Villainess Review: Lily Mahoney and Susan Loures (A Baby at Any Cost)

I was looking forward to this film for quite a while, and I finally got to see this on Lifetime Movie Network while also enjoying some playoff action in the NHL. The film centered on Monica Hunt, who (along with husband Brad Hunt) welcomed a baby daughter, Olivia, via a surrogate, Lily Mahoney. Enter Monica's sister, Jen Perry, who joins in the celebration, but she voices her bitterness over not being chosen as the surrogate. As we quickly learn, Jen has her own set of problems; she is in the midst of a bitter divorce from her ex-husband, Sam (who is an absolute piece of work), who is not allowing Jen to see their daughter, Ruby.

That and seeing Lily as a nanny for Olivia has added to Jen's frustration, and it leads Jen to believe that Monica had been holding a decade-old grudge against her due to Monica crashing her car after catching Jen with a boyfriend of hers. We later see a series of incidents caused by a mysterious figure, and they are quite dangerous: vandalizing Monica's car and even attacking Sam's current girlfriend, Linda. Jen is suspected quickly (she didn't help her case when she actually went to Sam's house on two occasions), and her denial is quickly disbelieved by Monica, increasing Jen's anger. As for Lily, she showed Olivia to her mother, Susan Loures, and in that scene, two things are clear: one, there's contention between mother and daughter, as Susan attempted to talk her out of her job as a nanny, and two, something is seriously up with Lily. Taking the baby you are watching and showing her off to your mother as your own? Yeah, that's off-putting.

After a surprise scene that sees Susan revealed as a hooded figure while driving up to the Hunt household, the latter of the two points ends up coming to fruition, as after luring Monica to the house, Lily appears and knocks out Monica. The plan was to actually kill Monica and take Olivia as her own, while setting up Jen, but Monica ended up surviving. Nevertheless, Lily took Monica and went to Susan's, and after Jen found her sister, she deduced that Lily was behind the attack. Their investigation saw them learn about Susan, as she was believed to have abducted a baby that Lily gave up for adoption. However, the confrontation between Lily and Susan revealed that the actual kidnapper was Lily, as she hated Susan for giving her baby up for adoption. Susan actually took the rap for Lily to protect her, and it was also revealed that she sent a threatening note to Lily telling her to leave the Hunts alone.

Lily remained relentless in her quest, as she confessed to committing all of the acts in an attempt to frame Jen and have Olivia to herself, and once Monica entered, the madwoman confronted Monica and revealed her backstory before attempting to kill her. Lily ended up attacking Jen, and she later saw Susan contacting police while holding what she thought was Olivia, only to see an empty blanket--Susan had given Olivia back to Jen. Lily's last attempt to get to Monica and Olivia failed, and police later arrested Lily upon arrival.

Now for the villainesses involved:

Lily Mahoney: A Baby at Any Cost aired on Lifetime Movie Network on May 13, 2022, and the film featured Sarah Fisher as main villainess Lily Mahoney. Sarah Fisher is a veteran of Lifetime films, and after playing lead protagonists in all of them, she took her first trip to the dark side with this role. Lily was your typical baby-obsessed madwoman, though the interesting thing was that the baby was her main focus, Brad Hunt was secondary. Regarding her personality, Lily could act nice, charming, and sweet, but she is also ruthless, violent, and unhinged. Unsurprisingly, Fisher portrayed every facet of Lily's personality very well; acting out her sweet demeanor in stellar fashion, and truly shining when her psychotic characteristics came to light.

Fun fact: this was the second Lifetime film to feature Sarah Fisher and Christy Tate as co-stars, with the latter playing the film's main protagonist, Monica Hunt. Both actresses worked together in 2021's Sorority Sister Killer, which featured Fisher as the protagonist going against an evil Tate. Other than her Lifetime films, Fisher is best known for portraying Becky Baker on Degrassi: The Next Generation.

Check out Lily Mahoney's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!

Susan Loures: I had seen Reel One's trailer to this film months prior, and it gave away Lily as the main villainess. However, Susan Loures' villainy was a surprise, especially since a) she had little time in the film, and b) her introductory scene gave no indication of her true demeanor. Susan's heel turn had me (and probably some other viewers) believing that she was all in on her daughter's insane plan, though the climax revealed that it wasn't the case. Even so, Susan was quite sinister in her own right, as she willingly covered for Lily by taking the fall for her kidnapping attempt. Her way of trying to dissuade Lily was also twisted--sending a threatening note to her daughter and relentlessly stalking her.

While the film makes it clear that Lily is the more deranged of the two, it's also clear that Susan was diabolical as well with her actions, which (one could argue) sent Lily further down the proverbial rabbit hole. Even so, Susan was genuine in her attempts to talk sense into Lily, and she manages to fulfill her redemption in the film's near end. Susan Loures was played by Michelle Sherrill, who truly rocked the "hoodie of evil" during her surprise reveal. This isn't Sherrill's first Lifetime film; she also appeared in 2021's Deadly Debutante.

Check out Susan Loures' profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!

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