Face of Evil

"Face of Evil" features Tracey Gold as an amoral psychopathic painter wreaking havoc on the campus of a posh New Hampshire liberal arts college. If that premise doesn't grab you, then I don't know what will! Ms. Gold puts poor Shawnee Smith, her timid roommate, through absolute hell over the film's 90 minutes. No one escapes scot-free: there's acid poured in eye drops, a car window used as a vice, a house sparrow tempted to its near demise, and much more merry mayhem along the way.

This isn't mere trash, though. It's a surprisingly sturdy movie, thanks to its increasingly recognized director Mary Lambert. This is much better than "Malicious", the similar Molly Ringwald vehicle that came out a year earlier. That one is silly fun, but "Face of Evil" has a genuinely nasty and discomforting underbelly that stays with you. The morbid but quite beautiful artwork painted by Gold's character is a nice bonus.

Tracey Gold,(Darcy Palmer),"A Crime of Passion,TV",'99, showed her great acting abilities and was able to have the audience actually hate her for this role in which she plays a very BAD BAD GIRL! The real star of the film is Shawnee Smith,(Jeanelle Polk),"Never Get Outta the Boat",'02, who plays a very rich boring and depressing rich girl who has everything and a dad who lives in a home like the White House! Perry King,(Russell Polk),"Her Married Lover",'99, plays the role as a depressed man who lost his wife and at the same time loves his daughter Jeanelle who becomes friends with Darcy. Don Harvey(Quinn Harris),"She Hate Me",'04, plays a mean bad guy who has great interest in Darcy Palmer. All the actors gave great performances and made this TV film very entertaining.

you may be able to watch the entire movie throughout, without questioning the storyline. I do like her in most performances, so stuck it out.

The one problem is Perry king, not sure what age he was at the time of this film (indeed, he seems ageless since 1985). At any rate, if the sociopath Gold character had pursued him, and he was, a bit younger and more handsome, it may have been believable.

Basically Gold portrays an artist, who gets what she wants at any cost. She changes identity with a college student, befriend her wealthy roommate (Shawnee Smith) and eventually sets her sights on her roommate's father (King).

The film has some nice winter sets in New England, but the storyline a bit hard to swallow. Tracey Gold gives a decent performance. 6/10.

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!

Couldn't finish this one. I made it through about half but... its just too cringy. The writing is also quite terrible. The college-aged women were written so completely out of touch.