Category: Movie Villainess 101

Movie Villainess 101 Rank #85

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This ruthless businesswoman is determined to kill the scandal

Movie

Full Exposure: The Sex Tapes Scandal (1989)

Don’t be dissuaded (or fooled) by the raunchy title. It may sound like a late-night softcore flick, but this is an NBC TV movie from the late 1980s. No nudity except rear shots of Lisa Hartman, though the film received an 18 certificate for its UK DVD release. One assumes the sex videos, which feature a dominatrix and whips, were enough to classify this as adult material.

A masked intruder murders a prostitute but flees when the flatmate returns earlier than expected. A stolen videotape gets left behind, and clearly contains footage someone is prepared to kill for. The foolish witness isn’t deterred by dead bodies and auctions the tape with the help of an adult film producer. Powerful men would prefer to keep their kinky private lives secret, so it’s a lucrative if dangerous play.

While two bidders are prepared to pay over $100,000 (a lot of money in 1989), the leather-clad, masked killer prefers more direct methods. The intruder gatecrashes the auction and wastes the competition with a shotgun. Great stuff, although violent for TV, and another potential reason for the age rating.

Duplicate tape recovered, but there’s still a copy out there, plus loose ends for the shooter to deal with. The two main characters, Lieutenant Thompson and rookie DA Sarah Dutton, must solve the murders, but find their investigation obstructed by an obviously corrupt police chief and judge. Are they on the tape by any chance?

Villainess

Debralee Taft (Jennifer O’Neill)

The investigators soon discover a connection between the dead prostitute and a modelling agency run by Debralee Taft. Since an unnamed bidder was absent from the auction massacre, it’s easy to infer Debralee is the culprit or somehow involved. She claims to be a legitimate businesswoman, but her evasive answers to Thompson’s questions – and a hulking bodyguard named Earl – suggest she’s hiding something. After an undercover policewoman is killed on her way to Debralee’s office, Thompson agrees to Sarah’s plan to pose as a model.

Debralee makes the list because she’s an unusual villainess. Instead of a typical psycho, this is a scheming businesswoman quite prepared to kill people herself. Jennifer O’Neill brings gravity to her performance, leading to a foreshadowed but welcome reveal in the last twenty minutes. The greedy flatmate gets shot with a silenced pistol, and the murderess in black leather goes after Sarah, who now has the all-important tape.

Sarah’s house is the setting for the showdown with Debralee and Earl. While never explicitly confirmed through dialogue, it’s likely Debralee committed the murders since her black jacket matches the killer’s. Earl has a shotgun, but voiced his objection to the killing spree. The predictable outcome sees the bodyguard shot by Thompson and Sarah cornered by the homicidal villainess. There’s a distraction, a chase where she fires a few shots, and a last-moment rescue by the hero.

Honourable Mentions: TV Movies

Weep No More, My Lady (1992) – Judy (Cécile Paoli)

This TV movie has imaginative murders and a mystery killer who wears two different masked outfits, but the pacing is ponderous, with all the exciting bits saved for the last half hour. The story, based on a novel by Mary Higgins Clark, is set in a Parisian chateau. So it’s strange that a Japanese theme runs throughout, right from the opening credits that include animated images of kendo fighters.

The main plot is rudimentary, and annoying side characters help stretch the runtime to ninety minutes. An actress named Leila (Francesca Annis) is driven mad by creepy phone calls, which strains her relationship with sister Elisabeth (Kristin Scott Thomas) and husband Ted. Leila has vocal arguments with her family in public, so when a scuba diver drowns her in a nearby lake, everyone assumes she’s run away. Except for Elisabeth, who’s determined to uncover the truth.

After the slow opening act, there’s a tense sequence where the kendo-masked killer eliminates a female assistant with a bow and arrow. The murderess then reveals herself – and a typical jealous lover motive – to a nosy guest too inquisitive for her own good.

Elisabeth replaces her dead sister in a movie production, and Judy takes a stunt diver’s place to make one last attempt on the heroine’s life. The killer dons a scuba mask as dramatic music plays, but what should be an exciting climax is a total dud. Gloomy underwater action shots, and a pathetic resolution where the film director saves Elisabeth.

Ladykillers (1988) – Morganna Ross (Lesley-Anne Down)

This TV movie from the late 80s is difficult to find, so my review is based on an average quality broadcast scan with mediocre sound. The novel scenario takes a well-worn premise and gender-flips it. A mysterious blonde-wigged assailant slashes a male stripper while he’s performing on stage at Ladykillers nightclub. Forensics have a hard time identifying the murder weapon, which turns out to be an artist’s tool used for sign painting.

Lieutenant Flannery (Marilu Henner) is a tough homicide cop, and an early scene has a female PR agent sneak up on a showering man and pretend to strangle him with a scarf. In this movie, it’s women in charge and the males who get topless. This includes a mass strip scene at the police station when Flannery and club owner Morganna audition detectives to go undercover as a dancer.

After a near miss when the slasher almost kills a second stripper, an ex-prostitute gives Flannery a crucial lead. In an original turn of events, the heroine rushes to save her boyfriend. Morganna is revealed as the murderer, and the struggle in a burning lounge is above average for a TV thriller. Furniture gets knocked over as the two women wrestle, then the villainess gets the standard “tossed through a window” treatment.

Movie Villainess 101 Rank #86

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Today’s lesson will be deadly

Movie

Demolition High (1996)

An unlikely hero trapped in a building with terrorists planning extortion. Sound familiar? Yep, this is another Die Hard scenario movie. A fair number of these films made my list because they often include above-average villainesses. The setting is (unsurprisingly) a high school, and the hero is Lenny Slater (Corey Haim), a recent transfer from New York City who’s quite handy in fistfights.

Lenny isn’t popular with the school bully, but they put aside their quarrel and team up with a timid girl to battle the bad guys. The rough kid must be a fan of the 1980s TV series MacGyver because he fashions makeshift weapons from whatever materials are lying around. He’ll need those skills, since the enemy leader is planning to launch a stolen missile at a nuclear power plant.

The movie is competently made (by B-movie standards) and moves along at a brisk pace. No plot twists to floor the audience, but an undemanding watch. A digitally restored version is available on DVD and many streaming services, worth watching for action lovers and Haim fans. Stacie Randall, an on/off action star in the 1990s, offers “support” as an interfering FBI agent.

Villainess

Tanya (Melissa Brasselle)

The sadistic henchwoman dressed in black is a stock character in these films, but Tanya is better than most. She remains a constant presence throughout the runtime, and there aren’t many action sequences where she doesn’t play a part.

Many characters exist simply to show how evil Tanya is. These include a security guard who chats her up, a cop who pulls the villain’s van over after they steal the missile, and a nameless thug who gets captured by Lenny. All get blown away by the villainess’ nickel-plated Desert Eagle.

Tanya makes it clear she wants a larger share of the take, so it’s no surprise she considers Lenny’s hostage expendable. Fortunately, the hero evades Tanya and disposes of her with a fire extinguisher and calligraphy pens (which make a crude launcher). At least he thinks he’s won, because the wounded woman comes back with a fire axe to finish the job.

The henchwoman’s death scene is below par compared to what came before. A police sniper shoots Tanya in the back after she gets the better of Lenny. It would have been more fitting if the resourceful kid had devised another ingenious way to defeat Tanya for good, but overall Melissa Brasselle plays a solid, if not spectacular, female foe.

