Sally Marnes (Missi Pyle) is the hidden main villainess of the 2018 film Traffik. She was the sheriff of a small California mountain town, and Marnes' first appearance in the film had her running off a group of bikers (led by a man named Red; he was the film's secondary antagonist) who were harassing protagonists Brea and John—a couple on vacation.
The movie's progression revealed that the bikers were part of a human trafficking ring, having kidnapped Malia (a friend of Brea and John's) along with killing multiple people: Cara (another trafficking victim), Darren (Malia's boyfriend), an old man, and John. Brea managed to call police, and it was at that moment that Marnes appeared with Deputy Lowe. Marnes held the group at gunpoint and appeared to tend to the female protagonist, but all of a sudden, the former shot Lowe to death, revealing herself as a higher-up in the ring. The deceptive conspirator scolded her cohorts for fooling around with their victims and not deleting the evidence on Cara's satellite phone, along with reminding them of Brea being a journalist, before having them sedate and kidnap her. Meanwhile, the evil Sally fired two shots into the air and reported Lowe's murder, pinning it on the protagonists.
The film's climax saw Brea escape and reach a Chevron convenience store, where the clerk phoned police, setting up a confrontation between her and Marnes. She blasted the greedy villainess for her actions and referred to her as a traitor against women, only for Sally to defend her crimes before she held Brea at gunpoint and handcuffed her, likely planning to take her to another location so that she could murder her. Just as the two women left the store, however, Marnes was shocked to see a squad of other cops arriving, as Brea had already informed them about her and her accomplices' actions. The Miranda warning was read to her just before she was handcuffed and arrested.
Trivia[]
- Missi Pyle also portrayed Vera Merchants in Home Alone 4, Ashley in Bringing Down the House, a villainous bartender on Rizzoli & Isles, Trudy Malko on Law & Order: SVU, Nadia Vole on Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker, and Callie Connors on Notorious.
Quotes[]
- "I hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but this is the real world. Everything is trafficked. All the shit in this store? That pretty little top you're wearing? When you go get your nails done, where do you think those girls come from, huh? I'm just a part of a system that already exists... and you are fucking with my system." (Sally callous defending her criminal activity)
- "Come on. I'm gonna take you for a ride." (Sally while handcuffing Brea)