Movie Villainess 101 Rank #71

On April 11, 2026April 15, 2026 By Action Girl BooksIn Movie Villainess 101

Movie

88 Minutes (2007)

Note: This review is based on the director’s cut version.

A mystery thriller based on the “real time” concept, with one minute of screen time per minute of actual in-universe time. Technically not true for the prologue (set many years earlier), but the rest of the film plays out in real time. This includes the titular 88 minutes the murderer gives the main character to live.

The hero is Jack Gramm (Al Pacino), a forensic psychologist and university lecturer. His testimony helped convict the serial killer Forster, who strung his female victims up by their ankles using cables and pulleys. He then cut their arteries and let them bleed to death. Now there’s a copycat with a vendetta against Gramm, who murders the women in his life to frame him.

It turns out the 88 minutes refers to a tragic event in Gramm’s past, where he left his young sister alone and she was murdered. An answerphone tape recording of the crime lasted the same length, and it appears Forster and his copycat accomplice are making things personal.

There are many suspects in the movie, primarily Gramm’s students and a mysterious guy in black leather. No prize for guessing he’s a red herring, and with everyone else eliminated come the climax, it’s easy to pick out the killer.

Villainess

Lauren Douglas / Lydia Doherty (Leelee Sobieski)

That murderess is one of Gramm’s students: the inquisitive Lauren, who tries to throw him (and viewers) off the scent by faking an attack on herself. Savvy watchers won’t be fooled since we never see the attack take place and Gramm finds no sign of the phantom suspect. To provide even more hints, a montage shows a murder victim where Gramm considers only female suspects. So even the hero has twigged that threatening callers who use voice disguisers are usually women.

Lauren dons biker gear and a dark-visored crash helmet to bump off the “leather guy” at Gramm’s apartment. The outfit is standard attire for someone who’ll later be revealed to be female. The villainess then goes after the women in his life: the helpful student, a colleague the good doctor slept with, and the university dean. With help from his trusted assistant, Gramm identifies Lauren as Lydia Doherty, an attorney working with Forster. She’s one of his psycho groupies who worship serial killers (a besotted female lawyer represented Forster in the prologue trial).

After the unsurprising reveal that Lauren/Lydia is indeed the killer, Gramm confronts her in a university office building. For literal leverage, the murderess has the dean suspended over the balcony edge by a rope/pulley setup and holds the cable. If Gramm shoots her, the hostage dies, and the killer also has the student hostage as backup. Lauren recounts her scheme with sparse black and white flashbacks that should have been longer or more detailed.

Lauren insists on giving Gramm the full 88 minutes she promised. This proves her undoing since the doctor tipped off his FBI agent friend, and he shows up to shoot the villainess in the back. With the threat taken out, Gramm grabs the cable and saves the dean, which sends the villainess plummeting to her death. Overall, it’s a decent confrontation capped off with an average demise.

Honourable Mention: Real Time

Nick of Time (1995) – Ms Jones (Roma Maffia)

Another real-time movie, this one stayed true to the concept from the opening titles to the end. Johnny Depp plays an average accountant, and Christopher Walken is a menacing villain known only as Mr Smith. He and his accomplice, credited as Ms Jones, kidnap the hero’s young daughter to coerce him into killing the Governor of California.

The plot plays out mostly as expected, with Depp’s character attempting to warn people of the intended assassination. His efforts are moot, and end with Mr Smith making timely threats or the person involved in the conspiracy. Eventually, the hero enlists the help of a Vietnam veteran to thwart Smith’s plan and rescue his daughter.

Ms Jones is always secondary to the charismatic Walken, but has a few worthy scenes. In her most memorable scene, she threatens the daughter with a gun hidden behind a seat cushion. The villainess outlines the various firearms she could be packing and the nasty effects. There’s a good scrap between Ms Jones and the Vietnam vet, which culminates in him knocking her out with a detached false leg.

Movie Villainess 101 Rank #72

On April 11, 2026April 15, 2026 By Action Girl BooksIn Movie Villainess 101

*A “fake” Presidential kidnapping just became deadly real*

Movie

The Alternate (2000)

A B-movie where most of the budget was apparently spent on recognisable actors, this action thriller is laughable at times. Eric Roberts plays an ex-CIA man known only as The Replacement and does the Die Hard thing when bad guys kidnap the US President. For the last act, there’s just one villain: The Leader (Bryan Genesse), who takes on the authorities and hero all by himself.

The Alternate (also known as Agent of Death) features extended cameos by Ice-T and Michael Madsen. The former is a glorified security guard who spends most of his screen time behind a desk. He’s probably Secret Service, though it’s not specified. This guy is terrible at his job, since it only takes a team of five to infiltrate a hotel, disable the agents on duty with blowpipes, and abscond with the President.

Turns out this is a fake kidnapping orchestrated by the campaign manager to increase popularity. Except the Leader and his henchwoman Mary fancy a bigger payday, so the hostage situation becomes real.

Madsen’s character is the “guy on the outside”, who stands about in his tinted shades and manages (more like botches) special forces raids. The hotel has no alternative access routes, a lame excuse to keep all the action in one location. Good job that the Replacement offers some actual resistance.

The last half hour is especially silly, as the Leader comes after the Replacement with a flamethrower. This leads to average shootouts and poorly staged fights between the two men on the hotel roof. Fortunately, the female villain is more memorable, otherwise the film would be entirely forgettable.

