n ‘Worst Ex Ever’ Exposes the Failings of the Justice System In the first episode, “Dating the Devil,” the episode focuses on Ben Foster<\/strong>, a man with a violent history who intended to kill Justine Siemens<\/strong>, his girlfriend. The story of Foster, even before Siemens, is reprehensible. He was charged in 2017 for domestic violence against his ex-girlfriend, and then in 2019, holding his girlfriend captive for two weeks, which left her with seven broken ribs, two black eyes, and injuries inflicted by zip ties and duct tape used for restraint. For the latter, he was charged with five felonies but pleaded guilty to reduced charges and was sentenced to 30 months in state prison. But in what proves to be a common theme that runs through Worst Ex Ever<\/em>, the justice system failed, releasing Foster on the same day he was transferred to state prison<\/strong> after already having served 729 days while awaiting trial.<\/p>\n\n
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Collider Exclusive \u00b7 8 Questions \u00b7 2 Minutes<\/span>What Is Your Biggest Horror Nightmare<\/em>?<\/span>Elm Street \u00b7 Chucky \u00b7 Scream \u00b7 The Conjuring<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\tFour horror franchises. Four completely different ways of scaring you. One waits until you fall asleep. One makes sure nobody believes you. One is already in your group of friends. And one is in the house with your family. Answer eight quick questions about how you actually watch horror, and find out which nightmare was built for you.<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\ud83d\ude34<\/span>Elm Street<\/span>(Freddy Krueger)<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\ud83e\uddf8<\/span>Chucky<\/span>(Child’s Play)<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\ud83d\udcde<\/span>Scream<\/span>(Ghostface)<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\ud83d\udd6f\ufe0f<\/span>The Conjuring<\/span>(The Warren Files)<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\tFIND YOUR NIGHTMARE \u2192<\/label>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\t\t<\/p>\n\n\n
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\t\t\t\tWhich horror scene makes you cover your eyes?<\/span>Four classic images. One of them is worse than the others for you.<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\tA<\/span>Somebody falling asleep when they really should not.<\/label>B<\/span>A toy that has moved, and nobody touched it.<\/label>C<\/span>A phone ringing in an empty house.<\/label>D<\/span>A child talking to somebody who is not there.<\/label>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\nNEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/label><\/p>\n<\/section>\n\t\t<\/p>\n\n\n
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\t\t\t\tYou are home alone and you hear a noise. First thought?<\/span>Everybody has one. It arrives before you have decided anything.<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\tA<\/span>I am exhausted and my mind is playing tricks on me.<\/label>B<\/span>Something in this room is not where I left it.<\/label>C<\/span>Somebody is in here with me.<\/label>D<\/span>This house has never felt entirely right.<\/label>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\nNEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/label><\/p>\n<\/section>\n\t\t<\/p>\n\n\n
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\t\t\t\tWhich horror movie rule would you break first?<\/span>Everybody thinks they would survive. Almost nobody actually does.<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\tA<\/span>Never fall asleep.<\/label>B<\/span>Never leave it out of your sight.<\/label>C<\/span>Never answer the phone.<\/label>D<\/span>Never go down to the basement.<\/label>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\nNEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/label><\/p>\n<\/section>\n\t\t<\/p>\n\n\n
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\t\t\t\tSomething genuinely frightening happens. What do you do?<\/span>Not in a film. In your actual living room, tonight.<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\tA<\/span>Convince myself I imagined the whole thing.<\/label>B<\/span>Tell someone, and brace for them not believing me.<\/label>C<\/span>Work out which person I know could be behind it.<\/label>D<\/span>Get everybody in the house into one room.<\/label>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\nNEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/label><\/p>\n<\/section>\n\t\t<\/p>\n\n\n
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\t\t\t\tHow do you actually watch a horror film?<\/span>Be honest about this one. Nobody is checking.<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\tA<\/span>Fine during. Wide awake at two in the morning.<\/label>B<\/span>Shouting at the screen that nobody is listening.<\/label>C<\/span>Calling the twist out loud before it lands.<\/label>D<\/span>Through my fingers, holding on to something.<\/label>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\nNEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/label><\/p>\n<\/section>\n\t\t<\/p>\n\n\n
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\t\t\t\tSomebody offers you serious money. Which do you still refuse?<\/span>The amount does not matter. There is one on this list you are not doing.<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\tA<\/span>Fall asleep in a room I have never been in before.<\/label>B<\/span>Keep an old doll on the shelf facing my bed.<\/label>C<\/span>Answer every unknown number that calls after midnight.<\/label>D<\/span>Spend one night alone in a house with a history.<\/label>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\nNEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/label><\/p>\n<\/section>\n\t\t<\/p>\n\n\n
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\t\t\t\tWhich feeling stays with you a week after the film?<\/span>Good horror does not stop when the credits do.<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\tA<\/span>Not wanting to turn the bedroom light off.<\/label>B<\/span>Not trusting one particular object in my house.<\/label>C<\/span>Looking twice at people I have known for years.<\/label>D<\/span>Feeling like something came home with me.<\/label>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\nNEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/label><\/p>\n<\/section>\n\t\t<\/p>\n\n\n
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\t\t\t\tSomething wakes you at 3am. What is the worst possibility?<\/span>Eight questions in, this is the one that decides your nightmare.<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\tA<\/span>That I am still asleep, and it knows it.<\/label>B<\/span>That the thing nobody believed me about is here.<\/label>C<\/span>That somebody with a key is downstairs.<\/label>D<\/span>That something is in the doorway, watching us sleep.<\/label>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\nREVEAL MY NIGHTMARE \u2192<\/label><\/p>\n<\/section>\n\t\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t\t\t