Honourable Mentions: Demolition Series

Demolition University (1997) – Elia (Michelle Maika)

The producers re-used many plot elements from the original. Lenny the hero, a bully sidekick, terrorists take over a building (surprisingly not a university) and a cruel henchwoman. Elia, while not as sadistic as Tanya from Demolition High, is still a cold-blooded killer. Die Hard in a water treatment plant – another location to cross off the list.

Elia’s introduction is pretty lame. She infiltrates a guarded research lab wearing a masked ninja outfit and garrotes two stronger army guys. Don’t expect any realism. The choke scenes both last five seconds with no resistance from trained soldiers. We get a decent unmasking (though it’s obvious the attacker is female), followed by a poorly staged shootout and a deadly nerve agent heist.

Overall, the sequel is more amateurish than its predecessor, with an annoying subplot where an American traitor flirts with Elia. Viewers will root for the villainess when she calmly executes the cocky American late in the film. Elia is so confident in her aiming skills she’s not concerned about harming his hostage (her own brother, no less). Or that her target might drop a vial of nerve agent and kill everyone in the room.

Lenny’s final “fight” with Elia is poor stuff. An easy knockdown, then a weak comeback where she garrotes the hero only to drop her weapon for no obvious reason. The hero sets the villainess on fire, raising hopes of a spectacular death, but she goes out with a whimper.

Movie Villainess 101 Rank #87

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Reliving memories of murder could make you her next victim

Movie

Sensation (1994)

Many movies on my list are from the 1990s, the “golden age” for direct-to-video and a treasure trove for female villains. This was especially true for the erotic thriller genre. That term has become synonymous with softcore pornography, but believe it or not, these movies once had recognisable B-list talent and actual plots.

Sensation, starring Eric Roberts, Kari Wuhrer, and Ron Perlman, is a fine example. One nude scene has the main female character relaxing in a bathtub after canvas painting, surrounded by multicoloured floating blobs. Erotic imagery is present even when people are clothed, with surreal portraits of naked women and fertility statue antiques in the background. Modern viewers can watch the movie in wide-screen HD after its restoration from the original film footage.

The storyline is bizarre, but definitely original. Lila Reed (Wuhrer) is a graduate student hired by the mysterious Dr Ian Burton (Roberts) to study psychometry. That involves detecting imprints or “sensations” from objects and reliving the experiences of previous owners. Interesting study material, but Lila discovers some items belonged to a murdered student named Carrie Reiner, putting herself in danger.

Creepy men in Lila’s life include her pushy boyfriend, a stranger she meets in a bar, the eager Detective Pantella (Perlman), and Dr Burton himself. When Lila moves into Carrie’s old apartment, the landlord Mitch takes a voyeuristic interest in his new tenant and watches her shower through a skylight. No shortage of suspects, then.

Savvy viewers will write these off as red herrings, and as usual, it’s the one person who isn’t presented as sinister who turns out to be the killer.

Villainess

Paula Langford (Claire Stansfield)

The murderess’ motive is generic: a jilted lover and colleague. Why do scorned women always go crazy in these flicks? Paula’s infatuation with Burton is obvious from the moment she first enters his office. It’s later revealed she gave Dr Burton an alibi for Carrie’s murder, claiming they were together. A clever deception that also gives Paula an alibi. She’s playing you, doc.

Given that the killer strangles her victims with a leather cord, the 6’2’’ Claire Stansfield was a good casting choice with her towering physical presence. In most scenes, she dwarfs her male co-stars. The actress is also attractive and convincing as the femme fatale the story requires, including a topless sex scene with Eric Roberts.

Paula doesn’t appear much, however. Her only victims are poor Carrie (seen in the opening title sequence and psychic visions) and Lila’s best friend, Maryann, who dies because of a borrowed coat and mistaken identity. The late death in a fountain plaza occurs entirely off-screen, except for when the black-gloved murderess grabs her prey.

A tense finale has the ski-masked murderess break into Lila’s apartment, bludgeon Detective Pantella, and attempt to strangle the protagonist. This leads to a struggle and a dramatic reveal where Lila rips off the intruder’s mask. There’s a brilliant reaction shot of Paula after she’s exposed, one of the greatest female unmasking scenes in movie history. No hyperbole – it’s that good.

Some viewers have debated whether a male double played the killer in the climax. Personally, I’m inclined to believe it is actually Claire Stansfield under the mask, given her tall build. A shot of the killer’s feminine arms suggests the actress played the part, and the eyes match in close-ups. Seen from a side angle, the body shape is that of a woman. And pausing the improved HD version confirms this.

Stansfield is convincing as the not obviously female intruder, so it would have made sense to use her ski-masked guise more often. We’ll have to make do with the incredible buildup sequence where she stretches her leather cord… and the bland finale that follows her reveal. Dr Burton arrives, discovers the truth about his lover, and they struggle. After the murderess grabs a pair of scissors, Ian shakes her off, then Lila grabs the detective’s gun and blows the psycho away.

Honourable Mentions: Claire Stansfield / Masked Killers

Drop Zone (1994) – Kara (Claire Stansfield)

The versatile actress had another villainous role in 1994, as the sole female member of a criminal skydiving gang. This Wesley Snipes vehicle is fast-paced and entertaining, and the reliable Gary Busey plays the chief baddie (doesn’t he always?). His corrupt agent plans to steal valuable data from high-rise office buildings, and only a cop and hero skydiver, Jessie (Yancy Butler) can stop him.

Kara doesn’t speak much, but gets action aplenty. In her most notable scene, she parachutes onto a police station, impersonates an officer, and shoots a cop to access the evidence lockup. The tall henchwoman comes across as an intimidating and efficient killer, so it’s frustrating to sit through her non-action scenes.

With one woman on either side, it’s no surprise Jessie takes down Kara. Unfortunately, the heroine is a few inches shorter than her Amazonian opponent, so their physical duel is not very convincing. However, the villainess’ memorable and original demise – when Jessie smashes her head through a photocopier – makes up for any shortcomings.

Doorman (1985) – San Lu (Haru Aki)

Movies where the hero literally unmasks a villainess are rare, which earns this otherwise pedestrian thriller an honourable mention. A black-gloved killer prowls an apartment building, offing doormen so quickly that three are dead within twenty minutes. The murderer is a martial arts expert with a death touch technique, somehow able to snap a man’s neck with one hand. Kill scenes are laughably inept, bloodless even by TV movie standards.

Terry Reilly (Bradley Whitford) is a doorman (uh oh!) and budding mystery novelist who teams up with Linda (Sharon Schlarth) to solve the crime spree before he becomes the next victim. Unfortunately, Terry’s recited novels are much more riveting than the actual plot. The murderess has an unfathomable motive, something about stolen packages and a criminal double-cross. Many subplots turn out to be irrelevant, and the padded-out credits show clips of every character with dialogue. That includes the principal cast, minor roles, and extras who barely feature.

After Terry arranges a meeting with resident San Lu, the masked ninja-like killer attacks him in the parking garage. That rare moment of excitement is over in five seconds, and it’s a long wait until their next – and last – encounter. A brief kung fu scene, then Terry unmasks the callous San Lu, who gets a decent bad girl speech before a frustrating off-screen death.

Movie Villainess 101 Rank #88

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A noble title for a not so noble woman

Movie

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)

A few villainesses covered so far have notable finales in their respective movies, but dull lead-ins. The Rise of Cobra has the opposite problem: a strong opening that establishes the Baroness as a powerhouse to be reckoned with, but a weak conclusion where she switches sides.

The overall tone is a blend of flashy action and science fiction, bordering on fantasy. An arms manufacturer develops a nanobot warhead that eats through metal (and produces evil green smoke as a byproduct). Just the weapon any terrorist would want in their arsenal, so the evil organisation Cobra sends in a commando team led by a brunette in black leather.

The movie essentially serves as an origin story, with a lot of time spent introducing various characters and their backstories. Macho military man Duke once knew the villainess as the blonde Ana. Naturally, these two have a tragic romantic history, and were engaged until her brother was killed on a mission Duke led. And now she hates his guts.

Thankfully, an elite unit known as the G.I. Joes arrives to save Duke’s ass. These guys (and one gal called Scarlet) wear high-tech armour and carry futuristic weapons, and want Duke to join them. He accepts the offer and learns Ana is now an elite Cobra operative known as the Baroness. One of many codenames in this enjoyable, over the top adventure.

Villainess

Ana / Baroness (Sienna Miller)

The Baroness as a physical badass, and the forest encounter is only the first of her skirmishes with the good guys. Whether dual-wielding sonic pistols or kickboxing in her stylish leather outfit, this woman is more than a match for Duke and his crew.

A key figure in the Cobra hierarchy, the villains entrust her with their most important missions. When she leads an infiltration team into the Joes’ base, she takes on Scarlet in a surprisingly intelligent and well-staged fight. Even with optical camouflage, the heroine loses to a combination of wits and martial arts. Despite Duke’s best efforts, the Baroness escapes with the warheads. This round goes to Cobra.

The villainess has a double life as a lavishly dressed noblewoman (hence her title) and devoted wife of a scientist. This is a ruse to gain access to his laboratory, and the operative proves a mistress of deception. Once hubby has activated the warheads, he’s of no further value to Cobra, so they eliminate him. Never trust a beautiful woman in black.

The standout action set piece is a chase through Paris, where Duke and his partner pursue a vehicle on foot. That’s made possible by “jumping” suits that enhance their athletic ability, leading to an entertaining if silly sequence with car crashes and explosions. Females don’t get sidelined in modern action movies, so it’s no surprise Scarlet rides a motorcycle through Parisian landmarks. Think you’re a badass? The Baroness controls missiles and an EMP gun!

Duke chases his ex to a rooftop extraction point while she fires an automatic rifle (and smashes every glass window in sight). That gives Storm Shadow (the evil ninja in white) the opportunity to launch a nanobot warhead at the Eiffel Tower. It’s a race to recover the disarming device from the Baroness as the famous landmark collapses. Then the triumphant villainess gloats with Duke now Cobra’s prisoner.

If things had continued on this trajectory, the Baroness would have made the top 40 legendary tier. But Ana discovers she was manipulated by her brother (still alive and now the evil Cobra Commander), and breaks free of his supposedly infallible mind control. How Ana does this is never explained, since she still believes her brother is dead and has no incentive to rekindle her romance with Duke.

After all the buildup and villainy, Ana turns good. When the heroes locate Cobra’s underwater hideout and launch an assault, the redeemed villainess co-pilots a minisub and fires torpedoes, but we’d rather watch her fight for an evil cause. In the closing scene, Duke visits the imprisoned Baroness and promises not to give up on her. Sienna Miller quit the franchise after this, but for seventy percent of Rise of Cobra, we had a fantastic villainess.

Discussions: G.I. Joe

G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)

Producers decided on a soft reboot for the sequel, and almost none of the original cast returned. The Baroness is a notable absentee in Cobra’s ranks, and Duke dies in the first act. Many characters in the first film wore full-face masks or had ambiguous fates. Convenient – one suspects the franchise was already in the contingency planning stage, with the option to recast expensive actors or change narrative direction.

If the French had it rough in Rise of Cobra, London suffers worse in Retaliation when the entire city is destroyed. The villains (and American filmmakers) don’t like Europeans much, eh? Amidst all the carnage and fresh faces, a red-garbed ninja named Jinx is the replacement tough girl for Scarlet, and her evil female martial artist counterpart poses no real threat. They dropped the awesome leather-clad villainess for this?

Snake Eyes (2021)

The good news is that the Baroness returns for this origin story reboot. Bad news? We see very little of Úrsula Corberó, as the primary focus is the title character and his backstory. An interesting plot angle has Snake Eyes starting off as a villain and Storm Shadow the more heroic adversary until a late role reversal.

Before the expected development, Snake infiltrates a ninja clan, who test him with three trials. The most ludicrous is a pit full of CGI giant anacondas, psychic creatures that can sense a person’s purity. Cobra are reduced to minor antagonists, and while the Baroness looks evil in her black leather outfit and high heels, she’s barely involved.

There’s an annoyingly brief confrontation with Scarlett (Samara Weaving), then the Baroness forms a temporary alliance with the heroes. Until things get too dangerous, and the villainess (can we even call her one?) bails. Truly pathetic stuff.

Movie Villainess 101 Rank #89

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Psychic visions of a creepy scissor killer

Movie

Nothing Underneath (1985)

A scissor killer targets fashion models in this Italian giallo, also known as Sotto il vestito niente. It’s another movie where the ending is the best part, and the super creepy villainess shines in the denouement. Bob Crane is a Wyoming park ranger, and his twin sister Jessica has travelled overseas to become a model. The siblings have a psychic connection, and Bob can sense whenever Jessica’s in danger.

When he “sees” a black-gloved, scissor-wielding psycho head towards his sister’s hotel room, he panics. Despite Bob’s best efforts, he fails to warn Jessica and so travels to Milan to investigate. The psychic device is messy because it’s never explained why Bob sees things from the killer’s perspective when his mental link is with Jessica. Obviously, the filmmakers need to hide the assailant’s identity, but this could have been handled better .

With no body, Bob has trouble convincing Commissioner Danesi (Donald Pleasance taking a hiatus from the Halloween series) that his sister is dead. Until the scissor attacker offs a second model in her hotel bathroom. The suspects include an abusive lover who knew the models, and a weird photographer employed in the fashion world. But any mystery fan knows the answer is rarely so obvious.

Villainess

Barbara (Renee Simonsen)

The real killer is another fashion model, whose earlier gym workout established her as physically capable. Barbara is clever and resourceful, seducing Bob to discover what he’s learned. And there’s a “bluff” where the supposed victim gets nervous when someone loiters outside her room. Savvy viewers won’t be so easily deceived, especially those who notice a long-haired feminine figure hiding behind a clothes rack during the third murder scene.

The gloved killer stole diamonds from the second victim’s room, apparently the connection as the latest dead model also has a valuable gem stash. These are revealed to be payoffs to cover up an ill-advised game of Russian roulette, which went horribly wrong. With an increasing chance of death every time a suicidal woman pulls the trigger and five “players”, it was likely somebody would bite the dust. Guess these fashion models are greedy and stupid.

The stolen gemstones are a red herring, however. Barbara’s actual motive is that Jessica became distant after the fatal shooting, and now the psychotic woman wants revenge on the models and host responsible. Barbara copies Jessica’s handwriting and sends a fake telegram while disguised as her dead lover. This fools Bob for a while, and he’s about to fly back to America when he experiences psychic visions of an apartment building.

Shortly after Bob locates the killer’s lair, Barbara returns and reveals herself as the murderer. The creepy villainess has kept Jessica’s corpse nailed to a chair and even talks to the body. But it’s not long before the psycho model discovers Bob and attempts to kill him off. In the final sequence, Barbara exchanges her scissors for a power drill. The DIY tool becomes a deadly weapon in her hands, especially since Bob injured himself on the way in.

