Top 10 Lifetime Villainesses of 2022 (Part 1: #10 - #6)

Wow! This is my second year doing this list on Vocal, and as amazing as 2021 was, 2022 truly gave us some immensely memorable and awesome Lifetime film villainesses! I did have a devil of a time devising this list, as there were so many I could feature, so whittling it down to the top 10 was quite a task, but I managed to do it. Regarding this year's list, I decided to do something different this year. How different? Well, I can't tell you that. You'll just have to read on and see. One similarity: the top 1o list will be split into two parts, and Part 1 goes as follows:

10. Tara (Mother's Deadly Son)

There were two things I looked forward to during the second weekend of November: the CFL's Division Finals, and Lifetime Movie Network's presentation of Mother's Deadly Son, which aired on November 11. The film centered on divorced mother Marianne Davis' quest to prove that her younger son, Jacob, didn't kill his older brother, Ayden. She did have an ally in the form of her best friend, Tara, but that changed once Tara started accusing Jacob of being obsessed with her, and it turned into Tara claiming that he attacked her afterwards.

As we would learn, Tara wasn't being truthful, and the film's climax revealed that Tara and Jacob had engaged in an affair, doing so while Jacob was 16. Ayden found out and recorded the pair, and afterwards, Tara convinced Jacob to challenge Ayden to a rock climbing race, wiht Ayden deleting the evidence if Jacob won. Sure enough, Ayden won the race, but Tara counted on this, as she waited in ambush before striking Ayden with a bat and killing him. Tara made up the claims to cover her tracks, but to no avail, as Jacob had recorded his devious lover's confession.

Tara was played by Brittany Underwood, who is a legend in Lifetime films. She's done too many to count, and while she has been the villainess on three occasions, this film was her best villainous role. Tara was devious, conniving, and viciously ruthless, and Underwood portrayed every facet of Tara's sinister personality very well. It's no wonder that Brittany Underwood is always in demand as far as Lifetime's batch of films.

9. Clancy Ryan (Rush for Your Life)

I said I was doing something different this year; beginning with this year's list, villainesses from Tubi's original films qualify, as Tubi Originals are basically films we'd see on Lifetime and Lifetime Movie Network. This is definitely the case regarding the sorority-centered thriller, Rush for Your Life, which hit Tubi on September 16. In the film, Tasha Brooks served as the new pledge for the Tau Theta Nu sorority, but it's all for an investigation into the sudden death of another pledge, her best friend, Sophia Mathis. Tasha had apparent help from Clancy Ryan, who was the editor of a college newspaper, though the quest sees Tasha undergo dangerous dares, as well as witness another pledge, Jayda, actually die as a result of one of them.

Clancy claimed to be against the sorority due to her closeness with Sophia, but that would be deemed an outright lie when Tasha was informed by sorority president, Gabriella Hernandez, that not only was she out of the sorority, but Clancy was replacing her. It all ended up revealing that Clancy wanted to be in TauNu for a long time, and regarding Sophia, she was Clancy's main rival, but that was due to Gabriella intentionally pitting all of the girls against each other. Sophia was actually in the lead in the competition, leading to Clancy shoving Sophia off the roof, while Gabriella worked to cover up the murder upon finding out. While Gabriella assigned the dares last time, it was Clancy doing so in the film's events, which resulted in Tasha nearly being killed, as well as Jayda's death.

Clancy's motive was ambition; she saw joining TauNu as an opportunity to get ahead, but that came to a halt once Tasha live-streamed her confession. I was so happy to see Keara Graves (she/they) finally playing a Lifetime villainess, and her first time was absolutely delicious! Clancy Ryan was your typical ambitious and ruthless sociopath, willing to lie, cheat, steal, and eliminate anyone who was in her path. Graves' performance was stellar, especially in Clancy's reveal as a new sister, and in her villainous confession as well. She really needs to give this villainess thing another shot; she appears to have a knack. Keara Graves' other Lifetime films include Deadly Influencer and Pretty Cheaters, Deadly Lies.

Check out Clancy Ryan's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!

8. Megan Everett (Malicious Mind Games)

Another change from last year: villainesses from Lifetime Movie Club will be included as well. Lifetime Movie Club is the streaming site that carries a number of classic Lifetime movies, though they have been releasing original movies as well, with Malicious Mind Games being one of them. The film centered on Isabel Richardson, who worked the night shift as a security guard at the Regent Theater. She is often encountered by Megan Everett, who always gives her coffee, but late one night, she witnesses Megan being murdered in her apartment. Isabel calls the police, but the report is kiboshed by one particular person: Megan...who is still alive.

From that point, Isabel notices Megan behaving strangely, and after her boss, Cameron, is attacked, the suspicions towards Megan increase--even more so after Megan is referred to by a different name: Celine Russell. It's after Henry and Rosaline (Isabel's love interest and Isabel's daughter, respectively) are also plagued that Megan reveals her true evil colors, which include holding Rosaline hostage and ordering Isabel to head to the theater alone. After Isabel is captured, Megan reveals the truth: Celine Russell was actually Megan's long-lost twin sister, and it was Celine who Isabel often encountered.

