Face of Evil
Face of Evil
| 09 April 1996 (USA)
Face of Evil Trailers

Using her girl-next-door looks to her advantage, Darcy Palmer is a calculating thief and murderer. After killing a young college student and taking her identity, Darcy enrolls in the victim's New England school in her place. At the university, Darcy gets to know her new roommate, Jeanelle, and her handsome father, Russell Polk, who soon play into her next scheme. When Darcy has to alter her plans, both Russell and Jeanelle become quite expendable.

Reviews
SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped
SoftInloveRox Horrible, fascist and poorly acted
CommentsXp Best movie ever!
Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.
caa821 Probably need to add "spoiler" caveat to conform to this site's parameters; however, there really isn't much to "spoil" for this flick, since the only suspense is wondering how precisely it will end.Tracey Gold's character (Darcy/Barbara) is sociopathic to the point that, compared with her, Hannibal Lecter and Norman Bates would need only routine psychological counseling.Further, given all the deceptions and mayhem she originates, a person with the organizational skills of, say, Donald Trump or Warren Buffet, would be taxed just completing all these nefarious tasks.However, Tracey not only juggles all of the necessary deceptions, she is able to assume the identity of one of her victims in matriculating (under her identity) at a swanky New England college, plus offing or beating the hell out of some additional fellow cast-members, when required. Not only that, she totes the victim's body, via suitcase, while flying to the college, and then carries it into her room, where it remains - miraculously with no odor or seepage - until she has the opportunity to dispose of it.To imagine simply assuming this bogus identify alone, let alone completing all the ancillary deceptions and crimes along the way, stretches credibility beyond all belief. But no problem for Tracey, who also seduces her roommates widowed father in her spare time.Ms. Gold is quite attractive, which is to be expected in such a role. However, her acting talents seem about on a par in her profession, say, with those of a .240-average utility player on a baseball team.Despite all this, the movie is a fascinatingly trashy, campy example of this genre. An added fascination is her roommate's clueless father. But then the male leads in these Lifetime flicks are usually successful professionally, often wealthy (as here), but otherwise total doophuses.Give this one 7* for its thoroughly campy quality.
Xapora I don't think Tracy Gold is really that great an actress. Her performance in this movie didn't change my opinion. She overacts and her portrayal of a deeply disturbed sociopath is just downright campy at times. Luckily, the storyline and supporting cast are excellent and we're all just waiting for "Brianne/Darcy/whatever her name is" to get her just desserts -- does she? You'll just have to watch and find out! Tracy looks very skinny in this movie, evidence no doubt of her battle with anorexia. They needed a voluptuous blonde vixen for this role. It's a bit hard to swallow Carol Seaver substituting sulfuric acid for eye drops. Shawnee Smith sports a super-short hair-do which I didn't really like. If you're a Shawnee fan, she undoubtedly looks her best on "Becker". Great actress!
AxelEchohawk I was drawn into this movie and probably enjoyed it more than it deserved. It is hard to be objective when you're watching a eerily accurate depiction of one of your former girlfriends. The writing, acting and direction were superb. The three main characters - Tracey Gold (the psycho artist), Perry King (the gullible dad), and Shawnee Smith (the prescient daughter and roommate) played their roles with intensity and realism. It is interesting that Tracey Gold's character bares some resemblance to the real life singer/actress Madonna (minus the violence) noting that director Mary Lambert also directed several Madonna videos. This movie has a great plot with some nice turns and an especially, creepy and Hannibal-like ending. Woman as predator is always unnerving and counter intuitive but it reinforces the truth that all people are capable of doing the nastiest things to get what they want. Fortunately most of us are not intelligent and resourceful enough to pull off the level of deception portrayed in this movie.
startide Tracey Gold plays a what I can only term a "psycho", who seems to kill anyone that can help her get ahead. This is creepy stuff and no doubt benefits from the skills of director Mary Lambert. Tracey Gold plays a what I can only term a "psycho", who seems to kill anyone that can help her get ahead. This is creepy stuff and no doubt benefits from the skills of director Mary Lambert. Gold does some pretty scary stuff (but seems to be still suffering the effects of anorexia, as she's mighty thin in this) and is very effective and Shawnee Smith plays her roommate who's cottoned on to her plans. The ending is quite climactic for a telemovie thriller, however the very end piece (before the credits) is mighty lame, I mean would you let someone accused of at least three murders, be led away in a police car with one driver?? Despite this, it's worth watching for the beautiful location shots (the cinematography is good too), and Gold's performance.