The Lights Just Went Out<\/span>Your Nightmare Is\u2026<\/span><\/p>\nFour franchises, four completely different ways of getting underneath
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tA Nightmare on Elm Street \u00b7 Since 1984<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
Elm Street<\/span><\/p>\nYour nightmare does not wait outside the door. It waits for you
\nFreddy is horror’s cruellest idea: a threat that lives in the one place you cannot You are the one who is fine during the film and wide awake at two in the morning. Your These films understood exhaustion as a horror engine. The kids on Elm Street do not lose You can lock every door in the house. You still have to sleep.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tChild’s Play \u00b7 Chucky \u00b7 Since 1988<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
Chucky<\/span><\/p>\nYour nightmare is not really the doll. It is the face of the
\nChucky works precisely because he is absurd. That is the trap: the more accurately you You are the one shouting at the screen because the characters are not listening. You The franchise is at its best when the adults in the room are the real obstacle, and you By the time somebody finally believes you, you will have handled most of it on your own.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tScream \u00b7 Ghostface \u00b7 Since 1996<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
Scream<\/span><\/p>\nYour nightmare has your number, knows your name, and has almost
\nScream is the only one of these where the killer takes the mask off and turns out to be You are the person who calls the twist out loud before it lands. You watch people the The franchise made the rules of horror part of the plot, which means the survivors are Everybody is a suspect, including the person who just offered to walk you home.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Conjuring \u00b7 The Warren Files \u00b7 Since 2013<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
The Conjuring<\/span><\/p>\nYour nightmare is not really about you. It is about the people
\nThe Conjuring films are domestic horror. The house, the family, the perfectly ordinary Your instinct is to get everybody into one room. Your fear is protective rather than This is the one franchise where belief is the weapon. The people who come through it are Whatever is here did not come for you. It came for the household, and you are the one\n\t\t\t\t\u21bb RETAKE THE QUIZ<\/label>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/section><\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n
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Foster moves to Oregon, where he meets Siemens while working as a bartender. All was well in the early stages until she reported Foster to his employer after learning about his criminal history, which led to Foster being fired. That’s when Siemens came face-to-face with “the Devil,” with Foster stalking her, torturing her, and subjecting her to severe physical abuse<\/strong>. For three days, Foster held Siemens captive, brutally assaulting her, and she was only rescued after managing to call a friend for help. Foster escaped and altered his appearance, kicking off a manhunt. After being cornered by police, Foster chose to kill himself after an hours-long standoff on January 31, 2023, never taking accountability for the lives he destroyed along the way<\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\n In ‘Worst Ex Ever,’ the Most Horrifying Stories Only Seem To Get Worse\n
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Seemona Sumasar from Netflix’s ‘Worst Ex Ever’<\/figcaption>Image via Netflix<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n In “Betrayed by the Badge,” we follow the story of Seemona Sumasar<\/strong>, a financial adviser and franchise owner with a young daughter. Sumasar’s life changed after meeting Jerry Ramrattan<\/strong>, an NYPD officer and detective, and the two began a relationship. All was well until Ramrattan’s wife appeared. As it turns out, Ramrattan was little more than a con man who was married and had three children. Despite the inevitable breakup, Sumasar allowed Ramrattan to stay in her basement for a few weeks. Weeks became months, and then Ramrattan turned on Sumasar, raping her and fleeing the police afterward before eventually being caught.<\/p>\nAfter getting out on bail, Ramrattan relentlessly hounded Sumasar, trying to force her to stop cooperating with the rape investigation. When that didn’t work, he tried to frame Sumasar for armed robbery<\/strong>. That, too, didn’t work, but a new plan, implemented by Ramrattan with the help of two associates, reported armed robberies that painted Sumasar as the guilty party, did<\/em> work (as per the previously cited Today). She was arrested in May 2010, and despite her claims of innocence and pointing to Ramrattan as the mastermind behind the ruse, police didn’t take her seriously and brushed it off; even a solid alibi wasn’t enough to prevent Sumasar from being indicted on multiple counts of robbery and facing 25 years in prison. Although Sumasar eventually found justice, her story shows just how easy it was for Ramrattan to manipulate the system to turn against the victim of his crimes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\n The Netflix Docuseries Turns a Custody Battle Into a Crime Scene\n
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Picture of Eric Hill and daughter from Netflix’s ‘Worst Ex Ever’<\/figcaption>Image via Netflix<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n As recounted in “Killing for Custody,” Eric Hill<\/strong>, a quiet, unassuming man, met Mei Li<\/strong> at work, and she introduced him to her daughter, Rosa<\/strong>. Eric and Rosa hit it off and got married in April 2005. Their daughter was born the next year, but the joy of their first child was undermined by Eric needing to work two jobs, and Rosa threatening divorce after the arguments between them became more frequent. After separating, Rosa refused to allow Eric to see their daughter on her first birthday; Eric then sued for custody. As a result, Rosa began making up lies, first by emailing Eric’s work claiming he intended to carry out a shooting there, and another claiming Eric was abusive to their daughter. All the allegations were proven false, and the court gave full custody to Eric.<\/p>\nOn January 7, 2009, Rosa and Mei broke into Sally Hill<\/strong>‘s home, Eric’s 91-year-old grandmother, where they attacked and killed her. Shortly after, Eric and his daughter arrived, but while searching for Sally, Eric was attacked by Rosa and Mei. When police arrived, it was too difficult to make heads or tails of what had happened, and everyone was taken into custody. Now out of the way, detectives were able to search the property, finding Sally’s body and a backpack that contained rope, crossbows, a hunting knife, a throwing star, and a crowbar, among other things. Rosa’s car was found half a block away, along with a samurai sword and leg irons inside. This led to detectives uncovering a sickening plan,