Darcy Palmer (Tracey Gold) was the main villainess of the 1996 TV film Face of Evil.
History[]
Darcy was born under the name Barbara Richards and it is implied that she was a born sociopath who had psychotic tendencies she couldn't (and wouldn't) control. After killing her family by trapping them in the family barn before setting it ablaze, Barbara began taking on the identities of people she would murder and then seduce men so she could use them to continue her budding art career. The beginning of the movie shows her on the verge of being married to fellow artist Quinn Harris.
Events[]
On the night before their wedding, Darcy emptied out Quinn's bank account and fled, hoping to get to New York City and become a successful artist. At the airport, Darcy attempted to rob Brianne Dwyer, a young woman on her way to start her freshman year at a New England college. However, Brianne intervenes and Darcy ended up killing Brianne by shoving her down, causing her to hit her head on a toilet. After stuffing the young woman's body in her suitcase, Darcy go on Brianne's flight and effectively took on her identity. At the airport, Darcy are preparing to find a plane to New York when Brianne's roommate Jeanelle came up to her. Not wanting to be caught, Darcy adopted Brianne's identity and enrolled at the college. When she realized she'd have to meet with a counselor who had met the real Brianne over the summer, Darcy swapped out the woman's eye drops with sulfuric acid, blinding and hospitalizing her. Darcy also smashed her hand in a door to have her music classes swapped out for art, wrote a disturbing recounting of her childhood for a psychology paper, and stole the notes of one of Jeanelle's friends.
When Darcy learned that Jeanelle's father Russel was a wealthy widower who had become an emotionally distant recluse following his wife's death, Darcy convinced Jeanelle to invite her and their friends to his house for Thanksgiving dinner, allowing her the chance to bond with Russel, causing him to make a change in himself. But it became clear that Darcy's intentions were not to help Russel, but to seduce herself into his wealthy life. Later on, when Russel came to visit Jeanelle, Darcy gave Jeanelle a pizza slice coated with bug spray that made her sick, allowing Darcy to go in her place and attempt to seduce Russel. It gradually works, with Russel deciding to fund an art show for Darcy to showcase her work. But Darcy's actions came back to haunt her when Quinn tracked her down through the art show and attacked her one day. The manipulative Darcy managed to convince Quinn she had done what she did for him and the two prepare to leave, with Darcy taking some of Jeanelle's jewelry to further her deception of Quinn. But when they reach a motel, Darcy turned heel and killed Quinn by trapping his head in the car window and stabbing him to death with an ice pick, saying she wouldn't have married him if she'd known he was a wife beater (Quinn having slapped her earlier).
When Darcy returned, Jeanelle confronted her about the stolen jewelry when she caught her putting it back, along with the other lies she had uncovered. Darcy managed to convince Jeanelle that she had been in trouble and begged for forgiveness. But later on, Darcy's scheme was completely destroyed when Brianne's mother came to the campus for a surprise visit and recognized that Darcy was an impostor. Darcy tearfully claimed that Brianne had gotten pregnant and was planning to run away to San Francisco, offering Darcy her spot at the college. Darcy was asked to vacate the campus, which led to Russel allowing Darcy to move in with him, much to Jeanelle's dismay. After uncovering all of Darcy's murderous secrets, she confronted her and the villainess calmly confessed to her crimes and even revealed her past murders before attacking Jeanelle. Russel ran in and Darcy tried to claim that Jeanelle was the assailant, but Jeanelle managed to convince her father of the truth, leading Darcy to have a breakdown about how everyone in her life had tried to "limit her". Darcy attempted to flee, but was apprehended by the police.
Trivia[]
- Tracey Gold later played villainess Annie Nolan in The Girl Next Door.
Quotes[]
- "I don't like the way you've been treating me lately, sweetheart. If I had known you were a wife beater, I'd never have gotten engaged." (Darcy's line before killing Quinn)
Gallery[]
[{Category:Knife]]