Movie

Black Widow (1987)

The top forty villainesses form the legendary tier because of their iconic status in movie history or great but lesser-known examples. First up is Theresa Russell’s serial murderess from this 1980s thriller. Not to be confused with the Marvel Comics character, this black widow is a woman who kills her mates.

Don’t expect a bloodbath. All the kills happen off screen, and the central theme is a psychological battle between the killer and US Justice Department agent Alex Barnes (Debra Winger). Films with two female main characters were rare in the eighties, and the rewarding dynamic makes up for the lack of action.

Alex is a work-obsessed loner with little interest in romance. But the workaholic takes an interest in the Black Widow killings when she discovers two wealthy men have died in suspicious circumstances. We don’t really get acquainted with the victims. The first isn’t shown, and we only witness the aftermath with the “grieving” widow disposing of the evidence.

Next on the kill list is Texas toy company owner Ben Dumers (Dennis Hopper). A prominent actor, but he gets little more than a cameo. After a few scenes with his not so devoted wife, the murderess injects poison into a bottle of alcohol, leaves it for him to drink, and suddenly it’s his funeral. Two murders in the opening fifteen minutes, but things slow down for the rest of the movie.

Villainess

Catharine (Theresa Russell)

The villainess is credited as Catharine, but that’s one of four aliases. For each victim, the killer adopts a different name and appearance. Better to keep things simple, so I’ll refer to Theresa’s character as Catharine in this review.

As the murderer studies Native American artifacts to prepare for her next crime, Alex questions relatives of the previous victims and studies photos of her nemesis. The agent eventually tracks the killer to Seattle and poses as a newspaper reporter to question a museum curator – and next intended victim. So begins a deadly game of cat and mouse, with Alex hoping Catharine takes the bait and investigates her (she does).

The serial killer plans a trip to Hawaii, but only after she discovers the curator is allergic to penicillin. Catharine does her mate and kill thing, mixing some of the powdery drug into his toothpaste. This leads to a third off-screen death, and the Black Widow becoming even richer. Determined to catch her elusive prey, Alex pursues Catharine to Hawaii. From that point on, she’s a lone wolf, though she enlists the help of shady private investigator Shin (James Hong).

Alex takes a leaf from the killer’s book and uses a false name, while Catharine seduces her latest target: a hotel chain owner named Paul. The murderess learns Alex has followed her, and that she’s a government agent. As the two women attempt to outsmart each other, they become acquainted. After an “accident” while scuba diving, Catharine confesses without being specific, carefully choosing words to taunt her foe.

Catharine suggests Paul date the investigator, but this is a setup. The villainess hires Shin to take photos of Alex with Paul, intending to frame her for the next murder. Catharine seduces Paul, so he dumps Alex to marry the killer. Then, Alex presents the villainess with a black widow brooch and promises to bring her to justice. This is an especially barbed exchange and typifies the dialogue-heavy nature of this movie.

After the wedding, Catharine poisons Paul and plants incriminating evidence in Alex’s room. She then breaks into Shin’s office, holds him at gunpoint, and stages a heroin overdose. Alex is arrested for the crime, and Catharine visits her at the courthouse.

The murderess gloats, thinking she’s outsmarted her opponent. Then a relative of a previous victim walks in, followed by Paul, who’d been tipped off by Alex. She staged the arrest as a trap, and the overconfident killer fell for it.

Honourable Mention: Dangerous Relationships

Flirting with Danger (2006) – Laura Clifford (Charisma Carpenter)

Black Widow is a “template” movie, so the serial killer wife story is often copied by lesser productions. Such as cheap Lifetime thrillers. Among the many clones, this effort stands out because of the villainess’ unique kill method. A psychopathic woman smears her victims with poisonous oil that’s ingested through the skin when they take a bath or shower. That’s a great excuse for a steamy intro where a mysterious naked beauty bumps off a topless male in a hot tub.

Things are quite dull after that, as Rafe Marino (James Thomas) digs into the mysterious circumstances of his friend’s death. He and his police officer girlfriend, Gloria Moretti (Victoria Sanchez) discover other men have died recently. Seems they all received mysterious faxes, and femme fatale Laura Clifford might be the woman responsible. Other women are suspects because their Southern accents resemble the killer’s voicemail message, but this won’t fool experienced viewers.

After a slow buildup, Laura seduces Marino. This leads to a near-death experience after he gets oiled by the villainess and takes a shower. A weak confrontation follows as Gloria guns down the knife-wielding Laura with little fanfare. Nothing special, but worth a mention.