Villainess Review: Beth (College Professor Obsession)

Lifetime strikes gold again with their latest film, College Professor Obsession, which was originally titled, Deadly Dormitory. The film centered on Jenny Willis, a new student at Goldbridge University who is trying to regain the track scholarship that she was denied, and it's during the film's opening that she is introduced to her roommates, Beth and Sarah. Beth served as the "welcoming committee" of sorts to Jenny, though we quickly see a chilliness between Beth and Sarah. Part of Jenny's introduction includes her classes, most notably her psychology class, which is taught by Dr. Eric Davrow.

Davrow makes a negative impression on Jenny, as he gave her a C on her paper, which drew anger from Jenny. We later see Davrow comment on Jenny's choice of attire and even suggest that she would get better grades if she "dressed up" more often. Justifiably, Jenny is outraged, though Beth attempted to convince Jenny to acquiesce, as she did the same thing. Jenny refused to give in to Davrow at first, but after continuing to receive mediocre grades from Davrow, Jenny gave in, fearing that she could lose her scholarship without good grades.

Beth buys a black dress and heels for Jenny, and as a result of Jenny's new look, her C goes up to a B. Jenny continued to have consternations over what she had been doing, and as we would see, she had more than enough of a reason to have them. Her appearance at a gathering would see Davrow attempt to force himself on Jenny, though he called it an "opportunity to earn an A." Jenny fights him off, and after Beth finds out, she acts surprised, but she doesn't help Jenny report him, even after Davrow uses his wrath to mess with Jenny's grades.

Jenny, Sarah, and Beth go to a theme park, where Sarah reveals that she was a victim of Davrow, as well as her former roommate, Elaine, who tragically died prior to Jenny's arrival. However, Sarah suspects that Elaine was killed, and the film's progression sees both Sarah and Jenny avoid death at the hands of a hooded attacker, though Sarah's call was very close. Jenny is assisted by Kyle in her quest, though she finds out that he was the one breaking in to her and Beth's room, but Kyle's reason: he was Elaine's boyfriend, and she had sent him a text about Davrow prior to her death. The text centered on evidence against Davrow, which Jenny helps Kyle successfully find, in the form of an envelope which was revealed to contain photos of Davrow and Beth.

Beth later proclaimed her love for Davrow before suddenly unleashing a gun and holding Jenny and Kyle at gunpoint, which was followed by Beth admitting to killing Elaine due to the fact that she was going to report Davrow, with Beth facing being kicked out of school. She was also behind the attempt on Jenny and Sarah, and after demanding the photos, Beth was fought off by Jenny before she and Kyle escaped. Beth continued to pursue the pair, and later revealed her plans to kill the both of them and set up Kyle as a jealous boyfriend who killed Elaine and Jenny, leading to Beth killing Kyle in self-defense. The villainess shoots Kyle, but is tackled and disarmed by Jenny, and after Davrow is defeated, Beth is arrested.

College Professor Obsession aired on July 11, 2021, and part of the amazing cast included the spectacular Johanna Liauw as the main villainess, Beth. Liauw is 2-for-2 with this appearance; two Lifetime films and two villainous roles, both of which were just amazing. Though as I stated in my other review, Devan Walters was already established as a crazed villainess very early into the film, while Beth appeared to be genial and warm to Jenny, only to undergo a heel turn in the film's climax and reveal herself as a murderous villainess. About that, I did watch Reel One's trailer weeks prior, and it did give away Beth's heel turn in the climax, but even so, it was pretty much easy to predict even without the spoilery promo.

Beth was a conniving and twisted villainess; not only was she willing to show devotion to (for all intents and purposes) a devout misogynist, but she was willing to kill for him as well. I was disappointed that we didn't see a full flashback showing Beth in her hooded disguise as she kills Elaine, but at least we see Beth put on her evil black gloves during her villainous reveal, which was done very well. This was yet another amazing performance from Liauw; she portrayed Beth's apparent warmth very well, and also did an excellent job acting out Beth's fiendish and ruthless personality during her reveal. I am hoping for more Lifetime films for Liauw; she can play the heel roles very well and has that look, but I can also see her playing a lead protagonist and shining in such a role if given the chance.

If you like this story and review, feel free to click the heart below, and if you really love this story and review, feel free to leave a tip (if you want)!

Click here for Beth's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!