Villainess

Mary (Brooke Theiss-Genesse)

No, the actors’ names are not similar by coincidence. Brooke Theiss-Genesse is the real-life wife of Bryan Genesse and seems to have a martial arts background. Or trained a lot before filming, since she’s very able in her lengthy fight scene, one of the rare highlights.

Viewers are first introduced to the athletic Mary during a training sequence. She gets plenty of action here, dropping from the ceiling and mowing the opposition down with blanks. Not long after, she swaps those for real bullets and shoots it out with the Replacement. The hero is forced to leave the President behind, and the Leader sends his top (and only!) ally after the one man who can stop them.

Mary’s initial attempt doesn’t go so well. She steps into an obvious trap: loose wires in a pool of water. The villainess turns on the power, goes all shaky and collapses. Many first-time viewers probably cursed this “wasted” opportunity. Fortunately, there’s much better to come.

See, this woman doesn’t go down so easily and comes back for round two. She now has a metal rod to even things out and enjoys working over the Replacement. The fight lasts almost two full minutes, and there’s no cutaway shot to another scene. Pure brilliance for any villainess fan. Both parties exchange blows – this is a woman who can receive damage and dish it out. She lands some heavy strikes and ultimately gets the better of her opponent.

Mary, like many action villainesses, gets cocky and lets down her guard. This allows the Replacement to grab the henchwoman as a human shield when the Leader shows up. And so Mary gets taken out by her own team. With a better demise, this villainess would have ranked much higher. But this fight is a must-see.

Honourable Mentions: Tough to Kill

Tagget (1991) – Mrs Sands (Sarah Douglas)

Hon Mention TextThe actress, best known for playing Ursa in Superman II, has a brief but brilliant role in this conspiracy thriller. Her brutally efficient hitwoman kills an old man, beating him with a stylish wooden cane after a clandestine meeting. Then the assassin goes after the hero, a crippled Vietnam veteran who suffers from paralysing flashbacks.

Mrs Sands plans to stage Tagget’s suicide, but he outsmarts her by switching off the lights. Action continues with a shootout and a drag-out fight on the floor. The crippled hero angle works well and gives the hitwoman a physical advantage in the struggle. But the hero overpowers the assassin, then knocks her through a window and over a balcony rail to her doom. At least she put up a good struggle.

Post Impact (2004) – Sarah Henley (Joanna Taylor)

The villainess in this post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller is a British ex-SAS (Special Air Service) agent who wastes no time seducing the hero (Dean Cain). This includes a steamy sex scene in a shower (in uncensored versions).

The world has entered a second ice age after a comet impact, and a satellite microwave beam weapon has fallen into rebel hands. It’s up to Dean, the Brit, and a team of soldiers to recover it. Henley is depicted as brutal, gunning down people without remorse. A second female is a romantic interest, so no surprise that Henley is a plot twist villain.

After a brutal knife fight in a control room, the hero tosses the traitor through a window. Unlike Mrs Sands, a high fall doesn’t kill this woman, and she returns for a second go. There’s more combat, some boasting, and Henley is shot. Another long drop, then a sharp icicle falls and skewers the villainess. The best demise of the three reviewed here, but the action scenes are average.

Movie Villainess 101 Rank #73

On April 11, 2026April 15, 2026 By Action Girl BooksIn Movie Villainess 101

*Skilled, efficient, deadly. The killing machine known as Cataleya*

Movie

Colombiana (2011)

A villainess protagonist entry, with a female assassin out for – what else? – revenge. Despite the tragic backstory, the central character is firmly in anti-heroine territory (if not villainy) because of her cold-blooded style and ruthless executions.

As plots go, Colombiana is standard fare, yet another tale of retribution that plays out predictably. But the lead is more interesting than most.

Villainess

Cateleya (Zoe Saldana)

The opening twenty-five minutes showcase Cataleya as a young girl (Amandla Stenberg in these scenes), and she’s a fiery one. Her father has ties to the criminal underworld and is targeted by a rival. Good thing he’s trained his family in weapon use, then. This includes his wife (handy with automatics) and teenage daughter. She soon proves she’s no easy prey by skewering a henchman’s hand to the dining table.

Even at a young age, Cateleya is a force to be reckoned with, navigating the streets and shanty towns of Bogota with confidence. After she eludes her pursuers, our anti-heroine bargains her way into the United States (with financial data from her father), gives the authorities the slip, and meets up with a family friend in Chicago. The contact is – of course – a criminal, whom Cateleya asks to train her as a killer.

After a time skip to adulthood, Cateleya orchestrates a fake DU crime and gets locked up in a police station. All part of her plan to murder a criminal under guard by US marshals. This nimble killer is a grown-up version with even more intelligence and athletic skill. After an imaginative sequence, where she escapes custody and disables a vent fan, we get a cold execution by the remorseless protagonist.

Things settle down after that, with three subplots converging. The first involves a police detective piecing together the assassin’s many murders (and assuming the killer is male). The second is the prerequisite romance present in female assassin tales. She may as well give up, because these never play out happily. Third, there’s the relationship between Cateleya and her adopted father / mentor, which breaks down since she’s obsessed with revenge. To the point of leaving calling card tattoos on her victims.

To keep things zipping along, there’s another assassination, this time at a luxury villa with a glass-covered shark pool (!). This enables an over-the-top death scene with a crooked financier fed to his own pets by the merciless hitwoman. Subplots are then wrapped up. The boyfriend takes a photo, which leads to a police raid on Cateleya’s apartment and a daring getaway. The reckless woman’s antics get her mentor killed, which really pisses her off.

After Cataleya blackmails / tricks the detective into helping her, she learns the main villain’s location from a corrupt agent. Putting a man in the crosshairs of a sniper rifle is a good way to break down his resistance.

