erika eleniak – Action Girl Books

*A prolific assassin with a unique MO – and plenty of spare underwear*

Movie

Betrayal (2003)

Director Mark L. Lester’s contribution to female villainy is outstanding. Two movies and their respective antagonists make the legendary tier. As a bonus, the third film gets an honourable mention. For plot, the three movies are totally generic, but the female villains don’t disappoint and all have at least one great kill scene. Betrayal is also known as Lady Jayne Killer, a much better title. When you have a fantastic villainess, why not make her your selling point?

Jayne is a mob hitwoman who doesn’t believe in loose ends. This becomes clear early on when she kills an undercover FBI agent and a mafia man because he betrayed her boss. Jayne’s calling card is to stuff luxury women’s underwear into her victims’ mouths. A unique MO, but contract killing pays well, and given her kill count, she can afford the expense.

Other characters are nowhere near as interesting. A generic mob boss, a corrupt police officer (there has to be one), a bland undercover agent, and a single mother and teenage son who get caught up in things. The kid Kerry (Jer Adrianne Lelliott) deals cocaine to help his mother Emily (Erika Eleniak) pay her bills. A bad idea, since a rival gang steals the drugs and their house gets shot up in retaliation.

This is an excuse for Emily and Kerry to go on a road trip. Unfortunately, they offer a certain female assassin in a leopard-skin top a ride, not knowing she has stolen a suitcase of mob money. Jayne has dropped two more bodies by this point. The first is another signature kill: a naked man tied up in a hotel room, gagged with panties, and shot in the head with a silenced pistol. The second murder is far less elaborate, where she stabs a thug to evade capture at a train station.

With the mafia in pursuit, things are sure to get hot again, though there’s a lengthy “cooling off” period with little action. This makes the middle third of the movie a chore to sit through. The ending is a lot livelier, even if Emily turns into an unlikely heroine who can best a trained killer in combat.

Villainess

Jayne Ferré (Julie du Page)

The deceptive villainess claims to be an actress, but that falls apart under Kerry’s questioning. So Jayne tells the truth – she’s a hitwoman with over twenty kills – while making it sound implausible. Emily and her son laugh this off, but when Jayne confronts another motorist and smashes his side window with her bare hand, it really should be obvious this woman is psycho. There’s also a trucker she threatens to ramp up the tension while we’re waiting for the mafia’s arrival.

When the hitwoman isn’t scaring people, she practices seduction on Kerry. At a diner, Jayne speaks openly about fondling breasts while Emily has stepped away. The mother returns in time to stop the conversation and save Kerry’s blushes. That doesn’t stop him fantasising about sex with the beautiful assassin in a shower, but he’s brought back to the real world when he discovers the money in Jayne’s motel room.

Realising he’s in danger yet has the answer to Emily’s financial problems, Kerry makes off with the briefcase. Jayne is really ticked off and drops the innocent traveller act. Emily barely has time to react to the assassin holding her at gunpoint before the mafia show up at the motel. In the shootout, Jayne easily outsmarts her opponents, playing dead to gain the advantage and using cover effectively. One guy takes Emily as a human shield, but she escapes, leaving Jayne a free kill shot.

The villainess abducts Emily (she’s used to it by now) and uses her as leverage to recover the stolen money. Emily grabs the wheel of Jayne’s car and escapes, helped by the fact that she’s too valuable to kill. This doesn’t bother the hitwoman. Jayne simply gloats about murdering Kerry now that she knows where he and Emily live.

Kerry hides the case in the laundry room and calls the authorities. Naturally, the man he speaks to is the corrupt cop on the mob boss’ payroll. Meanwhile, Emily is picked up by Jayne’s contact. Putting aside all the coincidences, it’s time all the key players met. The detective and mafia head visit Kerry’s house, but he sees through their lies. Soon after that, Jayne arrives and finishes the men easily. Being a major character in this film just means you last longer than usual.

It’s Kerry’s turn to be the bargaining chip, and Jayne demands Emily bring her the money for her son’s life. Pity the assassin didn’t search the house, eh? The final showdown is a letdown, though better than White Rush (below). Emily – with the mystery man at gunpoint – brings the briefcase to a secluded industrial site. Here, the guy reveals he really is an undercover FBI agent, then throws the money in Jayne’s face and pulls a gun.

There’s a somewhat chaotic scuffle where everyone teams up on the assassin. This leads into a catfight where Emily proves resilient and breaks free of a chokehold with a headbutt. Then she shoots Jayne, who falls back onto a convenient sharp piece of metal.