The wounded Bob evades Barbara’s attacks by dodging and throwing items, fending the strong woman off until she pins him down. As she’s about to drill a hole in his face, Danesi arrives and disconnects the power. With Barbara disarmed and outnumbered, she decides tragic suicide is the only way out and pushes Jessica’s chair-nailed corpse through a window. Music plays in the background as events conclude in slow motion, and surely Barbara deserved a better ending than this.

Honourable Mentions: Model Serial Killers

Evil Obsession (1996) – Liz (Stacie Randall)

This direct-to-video thriller features prominent B-movie actors, including Brion James as a tyrannical acting coach who might just be a psychopath. Corey Feldman stars as crazy fan Homer, who sends love letters in crayon to actress Margo (Kimberly Stevens). Worried for her safety – justifiable when twelve models have been slain in Los Angeles – she hires a private detective.

The murderer binds their victims with medical rubber tubing, removes their underwear with a scalpel, and dissects them on an operating table. So, when receptionist Liz tells the PI her father was a doctor, it’s a major clue. The male stalker has a creepy shrine to Margo, but no reason to slay the other victims. In the end, he’s revealed to be a harmless nutcase, and the detective races to save Margo from the killer’s blade.

The climax is uninspired, since we see Margo lured to the acting studio, and in her next scene, she’s being prepped for invasive surgery. No real confrontation, just a single fatal gunshot from the detective. Then the “surgeon” is unmasked as Liz. Lack of a confessed motive makes for a refreshingly different resolution, and viewers are provided with enough details to infer Liz was jealous of successful actresses and models.

Murder in Miami (2014) – Rachael (Caroline Gutierrez)

More model slayings in this low-budget thriller, and oddball photographer James Romero (Joseph Myers) is the suspect. The pre-credits murder, where a black-cloaked intruder bludgeons a woman with a baton and tosses her off a high-rise balcony, is the best part of the film. Before the half-way point, there’s a shower attack homage to Hitchcock’s Psycho, and a lesbian bondage session that ends with a double murder. The topless host is strangled and her tied-up subject gets a kitchen knife through her vagina (!).

All the death scenes are heavy on nudity but light on gore, with cutaway shots and implied violence. The second half is a padded-out snoozefest. Naked women galore, and overlong stock footage transitions that must waste ten minutes in total. Watching trees and buildings is mind-numbing, and the murder storyline gets forgotten for a silly subplot involving drug dealers who supplied the victims.

When James teams up with a woman called Rachael, there are no more killings. Figured it out yet? Rachael plays the helpful assistant and sidekick to James’ amateur sleuth, only to get kidnapped late on. Next up is a “comedy” scene where a chain of people shoot each other, only to get a bullet themselves. When the juvenile stuff is over, Rachael unmasks herself and provides a weak motive that suddenly makes a minor character important. James takes down the villainess with a single gunshot, the last action before the credits roll.

Movie Villainess 101 Rank #90

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When you can’t afford another actress, cast an evil twin

Movie

Exposure (2001)

Quite a few direct-to-video movies made my list, including this one with Alexandra Paul (of Baywatch fame) in a supporting role. Photographer Gary Whitford (Ron Silver) sets off a deadly chain of events when he discovers a beautiful woman sheltering on his property. She’s wrapped in orange fishnet, which triggers flashbacks to Gary’s dark past as a war correspondent. Back then, a brutal military regime executed his lover and left her body wrapped up in… take a guess.

The trespasser is Elaine Drury, a legal secretary played by Susan Pari. Yes, the same actress as the villainess. This is one of those “evil twin” twists to fool the audience and cut down on expenditure. The reveal in this film works better than most, since the bad sister remains a constant threat throughout.

Before the well-choreographed encounters between Gary and the mysterious hooded psycho, there’s an intriguing setup where he and his friend Paul persuade Elaine to become a fashion model. For extra spice, Gary has an intimate history with Paul’s wife, Jackie (Alexandra Paul’s character). Do thriller heroes ever have normal relationships?

After someone murders Elaine and leaves a message in blood referring to the “Holy Trinity”, Gary finds himself targeted by the psycho who clearly didn’t approve of the victim’s modelling career. The dead woman’s boyfriend, Brad, serves as a red herring, though it’s obvious he doesn’t fit the religious angle. Evil twin reveal incoming.

Villainess

Anne (Susan Pari)

Keeping with the religious theme, a mysterious woman leaves a note in a Catholic confession booth. Then the preachy lunatic murders Paul in his office and makes several attempts on Gary’s life. The best of the bunch is a knife attack in a deserted parking garage.

The villainess targets Jackie, and after a lengthy fight, the killer is unmasked as Elaine’s twin sister, Anne. The devout Christian’s parents disowned her after Elaine’s picture appeared on an advertising billboard, and the deranged Anne became convinced it was the devil’s work. Which led to her killing spree.

After the priest recounts the story to Gary and Jackie, he becomes expendable, so it’s no surprise the psycho slasher kills him moments later. The contrived finale has the stalked couple split up for no reason other than dramatic tension. Like all worthy villainesses, Anne proves difficult to defeat. There’s a fantastic moonlit lake encounter where Jackie thinks she’s drowned the murderer, only for her to resurface and resume the attack.

Anne tracks Gary to the same shed where he found Elaine, and the villainess becomes the third woman in this movie to get wrapped in a fishnet. Talk about telegraphing the outcome. With Anne entangled and weighed down, Gary pushes her into the lake. No miraculous recovery this time.

Honourable Mentions: Knife Attacks

Primal Doubt (2007) – Marianne Thorne (Jamie Rose)

Another movie with a masked, knife-wielding psycho, but a few decent moments weren’t enough to earn it a ranking slot. Yet another story where an unhappily married woman arranges an ill-fated date, a plot any Lifetime devotee will know only too well. The outcome is more unpredictable than normal, as the guy isn’t the villain. Instead, someone slits his throat, and it appears the cancelled date was the motive.

While the angry husband is an obvious suspect, the opening murder featured a hooded figure who looked distinctly feminine. After the assailant slices up the best friend in an office (seen as silhouettes through a murky glass door, arguably the best kill scene), the only genuine candidate is the heroine’s psychiatrist, Dr Marianne Thorne.

Other than that, the movie is average. It doesn’t help that the main character is so unlikable and refuses to admit she was cheating. The villainess’ reveal is a mess, too. The masked Marianne murders an assistant, only to appear unmasked in a different outfit a minute later.

To add insult to injury, it’s clearly not Jamie Rose under the balaclava. Differences in eye colour and skin complexion suggest a stunt double took her place. The ending is a clichéd stinker, with the police coming to the rescue at the last moment.

Ultimate Desire (1993) – Adrienne (Mary Stavin)

In a new review for this compilation, I first watched this movie back when Channel 5 (UK) aired uncut erotic thrillers on Friday nights. Unfortunately, the sexy villainess times are long gone.

Restored in wide-screen format for streaming services, the film is far tamer than I remember. A serial killer stabs topless, blindfolded women and douses their bodies in expensive perfume named Desire. The exotic MO provides a novel twist, but the murders are bland and bloodless, with the psychotic slasher reduced to a shadow on the wall.

Perfume magnate Grace Lantel (Deborah Shelton) isn’t happy some lunatic is tarnishing her brand, but fortunately her security consultant Lauren (Kate Hodge) is an ex-cop. The prime suspect is Gordon Lewis (Martin Kemp) who has a revenge motive, British accent, and a letter opener that resembles the murder weapon. Lauren’s police liaison thinks he’s guilty, but it’s too obvious, surely?

The actual murderer is a shop assistant who appeared in three quick scenes. Her nonsensical motive: she was a former employee of Grace and loved her. After Adrienne stabs her ex-boss, she attacks Lauren. A decent climatic catfight, demise, and stunt balcony fall. Compared to the low-budget tripe that infests TV movies today, that merits an honourable mention.

Movie Villainess 101 Rank #91

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Far easier to conduct a siege with a woman on the inside

Movie

S.W.A.T.: Under Siege (2017)

What it “says on the tin” basically – a S.W.A.T. team under siege. Who would have guessed? Expecting to recover drugs on a joint raid with the DEA, things get complicated when they discover a chained-up prisoner with a scorpion tattoo on his back. And even messier when mercenary villains, led by the suave Lars and his ruthless lieutenant Simone, want to capture “Scorpion” because he has valuable information.

It’s established early on that there’s an insider when a mystery caller offers to give up Scorpion for fifty million dollars. Lars would rather spend money on his private jet and henchmen, so he decides to take Scorpion by force. Since the traitor uses a voice disguiser and many female operatives are on the team (close to a 50/50 split), there’s a good chance of a second villainess besides the obvious Simone.

And indeed there is, although there are two traitors on the S.W.A.T. team (and that tired excuse of police work not paying well), with the caller revealed to be male. A clever subversion of the expected trope, but don’t get too disheartened because the final villain is a woman. The subplot mystery of who’s feeding the baddies information works well, maintaining the tension in between the frantic action.

Villainesses

Simone (Monique Ganderton)

Ganderton has a martial arts and stunts background, and so is believable in her fight scenes. These don’t happen until the last third of the movie, but the actress performs well in dialogue-heavy scenes and comes across as menacing. The occasional sinister smile when required, and her body language suggest a woman with no problem killing anyone who interferes.

A male hacker gets too distracted by the beautiful henchwoman (with her semi-revealing black leather top, who can blame him?), and Simone quickly establishes her authority by rubbing his shoulders. Sounds sexy, but her toying behaviour makes him uncomfortable. Simone’s best non-action moment comes when she threatens their S.W.A.T. team’s families unless they surrender Scorpion. Her evil smirk afterwards is pure gold.

Monique’s most memorable scene is the inevitable catfight with Ellen Dwyer, a federal agent working with the cops. The two women hold nothing back, and Fiorentine doesn’t ruin action by cutting away. The uninterrupted fight lasts approximately a minute, and the two combatants are evenly matched. Ellen gets the upper hand, but she’s knocked out from behind before she can finish Simone off.

The villainess returns to fight the male hero Travis with a baton and becomes a nearly unstoppable whirlwind of fury. Sadly, this scene is interrupted, and the action flips between another confrontation between Scorpion and Lars. After her decent contribution, Simone gets a mediocre death scene when she charges Travis and he sends her flying off the roof.

Ellen Dwyer (Adrianne Palicki)

Lead female Ellen is characterised as badass fairly early on, equally proficient on the firing range as taking on male opponents unarmed. The skilled agent shows markmanship and fighting skills before her villainous reveal. As noted above, she’s mole number two, but the overly confident male turncoat outlives his worth and Lars cuts his losses.

Viewers who paid attention to the pre-credits sequence, where an unknown assailant attacked Travis in a forest, will already suspect Ellen. Since that scene hasn’t happened ten minutes from the end, and only one person is alive besides Travis and Scorpion, it’s not a great shock Ellen is indeed working with the bad guys.

This leads to a gun battle where Ellen recovers a microchip with Scorpion’s data, and a chase through the aforementioned forest. Adrianne Palicki is surprisingly physical in her tussle with the hero and lasts a little longer than expected before she’s disarmed and arrested.

Honourable Mentions: Mercenary Henchwomen / Traitors

The Package (2013) – Monique (Monique Ganderton)

No, it’s not a typo. Monique Ganderton plays a henchwoman who shares her first name, which sums up the lack of imagination in this mundane action thriller. With B-movie heavyweights Steve Austin and Dolph Lundgren as a debt collector and criminal underworld boss, badass moments as expected, but generic gun battles hardly set the pulses racing. There’s an unneeded romantic subplot with a woman who just gets forgotten, and the final fight between the two leads is an anticlimax.

A mercenary group really wants the titular package, enough to cause carnage in small-town America with civilians caught in the deadly crossfire. Monique, a thankful highlight, is a sadistic interrogator with a beef against the hero after he kills her fiancé. Bad move, considering she’s a torture enthusiast who murders a disposable henchman with a head scissors move to show off.

After spending most of the movie talking on the radio, Monique finally gets in on the action. She tests out various sharp blades before opting to choke her prisoner with a garrote. Her eagerness to exact revenge on the hero proves her undoing, allowing him to escape, and the villainess dies in a blink-and-miss-it shootout. Still, it’s another memorable tough-girl role for an actress who seems to specialise in them.

Gridlocked (2015) – Gina (Trish Stratus)

Another action-packed tale about a police unit under siege, this one features Dominic Purcell as a tough cop babysitting a bad boy actor. Except his community service turns deadly when armed criminals raid a remote training facility. Vinnie Jones shows up as a villain (what else?) and Danny Glover plays another guy “too old for this shit.” A welcome cameo before he bites the dust halfway through.

No romance to distract us from the gun battles and fight scenes. Gina rejects the actor’s sleazy advances, and the actress’ wrestling background makes her a convincing action heroine. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, a lone female in a testosterone fest would always end up being good, rescued by the hero in exchange for evidence. These days, said scenario means she can be evil, even if Gina wastes a few minor baddies to fool us.

After pretending to be heroic all film, the greedy woman betrays her fellow officers for… yes, money. She frames an innocent cop as the mole and explains her motives before she bumps him off. After Gina’s reveal and failed attempt on the actor’s life, a brutal fight ensues. This tough woman shrugs off attacks that would fell lesser foes, including a gunshot to the face. But the unlikely hero gets the better of the treacherous cop, and a second headshot proves decisive.

U.S. Seals II: The Ultimate Force (2001) – Sophia (Sophia Crawford)

Patriotic nonsense with American military heroes, but Isaac Fiorentine as director usually heralds above-average action and enjoyable hokum. Former U.S. SEAL Casey Sheppard (Michael Worth) leads a team of misfits against an ex-colleague who betrayed him. Haven’t we seen this plot somewhere before?

A Dirty Dozen-style setup, with an ex-convict, Japanese civilian Kamiko (Karen Kim), and mercenary assassin coaxed into service to foil the standard nuclear weapon extortion plot. The villain’s island base is contaminated with explosive methane, a convenient excuse to ditch firearms and focus on martial arts and swordplay.

Some impressive fights, but no shocker the team gets wiped out – save the two leads – or the greedy merc betrays Casey for a more lucrative pay offer. Plus points for having the henchwoman involved in the action. From the very start, when Sophia snaps a sentry’s neck to show her strength, she’s never far from the main villain’s side. The tough woman forgets about the explosive threat when she slices open a vent shaft with her katana. All brawn and no brains?

Kamiko is established as a swordswoman herself early on, and thus it’s inevitable that she and Sophia will face off. Their lengthy fight has some cutaways to other action, but thankfully the last section is unbroken. The women prove worthy opponents until Kamiko triumphs, slaying the villainess with an acrobatic backward thrust.

Movie Villainess 101 Rank #92

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Die Hard with a killer penguin

Movie

Sudden Death (1995)

Of the many Die Hard scenario movies I’ve seen, Sudden Death is one of the craziest, but undeniably fun. The premise was unoriginal even back in the 1990s: a lone hero trapped in a building with nasty bad guys, and the only person who can save the day.

Our hero is Darren McCord, played by Jean-Claude Van Damme (a mainstream action star at the time), and the setting is a National Hockey League Stanley Cup Finals game in Pittsburgh. The Vice President is a Penguins fan, so the criminals take advantage and infiltrate the event disguised as employees. Then they occupy the VP’s box and demand he transfer vast sums of money from secret accounts before the game ends. Naturally, a dramatic late goal ties the contest and buys some much-needed sudden-death overtime.

It’s an overused storyline, but Sudden Death has set pieces on its side. Villain deaths are all suitably over the top, often involving Darren using his skills as a firefighter, a job he quit after a young girl tragically died. Makeshift weapons include a flamethrower (a water pistol filled with flammable liquid) and a dart gun fire extinguisher.

In a totally insane sequence late on, Darren dresses up as a Pittsburgh Penguins player and skates onto the rink. Heck, he even makes a dramatic save. Then, a helicopter falls vertically through the open stadium roof and explodes on the ice. But the hero’s fight against the “killer penguin” – a henchwoman in a mascot costume – is the standout scene. And despite a premature demise, I simply had to include this villainess on my ranking list.

Villainess

Carla (Faith Minton)

The actress has a wrestling and stunts background, so looks the part of the brutish henchwoman. She makes an intimidating choice and is convincing in her fight scenes, compared to the frail beauties that populate modern action films.

Other than the infamous penguin encounter, Carla doesn’t feature much. Her first two kills – the real mascot Joan (who later turns up dead in a closet) and an inquisitive woman in the women’s restroom – both occur offscreen. Darren’s daughter, Emily, stumbles across the villainess’ latest victim when she leaves her stadium seat. The terrified girl flees before Carla can silence her, only to be captured moments later.

Emily watches the sociopath villainess shoot a Secret Service agent in the head (after he understandably mistakes Carla for a guy) and put several more bullets in his chest to make sure. The terrorist has already shown she has no problem murdering a child, and only an empty pistol clip saves Emily from execution.

After Carla delivers her young hostage to the main bad guy, she’s sent after Darren. This doesn’t take long, as he’s tracked Emily to the kitchen. He’s already suspicious after finding his daughter’s discarded baseball cap, and Carla’s lies are unconvincing. With the hero alert to danger, he spots the shadow of Carla drawing a gun and disarms her.

The fight scene between Darren and the “killer penguin” lasts over three minutes for those timing it. While Carla’s choice of costume is bizarre, the padding offers substantial protection from Darren’s punches. The villainess, skilled in martial arts, lands quite a few blows of her own. Kitchens are always a great location for fights, with sharp cleavers, boiling fat, and trolleys to use as weapons. Don’t forget the tray, potato masher, and meat cutter. Did I mention this is a long fight?

Fed up with Carla shrugging off his attacks, Darren adopts the video game approach and goes for her weak spot. The hero pours spicy food into the mascot’s beak where the eyeholes are, disorienting Carla to gain the upper hand. Tough women never go down that easily, so Carla gets a great death scene when Darren kicks her onto a processing machine. The mask strap gets caught around her neck, strangling the villainess as the hero watches on.

Honourable Mentions: Van Damme Movies

Timecop (1994) – Fielding (Gloria Reuben)

This is a mainstream Van Damme movie about a time-travelling policeman, mostly set in modern times. Among the bad guys is a sole henchwoman with one decent scene and little screen time. Sarah Fielding is an internal affairs agent working with the hero. Except she isn’t, because she’s in the pocket of a corrupt US senator. Not sure why the traitor is so shocked when the lead bad guy murders someone in cold blood. Wake up – you’re expendable too.

Fielding beats up Walker in a one-sided encounter. He drops the chivalrous “won’t fight a woman” line, but knocks her down with one punch, anyway. The senator shoots Fielding once she’s outlived her usefulness, and the repentant traitor reflects in hospital before another baddie kills her.

Eventually, Walker restores the timeline, and Fielding becomes a good girl, so none of that ever happened. An honourable mention… just about.

Kill’em All (2017) – Almira (Mila Kali)

Perhaps the ultimate “one-scene wonder”, Almira is the only positive in this direct to video actioner. In an establishing flashback, the sexy female assassin poses as a prostitute and displays a fair amount of skin. The beautiful killer uses a blade-on-a-rope (disguised as a wristband) to stab a crime boss in the chest, leap over his chair, and garrote him. Not finished, Almira defeats two bodyguards hand to hand (or should that be legs to neck?).

A terrific beginning with so much promise, but what follows is terrible. Hardly any action and a silly plot with Van Damme pitted against a hit squad in a hospital, told in flashback by a nurse. The civilian supposedly has martial arts experience, but you wouldn’t know it from the badly choreographed fight scenes. Almira’s death is a lame, almost comical, strangulation.

Except the “nurse” is really an operative or assassin herself (the explanation is vague), and an unreliable narrator. The actual death scene – shown later on – has the impostor kill Almira with a far more efficient neck snap. So, a slight improvement, but not much.

Derailed (2002) – Galina Konstantin (Laura Elena Harring)

Another low-budget action flick with Van Damme (he’s made a few), this features three female villains, though only one of note. The extended honourable mention goes to the antiheroine thief who assists the good guys despite her own self-serving agenda. A stealth expert and martial artist, Galina is a far more charismatic character than this movie deserves.

Jacques Kristoff (Van Damme) is the main hero, but the female cat burglar takes centre stage during the opening credits. Between black screen title cards, we’re treated to a daring heist with the hi-tech operative deceiving guards in Slovakia and breaking into a supposedly secure facility. After three minutes of thievery clips and fancy gadget use, Galina steals a metal box marked with a biohazard symbol. It’s a while until we learn the vials contained within hold a smallpox viral strain, and before that there’s the matter of escaping the authorities.

A shady contact assigns Jacques the job of escorting Galina to Germany. Her cover is a theatrical performer, and she even pulls off a high-wire stunt to evade a small army of troops. More acrobatics follow with a light show as a backdrop, then Van Damme finally sees some action. The exit route is a train (you probably guessed that from the title). Once aboard, the sexy thief tries to seduce Jacques in the cabin, but he’s wise enough – and devoted to his wife – to refuse her advances.

The passengers soon have far greater concerns when armed mercenaries take over the train and come after Galina and her mysterious package. These are cookie-cutter villains who murder unarmed civilians to show their nastiness, led by a bland guy called Mason. Jacques and Galina escape, setting up the usual Die Hard scenario. The burglar uses more acrobatic moves to subdue a terrorist, but nothing as fantastic as the opening theft.

The lead villain has a lover accomplice called Natasha (the usual mean sadist), and after some background smirks, we get the inevitable catfight with Galina. Jacques battles a male baddie, but instead of annoying cuts between the two fights, we get a bizarre split-screen showdown. Too bad the women only exchange a few blows and it’s over in thirty seconds.

A vial shatters during a scuffle, contaminating the train. What follows is a convoluted mess with weak action, bad special effects, and passengers looking gloomy as the virus spreads. Mason kills Natasha for her incompetence (so much for love), which leaves an unnamed female terrorist for Jacques to dispose of far too easily.

The unsatisfying conclusion has Galina ill with smallpox and sidelined for the final action scenes. Van Damme, of course, saves the day and miraculously cures the passengers. As for Galina, she goes back to thievery and pulls off a (sadly low-tech) heist in the closing scene.