The big finale has Cateleya assault the big boss’ mansion estate with enough firepower to wipe out a small army. The bodyguards don’t last long, except for the tough lieutenant, who puts up a bit more of a struggle. Throughout all this, the main baddie hides in a safe room. After the massacre, he makes a run for it and thinks he’s got away in a van. If he had checked the rear before setting off, he might have seen the assassin’s hounds. Feeding her targets to hungry animals is this woman’s speciality.

Honourable Mention: Assassins

Menno’s Mind (1997) – Loria (Stephanie Romanov)

A direct-to-video sci-fi thriller, and another anti-heroine firmly in villainess territory. The reluctant hero is a computer programmer (Billy Campbell) drawn into a rebel operation to expose a corrupt politician. This dodgy official plans to win an election through subliminal mind control. Virtual reality is a familiar plot device, and the atrocious computer graphics weren’t even good in the 1990s.

The female lead is the black-garbed Loria, who’s more of a vicious henchwoman than heroine. She has no issue with killing security personnel, often in brutal fashion. When she’s done eliminating two rent-a-cops with neck snaps, she threatens the nerd at gunpoint. Loria even forces her captive to download her dead lover’s memories into his brain.

The only reason to root for Loria is that the bad guy (Corbin Bernsen) is even nastier than she is. Fittingly, she sacrifices herself to save the programmer and is reunited with her lover in cyberspace. Don’t expect the story to make sense – it’s that kind of movie.

Movie Villainess 101 Rank #74

On April 11, 2026April 15, 2026 By Action Girl BooksIn Movie Villainess 101

*He chose the wrong girl to take to homecoming*

Movie

Sky High (2005)

When putting together my list, I focused on action movies with some thrillers and horror entries. Comedy isn’t my favourite genre, but I’m aiming for variety. This Walt Disney family adventure has a lot going for it, and a strong moral tale at its core. And the inclusion of a masked villainess is welcome!

Sky High is about school kids with problems. Not that original, you might think, except these children have special powers. The title institution – that floats in the sky – is an academy for superheroes. Students learn how to build ray guns, save imperilled citizens, and all the other good guy stuff.

One prevailing theme is the two-tier education system. Impress during induction, and you’re chosen to be a hero. If not, then you’re a sidekick (also known as hero support) and treated as inferior. Will Stronghold is the offspring of two superhero parents, but he has no powers and so becomes a sidekick. That’s until he develops super strength during a cafeteria fight with a pyrokinetic arch-enemy. Then he’s transferred to the hero group, and his problems really start.

Villainess

Gwen / Royal Pain (Mary Elizabeth Winstead)

The chief antagonist is a mysterious armour-suited villain known only as Royal Pain, whom Will’s parents defeated many years ago. But great foes aren’t so easily disposed of.

Guessing the villain’s identity is relatively easy. Royal Pain uses the voice disguiser trick, which usually implies a female. Will has two girls in his life, so a decent chance one of them is bad. Girl #1 is Layla (Danielle Panabaker) who’s a good variant of Poison Ivy with the power to control plants. Girl #2 is Gwen Grayson, a teaching assistant who seems charming at first. Then she reveals her true colours and deceives Layla into abandoning Will at a house party.

The event is a cover to steal Royal Pain’s pacifier, a suitably high-tech beam weapon. If Will had any doubts about Gwen’s intentions, those are erased when he discovers his girlfriend’s photo in the school yearbook. Long ago, she was called Sue Tenny, and is shown holding the pacifier in lab class.

Will races off to save the day and must foil Royal Pain’s diabolical plot. She wants to turn the Sky High kids into babies and re-raise them as villains. Suitably dastardly, eh?

No surprise that the school bullies and bitchy cheerleader (who makes multiple copies of herself) side with the villainess. Naturally, Will teams up with the sidekicks whose maligned powers prove useful. And the theme resurfaces when Royal Pain / Gwen / Sue Tenny reveals her motivation was derision as a sidekick. Maybe the school should rethink its policy.

There’s a fun climax where Will battles Royal Pain, and the sidekicks (make that heroes) overcome the villainess. As this is a family movie, their efforts are recognised, and the villains imprisoned to set up a potential sequel. So far there’s been talk of one, but nothing ever materialised.

Honourable Mention: Family Movies

Mr Magoo (1997) – Luanne LeSeur (Kelly Lynch)

Hon Mention TextAnother comedy adventure produced by Walt Disney, adapted from a cartoon about a short-sighted, accident-prone hero. The movie received backlash from the disabled community because of its negative portrayal of visual impairment. That said, this Leslie Nielsen vehicle is a fun romp, even if most of the humour is mediocre slapstick.

That criticism doesn’t apply to the villainess, who’s above average. Luanne is a jewel thief with a habit of double-crossing her partners, and a mistress of disguise for good measure. She’s played by martial artist Kelly Lynch, foreshadowing her Charlie’s Angels role a few years later.

Luanne wears some silly outfits, notably a bikini, a shiny silver catsuit (just because) and – most crazy of all – a “money suit” with wads of cash sewn into black fabric. Well, this is a comedy. Thankfully, the villainess’ high-kicking antics are lively, and she makes a good adversary. She beats up a small army of guys while unarmed at a crime boss’ wedding, but she’s no match for Mr Magoo, who wins purely by accident.

Movie Villainess 101 Rank #75

On April 11, 2026April 15, 2026 By Action Girl BooksIn Movie Villainess 101

Movie

Blood Widow (2014)

When discussing teen slashers, the iconic villains that spring to mind are Jason Vorhees from the Friday the 13th series and Michael Myers from Halloween. Female slashers of this mould – the silent, mass-murdering type – are rare. Many horror films with a villainess opt for a psychological, supernatural, or jealous psycho archetype. The low-budget slasher Blood Widow, and its title character, are a refreshing change.

The movie has few locations, with the entirety taking place in two houses and their surroundings. And the level of acting… best not to mention that. However, the gore effects are better than expected and the kills bloody. The pace is excellent, and other than character development that goes nowhere, there is very little filler material. Most scenes are stalk or slash (or a mix of both), with some backstory interludes. Like Jason and Michael, the masked killer prefers murder to explanatory monologues.

The movie should suit horror fans, provided they can overlook its shortcomings.

Villainess

The Blood Widow (Gabrielle Ann Henry)

All credit to the filmmakers for choosing a classic slasher-style outfit. The villainess looks the part in her studded leather outfit and white face mask. Gabrielle Ann Henry plays the Blood Widow, but we only see part of her face when the mask is damaged in the final sequence. Which makes her a terrifying foe – a purely evil, emotionless killer who slices her way through hapless teenagers.

She racks up plenty of victims, starting with a random photographer who wanders into an empty house (as you do) and meets a sticky end in the psycho’s basement. Then teenage couple Hugh and Laurie purchase a property next door. When their friends visit for a social gathering, you can predict the outcome.

Next to die are two partying teens and dumb redhead Harmony, who thinks it a good idea to meditate in candlelight in the creepy house. She gets gutted because of her stupidity, then the villainess goes on the offensive and slaughters the rest of the cast. This includes the final girl (!) who’s crazy enough to return for payback after knocking the psycho out.

Exposition is provided when Laurie searches the empty property. We learn through photographs and a diary that the Blood Widow’s real name is Tiffany, and she was abused as a child. Why is that always the reason? Weird dolls and masks lying tell us she’s a very disturbed young lady.

It seems the producers intended a Blood Widow franchise, and there was a movie listed on IMDb called Blood Widow Lives. Sadly, this never materialised, though an improved sequel with such an iconic female slasher would have been welcome.

Honourable Mentions: Masked Slashers

Coda (1987) – Dr Leslie Steiner (Arna-Maria Winchester)

Also known as Symphony of Evil, this Australian slasher is let down by its slow-burning opening, but things get good in the last hour. If Blood Widow had a female Jason Vorhees, then the villainess in Coda does her best Michael Myers impression, stalking women in a white face mask.

The murderess targets students, though her motive is never explained. There is an attempt at a summary in the closing scene, but the reasoning ultimately boils down to “she was crazy”. Obviously! The villainess’ reveal is telegraphed, with only one major character as a credible suspect. At least there was no out of left field reveal.

Another issue is the killer seems to have problems… well, killing people. Leslie requires multiple attempts to murder her victims. Notably, she strangles one woman and drowns her in a lake, then gives up and leaves her alive! Well, at least the psycho’s mask is cool.

Night School (1981) – Eleanor Adjai (Rachel Ward)

A golden oldie (for slasher fans), also known as Terror Eyes, and now available in restored high definition. The killer’s black motorcycle leathers and dark-visored crash helmet won’t fool seasoned viewers, but there’s still a fantastic unmasking moment near the end.

A nutcase decapitates women with a kukri and dumps their severed heads in water, whether that be a toilet, pond, water-filled trashcan, or local aquarium. The obvious suspect is a voyeur with mental health issues who stalks Eleanor through the seedy nighttime streets of Boston. The familiar “make her seem a victim” trick – who are they kidding?

The investigation switches to an anthropology lecturer familiar with cleansing rituals, but his exchange student assistant, Eleanor, is the culprit. An overlong shower scene and a British accent are not-so-subtle clues to her guilt. Madly in love, the teacher responds to her confession by donning her leathers, and after a chase, he suffers a fatal accident. Case closed, but the lead detective has doubts.

Great kill scenes – such as the loony biker spinning a merry-go-round and springing from a closet to confront a female scuba diver – make this a memorable nostalgia trip. There’s also a surprisingly effective scare when the cop’s partner plays a masked killer prank in the closing scene.

Shredder (2001) – Evil Skier / Shelly (Candace Moon)

The credited villainess’ name aptly describes her: a psycho dressed in a black outfit and reflective goggles, who hates snowboarders (or shredders) enough to slaughter an entire group of them. Typical slasher fare with idiot kids who don’t realise there’s a killer out there for the first hour, but surprisingly light on nudity. Themed weapons include an ice pick and an icicle, adding some much-needed originality.

Years ago snowboarders hounded a teenage girl, leading to a fatal accident. Her sister is alive, so horror fans will make the connection long before the reveal when she unmasks herself in an icebreaker truck. A fake European who was involved in the girl’s death and her resentful father are obvious suspects, which means they aren’t guilty to any intelligent viewer.

In a rare gender flip, a male is the last survivor after his bitchy girlfriend’s dying words are “I never loved you.” Nobody will mourn her death. This “final boy” scenario is a bluff because a girl thought dead returns to blast the psychotic Shelly into the icebreaker’s spinning blade. An honourable mention for an entertaining, if flawed, low budget production.

