The psychotic Ariana Kent
Ariana Kent (Brooke Butler) is the main villainess from the 2021 Lifetime film, His Killer Fan (airdate February 19, 2021).
Backstory[]
Ariana Kent is the best friend of main protagonist Kaylee Dawson; with the girls having been friends since childhood. Her backstory revealed that she had dreams of becoming a singer, and regarding her friendship with Kaylee, Tina Dawson (Kaylee's mother) believed that Ariana was a bad influence on her daughter, with the last straw being an incident when Tina caught both girls with cigarettes. Ariana informed Kaylee that she had taken the cigarettes from her mother, Linda Kent, and coerced Kaylee to take one of her own, only for the girls to be caught by Tina.
Kaylee pleaded with Tina to allow Ariana to stay over, but later on, Ariana overheard Tina informing her husband, Gary Dawson, that she would tell Linda about what she witnessed, as well as ban Ariana from the Dawson household. Ariana became angered over Tina's words, and later that day, she shoved Tina down the stairs in a fit of rage, permanently paralyzing her. Afterwards, Ariana covered up her role and claimed that Tina had fallen, after which Kaylee credited Ariana for saving her mother.
Events[]
In the film's events, Gary passed on due to a heart attack, and regarding Ariana, she was showing performing one of her written songs at his funeral, while asking Kaylee what she thought of her performance. Ariana informed Kaylee that she had entered a contest to sing a duet with rock star Josh Halliday, who Ariana was a fan of, and after winning the contest, Ariana performed with Josh on stage, with Kaylee as part of the audience. Backstage, Ariana attempted to flirt with Josh, which included making herself look better than Kaylee, only for Kaylee to catch Josh's eye.
Kaylee and Josh's bond increased even while Ariana gave a solo performance at the bar where she worked, with Ariana noticing the pair and having a fit outside the club afterwards. Ariana's jealousy increased during her performance at a recording studio, where she met songstress Madison Bloom, which included an inclination that the singers were once together--only for the pair to reveal that their relationship was for show. Even as Kaylee and Tina discovered a dead fish with a threatening note sent to the Dawson house, Ariana covered up her jealous demeanor and her deteriorating mental stability, as she claimed to be shocked by the threat against Kaylee.
Heel Turn[]
Ariana holding Madison Bloom at gunpoint
Ariana returned to the studio and claimed to Jerry that she was there to work on a song with Josh, after which Ariana was let in by Jerry prior to locking the door behind her and encountering Madison. Later on, Madison was shown performing a song that lambasted herself and Josh, all while Ariana was holding Madison at gunpoint, establishing Ariana's heel turn in the film's events. Her actions revealed that she had sent the threat to Kaylee and she was ordering Madison to record the song as part of her plan to kill Madison, which she does by forcing Madison to overdose after writing a suicide note--also under Madison's orders.
All the while, Tina--who had warned Kaylee about Ariana's reaction to her relationship with Josh--discovered Ariana's journal, which included scribbled and hateful statements against Kaylee, leading to Tina phoning Ariana about her discovery. Ariana met Tina in her home and later held her at gunpoint, while also lashing out at Tina for looking into her journal. In addition, Ariana accused Tina of turning Kaylee against her, leading to the revelation that Ariana paralyzed Tina--an act she had suspected since her fall.
Tina took the gun from Ariana and pointed at her before firing, only to discover that the gun wasn't loaded. Afterwards, the unhinged Ariana gave Tina a bottle of wine before wheeling her to the top of the stairs and shoving her off a second time, and later phoned Kaylee under the claim that Tina had fallen again and that Ariana had found her. As Kaylee sat at her mother's bedside, Josh drove Ariana home; a ride that saw Ariana continue to flirt with Josh and undermine his relationship with Kaylee.
Climax & Aftermath[]
Ariana wielding a knife at Kaylee
In the film's climax, Tina informed Kaylee that Ariana shoved her down the stairs, and on the following day, she received a call from Josh about Madison's death, which Josh stated was a suicide. However, Kaylee began to figure out that Tina was telling the truth about Ariana being dangerous, and later that evening, she ended up confronted by a knife-wielding Ariana--who lashed out at her former friend for "stealing" Josh from her. In addition, the psychotic madwoman revealed her hatred of Tina before informing Kaylee that she planned to kill her as well, leading to a brawl between the former friends that ended with Ariana smashing a vase on Kaylee's head, knocking her out.
Later on, Josh arrived and spotted Ariana, who asked him to sing with her just like they did on stage, while also telling Josh to stop pretending that he loved Kaylee. Josh temporarily gave in to Ariana's request, only to attempt to strike her with his guitar before demanding to know where Kaylee is, leading Ariana to attack Josh with her knife before shoving him down the stairs. Ariana then took the unconscious Josh to where Kaylee was, kissing him as he woke up and delusionally claiming they could finally be together. Upon seeing Kaylee knocked out, Josh pleaded with Kaylee to wake up and told Ariana that he didn't love her and that she was crazy, which angered Ariana to the point where she lashed out at Josh for rejecting her before claiming they were "breaking up" before stabbing Josh's shoulder.
At that moment, Kaylee awoke and attacked Ariana, and later took out her stethoscope and strangled her villainous former friend. As Kaylee tended to Josh, Ariana attacked Kaylee again, this time ending with Kaylee stabbing the villainess right leg with the knife. The film's epilogue revealed that Kaylee had saved Josh, and that Tina survived Ariana's attack, along with the added reveal that Kaylee and Josh became married. As Josh performed his latest song in a tribute concert for Madison, Kaylee noticed Ariana in the front row donning a brunette wig, with Ariana giving a fiendish smirk towards Kaylee.
Gallery[]