Movie Villainess 101 Rank #93

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This crime lord – or should that be lady? – is as ruthless as they come

Movie

Crime Lords (1991)

In summary, a generic action movie with an equally generic plot. Two Los Angeles cops, grizzled veteran Elmo Lagrange (Wayne Crawford) and his womanising partner Peter Russo (Martin Hewitt), have little in common, except for a boss they both dislike. Because of that, they’re assigned unglamorous duties as car theft investigators. That doesn’t stop the duo from getting into a world of trouble, however, and they soon uncover a crime ring with links to Hong Kong (still a Crown Colony of the UK back then).

During a chop shop raid, there’s an all guns blazing shootout, and Lagrange pursues a female villain down a dark alley. He doesn’t get a good enough look at the mystery woman to identify her, but does land face first on her tattooed thigh. No time for gawking, pervert, and the smitten cop only narrowly avoids a fatal gunshot before the high-heeled villainess makes her escape.

Not willing to accept the resulting suspension, the two partners jet off to Hong Kong on an unofficial visit to get some payback. There, they have a few misadventures, including detention at the airport for bringing in a firearm, and a run-in with some muggers (including a female, though it’s only a minor role). Much of the action is amateurish, with questionable camera angles and shoddy editing. But the last half-hour – where Monahan becomes the primary adversary – is worth it for villainess fans.

With no money or place to stay, the heroes find themselves “guests” in a police cell until they’re bailed out by the shifty Inspector Thornberry. No surprise he has organised crime connections, which includes prime suspect Ling (James Hong) who Russo recognises from the US chop shop. Then we’re formally introduced to the villainess. Officially, Monahan is Ling’s translator, but clearly she’s far more involved in the criminal operation.

Villainess

Jennifer Monahan (Susan Byun)

The two heroes fall out (would it be a buddy cop story otherwise?), leading to an encounter between Lagrange and a muscular henchman armed with a cut-throat razor. He’s your typical heavy who doesn’t speak much, the kind of guy villains send to deal with bothersome cops. Meanwhile, Russo does some detective work before he gets caught snooping. Confronted by Ling and Monahan, Russo acts the corrupt cop, but his ploy is hardly convincing.

Time to find out what Russo knows, so Monahan plays the charming seductress. Once she’s through with the flirting and questions, the villainess leaves Russo in the care of a masseuse with an evil expression. Russo should have paid more attention to those vibes, since the razor-blade henchman creeps up behind and collects his ear as a trophy.

Monahan has no qualms about dating older men, since she also seduces Lagrange to find out what he knows. Fortunately, Lagrange is more switched on than his partner, and he catches the deceptive charmer in a lie after she claims Russo returned to America. Too bad she forgot about the time zone difference when she forged the fax. Monahan convinces Lagrange she’s not a bad person (!) with a ludicrous claim she’s working undercover, and they end up in bed. Then the “stupid” cop pulls down his lover’s stocking, and the telltale thigh tattoo gives her away. A candidate for the most unorthodox reveal of all time?

Lagrange punches out the villainess, but perhaps he should have killed her, as this woman is too ambitious to remain an underling. After the resourceful cop escapes a sniper attack and defeats Mr Cut Throat with help from a teenage girl, it’s time to rescue Russo from the bad girl’s clutches. Lagrange witnesses just how ruthless Monahan is when she executes a criminal with a headshot.

Uncovering a plot to smuggle gold out of Hong Kong disguised as car parts, the heroes must contend with Ling, Thornberry, and a small army of thugs. That’s until Monahan decides to go into business for herself and eliminate her former partners. It’s fitting that she’s the last villain standing, because she always came across as a key player and Ling as a figurehead.

There’s a decent standoff between the villainess and Lagrange, but the ending lacks tension. The hostage teen makes an easy escape, prompting Monahan to jump into a vehicle and chase her quarry. Thanks to active sprinklers and wide camera shots, we don’t see the villainess’ face often, perhaps because it’s a stunt driver behind the wheel. The scene ends with Monahan getting shot, leading to the expected crash and explosion.

Honourable Mentions: Gang Leaders

No Code of Conduct (1998) – Shi (Tina Nguyen)

Another female gang boss I considered for my list (she only just missed out), Shi takes no nonsense from either her underlings or pesky cops. The plot of this direct-to-video action thriller is average, with Martin and Charles Sheen (real-life father/son) as er… a father and son detective duo. They have to deal with violent criminals, corrupt police officers, and government officials. The usual antagonists, then.

Shi’s best scene is a shootout outside a motel where she eliminates an undercover vice cop and takes on an approaching unmarked car with a handgun. Unflinching – this is one badass female villain. If that’s not enough, there’s also a lengthy vehicle chase where the heroes pursue a van through narrow alleyways, while Shi leans out of the passenger door and takes potshots. Plus a torture scene where the villainess threatens a kidnapped woman and shows absolutely no mercy.

The main negative: Shi appears timid when talking to her businessman boss, completely out of character for an underworld enforcer. And the final gun battle, where she’s taken down by a single headshot, is poor quality compared to earlier action sequences, with barely any buildup before it’s all over.

Avarice (2022) – Reed (Alexandra Nell)

An Australian home invasion thriller with standard plot elements, plus the added gimmick of a physically fit, trained competition archer as the protagonist. A great skill set (and weapon) to have when your husband is taken hostage by mercenaries led by a ruthless woman.

The movie offers no major surprises. The two “hidden” bad guys are so obvious they don’t even hide it, and it’s a full hour before the heroine Kate Matthews (Gillian Alexy) takes up her trusty bow. From that point on, the action is relentless. After Kate dispatches a couple of thugs with precision arrows, their leader Reed kills Kate’s father just to make a point. The villains are after money (what else?), and in the modern electronic era, that doesn’t require a bank vault raid.

Reed is a threatening presence, practically oozing nastiness in every scene she dominates. Technically, she’s a hired thug too, but doesn’t hesitate to “fire” her boss when he becomes a liability. It was always going to end in an ultimate confrontation between the two women, but it’s all over far too quickly. And of course it’s a last-ditch grab for an arrow to make the last kill. Despite the drawbacks, it’s a pleasant surprise to find a good – if not great – villainess in a modern action movie.

Movie Villainess 101 Rank #94

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Careful, Mr. Hunt – this contract killer knows how to spot a fake

Movie

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)

Movie number four in the long-running spy franchise that started way back in 1996. Since then, the stunts have become increasingly extravagant and the stakes ever higher. In this outing, the Impossible Mission Force (IMF) led by Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is after stolen nuclear launch codes (that old plot device). Extra complication: the agents were disavowed after a disastrous mission in Moscow.

This film is best remembered for an incredible sequence in (or rather outside) the iconic Burj Khalifa Hotel in Dubai, the world’s tallest building at the time of filming. Tom Cruise performs his own death-defying stunts, climbing the skyscraper’s exterior and swinging about on a cable. After those antics, whatever came next was always going to seem tame. But another highlight is a “double meeting” sequence where the IMF deceives a female assassin into handing over the all-important data.

Despite eight Mission: Impossible movies to date, the series has a poor track record for female villains.

Villainess

Sabine Moreau (Léa Seydoux)

An agent makes a daring getaway, but lowers his guard as a seemingly innocent woman approaches. A fatal error in judgement, since the smartly dressed blonde is a remorseless contract killer who eliminates him with a silenced pistol. She retrieves important documents, later revealed to be the nuclear codes, which she plans to auction to interested terrorist parties. How’s that for an opening sequence?

The murdered man had a partner called Agent Carter (not to be confused with the Marvel comic character), who arrived too late to save him. Naturally, she’s out for revenge, and her personal stake adds more tension.