Movie Villainess 101 Rank #76

On April 10, 2026April 15, 2026 By Action Girl BooksIn Movie Villainess 101

Movie

Blast (2004)

Another Die Hard on an X movie, and this particular X is an oil drilling platform off the San Diego coast. Terrorists posing as environmentalists stage a shipping accident, arm themselves with automatic weapons hidden in Christmas presents (!), and take over the facility. The unlikely hero is a tugboat captain with former military experience, who joins forces with an FBI plant to battle the bad guys.

The production budget is large enough to hire some name actors. Vinnie Jones plays a villain (he usually does), and Vivica A. Fox is a tough-talking agent. She has a subplot of her own to contend with: a traitor on her team. And yes, she gets a badass moment when she arrests him.

The villains are after money (who knew?), and their plan is to set off an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) device launched by missile. While Blast goes through the obvious plot points – lone heroes against an army of bad guys, a botched raid by US special forces – it’s an entertaining ride.

Villainess

Luna (Nadine Velazquez)

Surprisingly, Luna is not the only female among the terrorists, though she is the only woman to see any real action. She soon ditches her Christmas outfit for the more usual leather top, and straps on an LMG. That’s a light machine gun for those unfamiliar with weapons. And she has a metal finger-blade and martial arts skills to fall back on. We get it – she’s a tough girl.

Luna’s role in the first half isn’t that memorable. She hunts an escaped child through the lower structure, sits around taking orders, and provides verbal support. Her first fight is against the hopelessly outmatched FBI agent. Things get more interesting later on, when Luna finally gets to fire her oversized weapon in a kitchen shootout. A shame that’s the only time she uses the LMG, and she somehow doesn’t hit her target.

After the villains arm the EMP, the heroes attempt to avert disaster. Luna has repeated fights against the FBI agent, whom she takes a dislike to. The villainess is acrobatic and slippery, dodging automatic weapon fire by somersaulting. While a skilled opponent, the henchwoman survives because the heroes don’t finish her when they have the chance. Eventually, the FBI guy gets smart and drops a metal plate on her.

Honourable Mentions: Combat Henchwomen

Crash Dive (1996) – Bolanne (Elena DeBurdo)

Another Michael Dudikoff-led B-movie action thriller, Crash Dive is one of his better efforts. When a nuclear submarine is hijacked by terrorists posing as shipwrecked sailors, only he can save us. The lone female in the villain ranks is Bolanne, a beautiful Eastern European who strips naked to seduce a crew member. Sex in the shower, then the nude assassin chokes him with a barbell.

Apart from that excellent kill, there are some decent henchwoman moments. Bolanne frees her captive leader with a throwing knife, snakes around menacingly, and stabs a man helping the hero. The end fight is longer than usual (about a minute), and the good guy has to work for his victory.

Triple Threat (2019) – Mook (JeeJa Yanin)

This aptly named henchwoman is a member of a mercenary group hired to eliminate a bothersome woman who makes the mistake of campaigning against crime. The pay mistress is a mysterious executive who gives orders by mobile phone. While the big bad isn’t particularly interesting as a villainess, Mook is a memorable inclusion, even if she dies before the halfway point.

The film features several high-profile action stars: Tony Jaa, Scott Adkins, and Michael Jai White. Brutal action, a high body count, and explosions galore – what did you expect? Most loud bangs come from Mook, who’s overzealous and trigger-happy with her grenade launcher. She specialises in clearing obstructions and dealing area of effect damage.

Mook gets three high-carnage, all-out assaults: a jungle compound, a TV studio, and a police station. On the third raid, she meets her match and loses to the hero. Then he gives Mook a taste of her own medicine and blows her to smithereens.

Movie Villainess 101 Rank #77

On April 10, 2026April 15, 2026 By Action Girl BooksIn Movie Villainess 101

*This copycat killer sees herself as the Black Queen*

Movie

Final Move (2006)

Chess-themed serial killer movies have been done before, but Final Move adds a paranormal element. Psychic Dan Marlowe (Matt Schulze) assists Detective Krieg (Lochlyn Munro) with his investigation. It appears someone is copying the recently executed “Chess Piece Killer” Thomas Page. Marlowe previously identified him from a vision, but did he make a mistake? Cue lots of murders as the duo go on a psycho hunt, and – yes – a city map is used as a chessboard. Why does that always happen?

The annoying colour palette – a horrible orange tint – makes some scenes difficult to watch. The opening murder is well staged, but the other killings are over too quickly. Some are only shown in psychic visions, green-filtered and filmed on shaky cam.

Another problem is that the villainess is too easy to spot. There’s an attempt to fool us into thinking an African American chess player is the bad guy, but the masked killer is clearly Caucasian. On the plus side, the film moves along at a brisk pace. The subplot about Marlowe’s strained relationship with his wife is well done, though it’s obvious the murderer will target his family.

Villainess

Iris Quarrie (Rachel Hunter)

An FBI agent helping with the investigation (or pretending to), Iris is a rare example of a female serial killer with a high body count. She tasers a woman after taunting her over the phone, hangs a man in an elevator, and tosses a judge through a top-floor window. Can’t complain about a lack of variety.

The opening murder is the most impressive. After making some nasty (voice distorted) threats, the masked psycho attacks her victim, roughs her up, and electrocutes her as she writhes in agony. When the police search the crime scene, they find a chess piece in the victim’s hand.

The killer leaves messages for Marlowe, phones him, and even breaks into his house. This hints at a personal connection, and despite the police arresting several suspects, viewers will suspect Iris after she attempts to seduce the married Marlowe. Her response to his rejection is to bed another man, have forced sex, and call him Danny. The director may as well hang the guilty sign around her neck.