In addition, it was Celine who was murdered in the apartment, and her killer was none other than Megan, who became jealous after Celine mentioned her good life, and killed her sister out of anger. Megan was also behind the attacks on Cameron and Henry, as well the attempt to eliminate Rosaline, doing so to get Isabel off the trail of Celine's death, but in that moment, the villainess decided that she had to kill both mother and daughter (despite the fact that Rosaline was dating Megan's son, Jonathan). This film, released in June 24, saw Laura Ault pull double duty as both Celine and Megan, and regarding the villainous latter, she was an immensely deranged villainess and a sociopath. Megan was hellbent on covering her murderous tracks, even doing so at the expense of her son's feelings, so the titular "malicious" description definitely fit Megan. Ault's performance stole the entire film, and not just because she played dual roles, but also because she did an absolutely spectacular job as main villainess Megan.

7. Grace and Lauren Jenkins (Trapped With My Husband)

I mentioned June 24, 2022 earlier. This was set to be an immensely special day for me. I had already watched one Lifetime villainess, and I would see two more in another film, Trapped With My Husband. In addition, Game Five of the Stanley Cup Final between the Colorado Avalanche and the Tampa Bay Lightning also took place, with the Avs having the chance to win the Stanley Cup that evening. The villainesses were Grace Jenkins and her mother, Lauren Jenkins, who were the neighbors of main protagonist Melissa Crawford, who was in a bad marriage to Kevin Davrow. Kevin was revealed as a con man, and even worse for Melissa, she had to allow Kevin to live in her house with her even though they were divorcing. As for Grace, she was Kevin's mistress, but later on, Kevin is found deceased, and Melissa is the prime suspect.

As the climax revealed, however, Grace was Kevin's killer, with Melissa realizing this after noticing that Grace's sweater was missing a button, the same button that was at the scene. Grace killed Kevin in response to his refusal to stay with her, and regarding Lauren, she originally scolded her daughter about her illicit relationship, but after finding out that Grace killed Kevin, Lauren turned heel and enacted her plan to cover for her daughter, which included abducting Melissa and attempting to kill both her and Melissa's co-worker/friend, Cameron. The mother-daughter duo's scheme, of course, failed, as Grace ended up accidentally killing Lauren, and Grace herself was arrested.

Paige Evans played the maniacal Grace Jenkins, while Dawn Lambing played her equally villainous mother, Lauren Jenkins. These two were definitely a package deal, hence why I listed them together as one. Plus, I loved how deliciously insane Grace was in her rhetoric, but I also couldn't help but love Lauren's heel turn, as she threw away her morality and became an unhinged villainess in her own right. Evans and Lambing played their characters very well, and I really enjoyed seeing them in action as villainesses; it was an absolute delight. As for the Avs, well, Game Five didn't go as planned for my boys, but I would only have to wait just two more days for the Avs to win that Cup.

6. Chloe Joy (The Podcast Murders)

I am truly grateful to Lifetime, because on the evening of October 23, 2022, I was not happy. On that evening, the New York Yankees were on the verge of getting swept out of the American League Championship Series...and by the Houston Astros, no less. Thankfully, the very thing that helped me get over that embarrassing defeat was seeing Lanie McAuley in The Podcast Murders as Chloe Joy, who was introduced as a famous podcaster who was doing a series on the Bombshell Murders. She was quite emotional in her presentation, especially when she mentioned the victims: Meghan Hansen, Amber Swanson, Emma Jacobs, and Lucy Miller, while also revealing to have survived an attack herself. The podcast gained the attention of a reporter named Ellie Winchester, and she was in a budding relationship with a man named Josh, but as things were looking up, Chloe found herself being followed, and she also caught Josh and Ellie making out.

The climax saw Ellie heading to an abandoned winery, where she was surprisingly encountered by Chloe, who revealed herself as the actual Bombshell Killer, with Meghan being her first victim. As Chloe stated, she and Meghan were friends, but she felt Meghan was abandoning her, leading to the attack and murder. Chloe did the same to her other three victims, and after her confession, the villainess revealed that Ellie would be her last victim, as she was exactly like the others: selfish (in her mind). In a surprising twist, Ellie revealed that she was looking for a confession, and Josh appeared and revealed himself as Meghan's brother, Jack Hansen, while also revealing Chloe's real name as Rebecca Wagner. Chloe couldn't believe that she was successfully set up, and afterwards, the Bombshell Killer was arrested.

I knew Chloe would be evil when I saw the promo; the film definitely had a "protagonist villainess" vibe. Lanie McAuley truly delivered big time; I absolutely loved her reveal as a serial killer, espeically her villainous disguise. Those scenes showed us the true Chloe Joy (aka Rebecca Wagner), a vicious, sociopathic, cunning, delusional, and psychotic narcissist. McAuley was brilliant throughout the entire film, without question, but once Chloe turned heel in the climax, we were treated to an absolutely chilling performance when it came to her sinister demeanor. The film was amazing, and Chloe Joy/Rebecca Wagner was quite a delicious villainess.

Check out Chloe Joy's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!

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Check out Part 2, as well as some of my Villainess Reviews below: