Villainess Review: Sofia Aquino (Alone in the Dark)

The hits just keep on coming from Tubi! After a Sunday filled with football, postseason baseball, and some good TV, I decided to head to Tubi to check out their latest original flick, Alone in the Dark. This latest Lifetime-esque film centers on Bri Collins, who is serving a year of house arrest due to being convicted as an accessory to crimes committed by her ex-husband, Michael Miller, though she was only charged out of Michael's spite. She does have a few things to help her deal with the 365 days she would be confined to her home; one is her good friend and lawyer, Sofia Aquino, and the other is Michael's wine collection.

Unfortunately for Bri, she finds herself being stalked by a mysterious hooded figure, and she is quick to suspect that Michael's behind it all. An interview with detective Joe Hall saw no resolution--by the way, being an iZombie fan, I just want to say how elated I was to see Malcolm Goodwin in this film. Afterwards, Sofia suggests a security guard for Bri, even handing out a business card belonging to one Xavier Johnson. Under Sofia's advisement, Bri hires Xavier, who appears to act stoic and militant, but in true Lifetime-esque fashion, they hit it off.

Bri's neighborhood was previously hit with the sudden disappearance of a woman named Cheyenne Clark, leading to Bri and Xavier suspecting Michael, as it was revealed that Cheyenne was one of Michael's mistresses. Bri is reprimanded and nearly arrested for violating the house arrest terms, but she later finds photos of Cheyenne in Xavier's possession; similar to the pics of her from her mysterious stalker. Xavier reveals the truth: Cheyenne was Xavier's sister, and he was desperate to find out who was behind her disappearance. Meanwhile, Michael is run down by an oncoming RV, and after Xavier is suspected, he ends up fired.

Sofia appeared to Bri after everything that occurred, only to be attacked along with Bri shortly afterwards. The attacker is revealed as Joe, who isn't a cop (as Michael would learn elsewhere), and was actually the person who murdered Cheyenne. Joe planned to kill not only Xavier, but Bri as well, only for Bri to escape, leading to a pursuit. Joe ends up killed in self-defense, but as Bri correctly deduced, it's not over yet. Bri couldn't figure out why she was a target, and she voiced this to Sofia on the following day. Bri would have an answer, and it came in the form of revealing that while Joe had been stalking Brie and had been behind everything else, there was a mastermind involved, and it was none other than Sofia.

Bri's statements were met with denial from Sofia, but a flashback revealed that Bri had searched Michael's computer, which revealed that he had more mistresses than the Toronto Argonauts had Grey Cups (the Argos have 17 Grey Cups, by the way). One of his mistresses was Sofia, and she was so in love with Michael that she wanted to have him all to herself. Sofia enlisted Joe (whose real surname was Mitchell) to kill Cheyenne out of jealousy, with the revelation that Sofia represented Joe in an assault case. She also ordered Joe to kill Bri and Xavier, while also using her access to Bri's smarthouse to watch her target, as well as being the wheelwoman who ran down Michael. Sofia denied everything several times, but the villainess would admit to the affair and to her desire to have Bri eliminated so she could be with Michael, claiming that Michael loved her and would do so once Bri was out of the way. What Sofia wouldn't count on was Bri's ankle monitor, which Bri intentionally damaged so she could record Sofia's confession, and after Sofia was decked by Bri, she was arrested.

Alone in the Dark was released on Tubi on October 7, 2022, and featured Kimberly Daugherty as the evil Sofia Aquino. Sofia was such a deliciously evil Bitch in Sheep's Clothing; not only was she involved with her best friend/client's husband, but she used her power as an attorney to mastermind one murder and two attempted ones. All the while, Sofia wore her proverbial mask of friendship and moral support to hide her true persona as a ruthless and sinister villainess. Daugherty's performance was truly wonderful; I loved Sofia's fun-loving and friendly demeanor towards Bri at the start, and also enjoyed seeing Daugherty act out Sofia's reveal and her true villainous personality in the climax. Overall, Sofia Aquino was an amazing villainess, and it's thanks to the stellar performance of Kimberly Daugherty, who also co-wrote this film with her real-life husband, Brant Daugherty (who also directed and appears as one of the cops in the film).

Kimberly Daugherty also appeared in a pair of UPtv movies alongside her husband: A Christmas Movie Christmas and The Nature of Romance. She has also appeared in episodes of How I Met Your Mother, Bones, NCIS, and Grace and Frankie (among other shows). Regarding Alone in the Dark, this marks Daugherty's first Lifetime(-esque) thriller film, and I truly hope it's not her last!

If you like this story and review, click the heart, and click the subscribe button for more of my stories! Tips and pledges would be immensely appreciated, but only if you want to do so!

Check out Sofia Aquino's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!