After the elevator hanging, the killer escapes to the roof and makes a dramatic escape on a zipline, with the cops shooting in desperation at the fast-moving, black-clad figure. The assailant is masked, but on reviewing the footage of a rooftop shootout, it seems to be Rachel Hunter (or a close match) under the hood. Points for that.

Krieg grows suspicious of Iris when CCTV footage places her at the latest kill scene, but Marlowe is reluctant to accuse her. Iris attempts to throw the police off by claiming another suspect assaulted her. Since this happens off screen, it’s no surprise the attack turns out to have been staged. When Krieg and Marlowe find the suspect dead, they should identify Iris as the killer.

In the climax, the masked killer lures the men to a warehouse. She shoots Krieg and confronts Marlowe, with his kidnapped wife and daughter strapped to an explosive-rigged chair. When the black-clad Iris removes her balaclava, it’s no surprise she’s the copycat chess killer, but good to have an actual reveal.

There’s an average confrontation between the villainess and Marlowe where she taunts him only to get shot. The hero’s choice of post-mortem line is oh so predictable: “Checkmate.”

Honourable Mentions: Masked Assailants / Zip Lines

The Last Stand (2013) – Magnet Girl (Diane Lupo), Agent Ellen Richards (Genesis Rodriguez)

Two relatively under-used villainesses in this (kinda) comeback action thriller for Arnold Schwarzenegger. He plays a sheriff who must defend a town when an escaped crime lord and his private army roll in. Expect lots of shooting, explosions, fistfights, and general mayhem.

The black-garbed Magnet Girl, who remains masked throughout, is the point woman for the villain’s dramatic breakout. She presumably gets her name from the sequence where she descends atop a crane electromagnet and airlifts a prisoner transport van. She matches the police for firepower, riddles one officer with assault rifle rounds, and keeps the rest pinned down as she ascends. Sadly, this is her only action sequence, and she disappears with no explanation soon after.

Agent Ellen Richards is a weak addition: an FBI agent on the crime boss’ payroll. She’s revealed as a turncoat early on, but doesn’t do much except be the main villain’s passenger during his ride to the border. Ultimately, he gets fed up with the woman and kicks her out of his car. She then disappears, only to return at the end and get arrested.

Movie Villainess 101 Rank #78

On April 10, 2026April 15, 2026 By Action Girl BooksIn Movie Villainess 101

*Docile and controllable… or so they thought*

Movie

Species (1995)

This sci-fi thriller is best described as a high-budget B-movie. The opening credits scream Syfy channel, but the creature designs by H.R. Giger (better known for the Alien franchise) elevate this to an above-average romp.

The plot: a manhunt for an escaped alien/human hybrid. Scientists thought engineering a female guinea pig would make her “more docile and controllable” (their words). Nobody seems to have told them that women are the deadlier sex, and watching a few femme fatale movies beforehand might have suggested a rethink.

After things go wrong (shocker!) and the hybrid escapes, project lead Xavier Finch (Ben Kingsley) hires a team of specialists to track her. This includes a psychic empath (Forest Whitaker), a biologist (Marg Helgenberger), a social studies expert (Alfred Molina), and – naturally – a covert ops military guy (Michael Madsen).

Sil isn’t content to remain the prey, however. After the escaped child transforms into an adult, she searches for a male mate. And given that just one hybrid leaves a trail of dead bodies and destruction, that wouldn’t be good.

Villainess

Sil (Natasha Henstridge)

Species was Henstridge’s first film role, and it’s no coincidence the actress is a stunning beauty and appears in many topless scenes. For the early sequences in the research lab and the initial manhunt, Michelle Williams plays the child Sil. Even in this form, the alien hybrid is dangerous, capable of high speed and killing a much larger male. Then Sil grows up, and her real mission begins.

Los Angeles is the hunting ground and – as the culture specialist points out – an ideal location for Sil to blend in. She’s very particular about her mating habits, and violently rejects her first choice when she senses he’s a diabetic. The hybrid has more luck with the second man, whom she lures into a hot tub for passionate interspecies sex. Unfortunately for Sil and the companion who’s promptly drowned, the tracker team arrives before he impregnates her.

Sil can change between human and alien forms, seemingly at will. There are some decent creature effects as the hunted woman becomes a green-skinned predator. The best part of the movie is when she goes on the offensive and becomes the huntress. Deciding the military man would be a suitable mate, she fakes her own death. The humans are too quick to believe their quarry is dead (don’t they watch these films?), especially since the hybrid has proven elusive and dangerous.

After changing her appearance, Sil continues her hunt. She’s adept at infiltration, and even converses with the biologist in a restroom. Her third attempt at sex, with the social expert, is successful. The pregnant hybrid eliminates her mate and escapes underground with the trackers in close pursuit.

The ending sequence is unimpressive. Sil stays in creature form throughout and doesn’t carry the same threat the disguised woman did. In a thankfully brief sequence, Sil gives birth and the heroes burn her disgusting offspring alive. The enraged mother is harder to kill, but the confrontation is weak. It turns into a Michael Madsen show, with the other characters reduced to inactive supporting roles.

Species spawned several poorly regarded sequels, though the original received some acclaim. Henstridge signed up for a trilogy, but only appears briefly in Species III.

Honourable Mention: Aliens

Aliens (1986) – Alien Queen (N/A)

Okay, so it’s debatable whether a creature can truly be a villainess. But this iconic antagonist, and the epic confrontation with the one-woman army Ellen Ripley, deserve an honourable mention.