Honourable Mention: Criminal Hitwomen

White Rush (2003) – Solange (Sandra Vidal)

A movie directed by Mark L. Lester, released in 2003, that features a sexy hitwoman as the antagonist. Plus Tom Wright as a detective and Louis Mandylor as a bad guy. There must be a script template for B-grade action films, because White Rush is very similar to Betrayal. Sadly, the assassin lacks Jayne’s style. While she has her moments – notably a brilliant seduction kill in a hot tub – the ending is mediocre.

A group of friends out camping stumble across a drug deal gone bad. That’s when they get greedy and decide to make money selling narcotics. The leader is a corrupt cop who lives the high life, threatens people, and does side deals with criminal gangs. Everybody except the sensible Eva (Tricia Helfer of Battlestar Galactica fame) goes along with the dangerous scheme. Smart move on her part, as the Cartel boss sends in the beautiful and deadly Solange, who is a sicario (an example-setter).

Most of what follows is tired, and the victims’ stupidity and selfishness will have the audience rooting for Solange. To prove how sadistic she is, the assassin kills a minor character even after he helps her. The first main kill is the best, with Solange using her feminine attributes to get close to a guy, lure him to a secluded location, and slit his throat. This outstanding sequence gives new meaning to the word bloodbath, but the standard drops afterward.

Cue panic among the drug dealer wannabes as the lethal assassin thins their ranks. She threatens an undercover cop, who’s smart enough to bargain for his life. The next victim is a woman who surprises Solange with a knockdown, but stupidly traps herself in a room. Walls don’t stop bullets, love. This all leads to a showdown at a refinery, where Solange arms herself with a sniper rifle. However, the expected shootout never materialises, and the hitwoman is defeated all too easily.

*Actually, it’s the new acquaintance that could prove to be fatal*

Movie

Fatal Reunion (2005)

I wanted my list to be as inclusive as possible, so I’ve included several Lifetime movies, with Fatal Reunion being the lowest ranked. Technically, these films are independently produced, but I’m referring to female-driven made-for-TV flicks as “Lifetime movies” because it’s a lot easier and tidier to write.

As is usual for this genre, there’s an opening murder sequence with a mysterious figure in a black hooded outfit offing some poor woman. So, nothing too original to start with. After that, we’re introduced to the main character, Jessica, played by Erika Eleniak (which satisfies the casting requirement of a well-known B-movie actress as the lead).

Jessica is unhappily married (surprise!), and believes her husband, Russell, may be cheating. So – in typical double-standard fashion – Jessica reaches out to old classmate Marcus Declan via an online reunion site. Anyone who’s ever seen a Lifetime movie will know such situations never end well, and it isn’t long before Marcus comes on to Jessica. After she rejects him, Jessica receives harassing phone calls in the middle of the night.

Fatal Reunion is a slow-burner, with hardly any interesting scenes in the first two acts. The director’s weird scene transitions don’t help. For some inexplicable reason, the camera pans off to the side, often to uninteresting background props or up towards the sky. We’re talking about almost every interlude here, which becomes flat out annoying.

Rare standout moments include Jessica pole fighting with a harsh instructor (which will obviously become important later) and finding herself on the wrong end of a loaded crossbow. Someone poisons the family dog, and the protagonist’s two children get completely forgotten about. But things pick up towards the final act, and the exciting, drawn-out climax is my main reason for ranking this movie.

Villainess

Lisa Calders / Dana Declan (Juliet Landau)

It’s not until approximately the sixty-minute mark that we’re introduced to the real killer. A brunette stranger shows up at Jessica’s house and introduces herself as Lisa Calders, an attorney from Dallas, Texas. Intelligent viewers may peg “Lisa” as the villainess from the moment she walks on screen, given we’ve never seen the stalker’s face and the newcomer’s Southern US accent is creepy enough to arouse suspicion. But Jessica and her husband Russell welcome Lisa with open arms and don’t do a background check until it’s too late.

Lisa offers to help the couple trap Marcus but advises they keep the cops out of it (a further clue something is off, in case another is needed). There are several meetings between the women, and it becomes obvious the villainess (we can stop pretending already) is drawing her victims into whatever scheme she’s cooked up. Jessica escapes a further attempt on her life, this time a hit and run by a masked driver, and goes to the police. Naturally, they don’t believe her claims and imply that the husband is responsible.

The movie climaxes in a barn when Lisa lures Jessica to a meeting. Russell, who finally figures the “lawyer” is an impostor, races to the rescue. Or that’s his plan anyway, because instead he discovers her holding Jessica and a tied-up Marcus at gunpoint. Then the villainess reveals her real identity: Dana Declan – Marcus’ wife – who doesn’t take too kindly to his perceived infidelity.

Juliet Landau is credited as Lisa Calders (her alias), probably to keep the reveal a surprise. Of course, the DVD cover gives the game away, as it shows her character wearing black gloves and holding a pistol.