Like many low-ranked villainesses, Sabine doesn’t have much screen time but makes a memorable impression. The aforementioned double meeting is imaginative and suspenseful. Agent Carter must pose as Sabine, and the hatred for the real assassin is clear. Meanwhile, Ethan and another male IMF agent impersonate terrorists and meet the real Sabine. This is all a complex ruse to acquire diamonds from the villains and purchase the launch codes.

Thankfully, none of the IMF agents wear a mask for this sequence. They planned to, but their latex face-generating machine broke down. A definite plus, as I felt this gambit was overused in previous instalments. But despite the commodity exchange going down without a hitch, Sabine discovers the IMF team are impostors when she spots a contact lens camera. Should have planted an old-fashioned bug, Ethan.

This leads to a confrontation between Agent Carter and Sabine in a corridor, with the assassin captured a little too easily. Fortunately for villainess fans, she escapes, and there’s an exciting (if brief) fight between the two women. Ultimately, Carter kicks the assassin through a smashed window. Since the location is the Burj Khalifa, it’s a very long way down.

Honourable Mentions / Discussions: Mission: Impossible Franchise

Mission: Impossible (1996) – Claire (Emmanuelle Beart), Max (Vanessa Redgrave)

Probably the second-best movie in the franchise for female villains, not bad for a first attempt. This was a low-key affair compared to later IMF missions, with Ethan assembling a rogue team to steal a covert file from CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia. The “big” action set piece is Tom Cruise on a cable harness, albeit only a few metres above the pressure-sensitive data vault floor.

Nearly all the original IMF team wind up dead or are revealed to be traitors. This includes the deceptive Claire, who is disappointingly inactive for a field agent. While she detonates a car bomb to murder a fellow operative, this is only one possible version of events (shown in flashback), so her accurate body count may be zero. In the end, she’s reduced to a woman that Ethan and the main turncoat bad guy, Jim Phelps, argue over. Then she gets shot, and that’s it.

Redgrave is much better is the arms dealer Max, a menacing figure even if she does leave the muscle work to her bodyguards. In her introductory scene, she verbally fences with Ethan, coming across as humourous and threatening. Her subsequent appearances and arrest are anticlimactic, though.

Mission: Impossible II (2000)

This John Woo film is widely considered the worst in the franchise. With no female villains, there’s not much to say here. The treatment of Thandie Newton’s character is demeaning and hasn’t aged well. She plays a thief, but rarely gets to show off any heisting skills. Insultingly, she’s discovered by the bad guys because of her own incompetence after she makes a mistake no professional would. Eye candy with gratuitous sexualised shots, and a love interest who gets taken hostage. Ugh.

Mission: Impossible III (2006)

Improving on the lacklustre second movie wasn’t hard, but the strong female characters in this entry were a pleasant surprise. Besides two IMF agents (Keri Russell and Maggie Q), Ethan’s wife (Michelle Monaghan) also gets to play tough girl. Russell’s character is killed early on, but Q is a natural action star and remains a presence throughout, involved in covert espionage and a big shootout on a traffic-jammed bridge.

No real female antagonists, sadly. An unnamed woman serves as a translator and head of security to the main baddie, but she’s eliminated off-screen after failing him. This is only revealed when she’s fitted with a mask to deceive Ethan into thinking his wife was the victim. Because her role is so brief, another character needs to remind us who she is.

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)

Before movie five, no female character had lasted more than one, but that changed with the badass Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson). An MI6 agent with her own agenda, she flips between assisting the IMF team and betraying them. She excels as friend and foe – a skilled operative proficient in unarmed combat, firearms, and motorcycle chases.

The plot revolves around a mysterious organisation called The Syndicate (who comes up with these generic names?). And Ilsa looks the part whether she’s infiltrating a classy opera, performing bike stunts, or prepping for an underwater heist.

Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) – The White Widow (Vanessa Kirby)

Ferguson returns as the mysterious MI6 agent. Once again, it’s never clear whose side she’s truly on as Ethan gets sucked into a scheme to free the main baddie from Rogue Nation.

As a bonus, there’s also the White Widow, an arms dealer played by Vanessa Kirby. While her impact cannot rival the franchise’s other Vanessa (Redgrave from the first film), it’s implied the women are related. More shady than villainous, but we’ll take it.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) – Paris (Pom Klementieff)

An extended honourable mention for the seventh entry, which gives us Paris, a crazy assassin who speaks French (appropriately), wears face paint, and brings a sword cane to public venues.

By now, Ethan has saved the world six times. Time to go up against an old nemesis who murdered his first love… and an artificial intelligence with a God complex. Everyone but the hero thinks they can control the mysterious “Entity” that communicates through sinister blue pulsing circles. As daft as they sound, these images show up everywhere from secret US intelligence briefings to a Venetian nightclub party.

The central plot device is a cruciform key in two halves that unlocks the original source code on a sunken Russian submarine. The keys change hands so often it’s a miracle they don’t get lost entirely. Usually, it’s pickpocket Grace (newcomer Hayley Atwell) who steals the precious gold crosses from under her rivals’ noses. She becomes the latest IMF recruit when they need a woman to impersonate the White Widow.

As for Ilsa Faust, she returns to assist Ethan and gets a little too close for her own good. After faking her death in the Middle East, chief baddie Gabriel kills her off for real. A disappointing exit for a standout character, even if Grace is a capable replacement operative during the Orient Express finale.

Paris’ first appearance establishes her as dangerous when she threatens a guy with a concealed pistol. From then on, she’s often a silent enforcer in the background while Gabriel does the talking. But when situations call for it, she goes crazy and kills people.

In Rome, Ethan and Grace are chased by Italian police and American agents, but Paris – in a hijacked armoured vehicle – is the primary threat. With no regard for subtlety, this woman enjoys creating carnage, demolishing any parked vehicles in the way. It takes a dramatic reverse escape through a narrow tunnel to shake her off.

Not a woman you want to meet in a dark alley, so pity Ethan when that situation unfolds in Venice. Lured into a trap, he’s attacked my a male thug – who doesn’t last long – and the female assassin. Fortunately, Paris can’t swing her sword in the narrow space, but she’s still a dangerous unarmed combatant. Her attacks are furious and relentless. Until Ethan knocks her down, grabs a metal pole, and… spares her life. Yes, we’re headed down that familiar redemption path.

But Paris hasn’t converted to good – or even neutral – just yet. She jumps from a bridge onto a moving train, disables an engineer, and visits the US Director of Intelligence. His security men frisk her, but this deadly woman doesn’t need weapons to eliminate them. Gabriel chats to the American, then murders him. And turns on Paris because the Entity warned of her betrayal. Ever heard of a self-fulfilling prophecy?

The female assassin escapes death, only to return and save Ethan and Grace in a literal train wreck ending. Perhaps there’s a metaphor there, because Paris was a near-perfect female villain until the last act.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025)

In reality, this is Dead Reckoning Part Two, a supposed final outing that ties up loose ends from previous instalments. A minor character from the original vault heist returns as a seasoned CIA operative in Alaska. We also say farewell to Luther, who’s been a team member since the beginning.

Things are more ridiculous than ever before. Ethan retrieves the source code from the sunken Russian sub, swims naked through ice-cold Arctic waters, then Grace revives him with a kiss of life. Averting nuclear Armageddon, the heroes defeat the all-seeing AI by capturing it in a plastic container. Reality was never a series strong point.

Other than a prison scene where Hunt springs her, Paris is a good girl. She sees a fair bit of action, notably a battle with Russian commandos in an arctic safehouse and the climax at an underground doomsday vault. Quite telling that in an action movie with strong female characters all over the place, women can command aircraft carriers, be secret service agents who save the life of Angela Bassett’s President, but there are no female villains at all.