The standout segment is the iconic battle, which goes on for several minutes. Like a video game final boss, the creature is a bullet sponge. She (it?) shrugs off entire magazines of ammo that would shred her minions in seconds. Explosive rounds merely prompt the Queen to abandon her lower body and chase the heroine to a spacecraft.

Even 35 years after release, the creature effects stand up to modern viewing. They didn’t use CGI, which can date quickly. Ripley in a mechanical versus the Queen’s second form is no less exciting. While the creature is predictably jettisoned through an airlock, the death scene with the defeated monster floating through space is satisfying.

Movie Villainess 101 Rank #79

On April 9, 2026April 15, 2026 By Action Girl BooksIn Movie Villainess 101

Movie

Killer Dream Home (2020)

Many modern Lifetime movies have female villains, but it’s a case of quantity over quality. Motives are unimaginative (how many jilted lovers are there in America?). Three murders, a low body count in the 1990s, would be a veritable bloodbath today. And the climaxes are weak or nonexistent.

Thankfully, some producers understand what’s expected in these films. Time to champion The Ninth House, a partnership between writer/director Jake Helgren and producer Autumn Federici. Movie titles are typical for the genre: Deadly Matrimony, Psycho Party Planner, Psycho Sister-in-law, Psycho Stripper… Yes, death and psychos abound. What makes them stand out are the unpredictability factor and exciting finales, truly a lost art in the 2020s.

Jake Helgren has a horror background, and that shines through in his final products. Expect darkly lit scenes, creepy supporting characters, red herrings, and a few people to get bumped off before the end credits.

Sourcing these movies in the UK is difficult. With no official Lifetime network, these films often turn up on the free-to-air Channel 5 for afternoon showings. That means censorship of violence, which is a big problem with Ninth House productions. The murder sequences are the best parts, and better shot than most TV movies – if only we could watch them. Killer Dream Home isn’t available in Britain, but I sourced enough footage from online clips to review it.

Villainess

Morgan Dyer (Eve Mauro)

Ninth House varies its casting and includes actors who aren’t known for Lifetime movies. Eve Mauro is a fashion model and an unfamiliar face, which helps to keep things fresh, even if her psycho is suitably over the top.

Morgan really wants her dream home: a lavish mansion with exquisitely decorated rooms, a swimming pool, and even an elevator. As the movie title suggests, she’s prepared to kill for it. So, she breaks in and drowns the owner in her bathtub. Lunatic Morgan wears a red raincoat instead of the traditional black hoodie favoured by Lifetime villains. Points for originality straight from the outset.

When the property comes onto the market, it’s purchased by Josh and Jules Grant (John Deluca and Maiara Walsh) with the help of realtor Renee Rivera. Unfortunately, the happy couple makes the mistake of hiring a psycho woman as their interior designer. As is so often the case, the main characters are a little slow on the uptake, and it’s left to the supporting players to snoop. Best friend Bliss (Brooke Butler) is suspicious from the start, leading to many confrontations with Morgan and a simmering hatred between the two women. Which you know is going to end badly for Bliss, but it’s a while before we get there.

Morgan is physically attractive (she even gets a swimsuit scene) and uses that to her advantage. She seduces her landlord, who thinks he’s onto a winner. Until he wakes up and discovers kinky pictures plastered over the fridge, and a letter from Morgan “suggesting” he ignores a late rent payment. Murder is her solution for those who interfere, and Renee becomes the obligatory mid-movie victim to keep up the pace.

Like any decent Lifetime villainess, Morgan has some crazy chick lines. Her best is when she calls Bliss a lapdog and threatens to bury the mole. This is a preamble to the finale, where Morgan shows up pony-tailed and dressed all in black like an action movie henchwoman. In case Jules and Josh haven’t figured out she’s insane, Morgan delivers a barmy frame-up monologue served with extra ham and cheese.

Ninth House keeps viewers guessing who’ll survive until the end. They do a good job with a minor character who appears to die before he makes a heroic comeback. Being the best friend is usually deadly, so it’s no real surprise Bliss meets a gruesome end. Morgan strangles her in the elevator, though the choice of weapon (a tape measure) is inventive.Far too many Lifetime baddies are arrested or escape justice altogether. Ninth House continues to buck the trend by killing off the villain. Morgan is eliminated with her own nail gun. Not bad, but it would have been nice to add in a stunt double and balcony fall (like Deadly Matrimony) to cap things off.

Honourable Mention: Ninth House Productions

Babysitter’s Nightmare (2018) – Audra Monrose (Arianne Zucker)

Another Ninth House production, this is arguably a horror movie in disguise. It’s available to stream in the UK, but (to my knowledge) has never aired on TV. The opening murder scene, where a masked killer suffocates a babysitter, is brutal and graphic for afternoon television. Another woman is stabbed with a broken wine bottle – good luck getting that past the censors.

Babysitter’s Nightmare (also known as A Stranger Outside) is a typical female alone in the house scenario. Technically, the main character is not alone, since she has her child and best friend for company. As expected with this production team, there’s a high body count and a bizarre killer guise. The murderer likes to cosplay as Darth Sidious from Star Wars, with the same black robe and face-shadowing hood.

The villainess is a vengeful woman whose own child died, so she targets innocent nurses in retribution. There’s a great ending to look forward to – a prolonged 20-30 minute sequence with the killer defeated after an epic struggle. Lifetime filmmakers, please take note. This is how to shoot a climax.

Movie Villainess 101 Rank #80

On April 9, 2026April 15, 2026 By Action Girl BooksIn Movie Villainess 101

*A daring $40 million heist – and that’s not even the big one*

Movie

Entrapment (1999)

One of many late 1990s films to use the “Millennium Bug” as a plot device, this is a slick heist thriller with great performances from the two leads. Entrapment is notable for being one of Sean Connery’s last film roles. His only major features after this were Finding Forrester and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Plus, there’s that bendy laser-dodging sequence with Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Oddly, the infamous set piece – the theft of a gold mask as a payoff for an even bigger score – occurs at the film’s midpoint rather than the climax. The action-packed climax is set in Kuala Lumpur on New Year’s Eve. The target? A whopping $8 billion from a banking terminal in the iconic Petronas Towers.

For the benefit of younger readers, the Millennium Bug was a computer flaw where date years were stored as two digits. This would have caused issues come 2000 with 00 interpreted as 1900. In the end, the glitch was resolved with no major consequences, so the panic seems silly in hindsight.

Entrapment has one of the cleverest film usages: an integrity test of electronic banking systems. A plausible occurrence in real life, although they probably didn’t run them at the last second.

Villainess

Gin (Catherine Zeta-Jones)

Virginia Baker (Gin for short) is an insurance investigator from New York. She’s after aging professional thief Robert “Mac” MacDougal (Connery). He’s suspected of stealing a Rembrandt, a daring office skyscraper heist that involved a remote controlled winch, and Gin is determined to get her man.

The Thomas Crown Affair setup is inverted when Gin reveals she stole the painting and needs Mac’s help for a job. He’s not impressed, which might have something to do with her overconfident ego. She has a habit of declaring an outcome “perfect” being messing up. Gin wastes no time in using her feminine charms on the much older Mac. He admires her form during a training montage scene, as she bends sexily between ropes substituting for lasers.

Many film critics criticised the “implausible” romantic relationship. But it’s about Gin’s thieving ability (Mac sees his younger self in her), and not simply her beauty. The old-timer desires to return to daredevil heists, and the initial deceptive flirting develops into genuine affection.

After Gin dodges lasers for real and steals the golden mask from Bedford Palace, things get tense when Mac accuses her of setting him up. Until she lets him in on her grand plan. Suspense builds well, with various side characters up to no good (notably Gin’s boss and a shadowy acquaintance of Mac’s).

The Malaysian heist is disappointing at first. The thieves crack a high-security vault that requires less effort than stealing the mask (or even the Rembrandt). But then Gin says “perfect” – just before she triggers a system integrity alarm. A dramatic escape follows, with the thieves swinging from lights under the sky bridge and sprinting through tear gas.

Gin and Mac separate and promise to meet at a train station. It’s then that the old man reveals he’s been playing her all this time, though he reconsiders and helps her escape. After they outwit the authorities, the lovers embrace in a surprisingly moving moment.

Honourable Mentions: Cat Burglars

B.L. Stryker: Grand Theft Hotel (1990) – Dawn St. Claire (Loni Anderson)

This is technically an episode of the B.L. Stryker TV series, with Burt Reynolds in the title role. But since the runtime is ninety minutes, and this aired as a TV movie in the UK, it meets the inclusion criteria.

Buddy Lee is after a cat burglar with a penchant for stun guns and dramatic helicopter escapes. No surprise the masked thief ends up being female (don’t they always?), but her all-black outfit is impressive. Loni Anderson’s role as beautiful socialite Dawn St. Claire seems superfluous, so most viewers will peg her as the villain. For the middle act, she’s demoted to the sidelines while Stryker pursues other leads.

Unfortunately, we don’t get an unmasking reveal, or another robbery with Dawn in her masked outfit. A black-clad thief shoots a guard, but that’s a male copycat. The final heist takes the whole movie to happen, and then Dawn shows up unmasked to steal a jewelled necklace. She triggers the fire alarm to evacuate the hotel, but what self-respecting cat burglar would risk showing her face?

Return of the Pink Panther (1975) – Lady Claudine Litton (Catherine Schell)

Also, the return of Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau after a long break (his last movie was A Shot in the Dark way back in 1964). The infamous pink diamond is the target of a dramatic heist following the cartoony credits. In an impressive – and inventive – robbery scene for the era, a black-clad thief uses a crossbow, rope and lubricant to evade laser beams and guards.

The prime suspect is Charles Litton, aka The Phantom, with Christopher Plummer taking on the David Niven role from The Pink Panther (1963). Most scenes are played for laughs (this is a comedy, after all). Subplots include Clouseau’s boss Dreyfus descending into homicidal mania and the innocent Charles trying to figure out who set him up.

His wife stole the jewel, though a male stunt double was probably used to film the thief’s zipline getaway. The scheming Claudine has several encounters with the clueless detective and can’t contain her laughter, but her post-reveal role isn’t that memorable.

The Real McCoy (1993) – Karen McCoy (Kim Basinger)

Yet another example where the thief is masked at the beginning and never again. That’s four examples on this page alone (yes, it happens in Entrapment with the Rembrandt theft). Some advice for filmmakers: cat burglars are supposed to wear masks during robberies.

The Real McCoy has a villainess protagonist, though Karen is arguably an anti-heroine as she’s coerced into planning a heist by a crime boss. When threatening her doesn’t work, the bad guy takes her son hostage as leverage. So Karen teams up with an inept thief (Val Kilmer) to turn the tables.

Basinger plays the mother/criminal mix well, and there’s plenty of minor heist action before the big vault raid. Karen breaks into the villain’s mansion to rescue her son, but seasoned viewers won’t expect her to succeed. Lack of tension is a recurring problem, even with the bank heist finale. Nothing goes wrong, and Karen outsmarts the villains too easily.