The last confrontation is suitably long, with plenty of improvised weapons. With Marcus and Russell incapacitated, the two women battle it out. Jessica survives multiple strangulation attempts before she gets to put her martial arts practice to use. The heroine grabs a metal bar that happens to be lying around, deflects one blow, and impales the villainess. One of the better Lifetime death scenes – far superior to the tame resolutions that plague the modern era – which makes the tedium beforehand worth sitting through.

Honourable Mentions: Lifetime Movies

Deadly Sorority (2017) – Jubilee Swan (Chloe Babcock)

Another movie I considered, this surprisingly clever mystery thriller aired as Too Close to Kill in the UK. For once, Channel 5 made sparse edits.

The plot centres around the murder of a new sorority pledge, with many dodgy characters for prime suspect Samantha (Greer Grammer) to investigate. Some are clearly red herrings, such as the boyfriend who later winds up dead. The obvious candidate is a teaching assistant named Victor. Why? He isn’t obvious, and no evidence points to him. In 99% of TV mysteries, he would be the killer, but not this time.

Instead, a relatively obvious suspect – bitchy sorority head Jubilee – is the villainess. An impressive narrative feint implies a college professor’s wife is the murderer. The genre-savvy heroine picks up on this and escapes after throwing hot tea in the woman’s face. Sadly, the amateur sleuth’s instincts are wrong, and the actual killer reveals herself soon afterward.

The knife-wielding psycho threatens Samantha, and there’s a rather brief confrontation before police arrest the villainess, but the above-average resolution earns an honourable mention.

A Neighbor’s Deception (2017) – Cheryl Dixon (Isabella Hofmann)

2017 was a good year for TV movie endings, because we got a surprisingly exciting conclusion to what seemed a pedestrian thriller. The plot is as generic as they come: a woman romances a guy with a mysterious past, only to find her life in danger.

After a drawn-out stalk and slash scene at the beginning, main character Chloe (Ashley Bell) moves in next door to the suspicious Gerald Dixon (Tom Amandes). The heroine suffers from panic attacks – a plot device to ensure nobody will believe her later – and Gerald conveniently reveals he’s a psychiatrist. Cue inevitable warning signs, a shadowy stalker breaking into Chloe’s house, amateur detective work, and near misses with the psycho doctor.

A secondary character gives Chloe dirt on Gerald. Can you guess what happens next? The guy is killed off almost immediately with the overused backseat garrote MO. This one’s longer and more realistic than usual, but annoyingly, it’s mostly filmed with a long-distance shot. So far, so average, and you’d never suspect an exciting and violent finale was on the cards.

After Chloe learns Gerald’s wife Cheryl has mental issues, the villainess decides her nosy neighbour is a threat. The black-gloved killer attacks Chloe in her bathroom, leading to a drawn-out strangulation with multiple life attempts that goes on for several minutes. Yes, you read that correctly. Minutes, not the usual five seconds.

Eventually, Chloe frees herself only to be captured again. The heroine wakes up in a chair, restrained and forced to endure Cheryl’s insane ranting. Then, after the villainess and the slightly more sane Gerald have a violent difference of opinion, the murderess puts a plastic bag over Chloe’s head to suffocate her. Did the producers forget this is a TV movie? Eventually, the husband comes to the rescue at the last moment, and Cheryl goes down fairly easily considering what transpired before.

Killer Photo (2015) – Sarah Miller (AnnaLynne McCord)

Another so-so Lifetime movie with a good ending, this thriller (also known as Watch Your Back) earns an honourable mention thanks to an intriguing premise and a decent twist that makes sense. An elaborate prologue murder has a woman follow a trail of red heart balloons and greeting cards, only to find a mysterious assassin waiting with a silenced pistol.

Fast forward two years, and businesswoman Sarah Miller could be the next target. Viewers hoping for a killing spree will be disappointed, as the story focuses on Sarah’s relationships and dull office politics. Characters act weird just to create potential assassin candidates, and suspects include a company rival and a devoted assistant. Someone photographs Sarah and plants listening devices in her house, and it appears ex-cop Vincent Stirrup (Brent Stait) is the hitman when he leaves a mysterious package in the Millers’ letterbox.

However, appearances can be deceptive, and ultimately it’s revealed that Sarah is the hitwoman and Vincent a good guy tracking her. In retrospect, her odd behaviour – refusing to involve the police and caring more about a man’s camera than an accident victim – makes perfect sense. Scenes of the protagonist working out, handling firearms capably, and throwing darts with lethal accuracy will seem obvious hints on a repeat viewing.

The female assassin dishes out a couple of martial arts beatdowns and gains the upper hand on her cover story family. The confrontation with the husband goes the obvious way when the villainess claims he doesn’t have what it takes to squeeze the trigger. Fortunately, the assistant does, and the movie ends with Sarah receiving the same post-mortem photograph treatment she gave the opening victim.