The psychotic Renee Mills
Renee Mills (Tammin Sursok) is the main villainess from the 2023 Tubi film, Blood, Sweat, and Cheer (released on Tubi on April 15, 2023). Later aired on the Lifetime Network on May 12, 2024.
Backstory and Introduction[]
Renee Mills is the mother of Cherie Mills, with the film's opening showing her loudly cheer on Cherie as she and her school's cheerleading squad were practicing. A mortified Cherie later argued with Renee as they returned home, with the argument revealing Renee's backstory: she was a cheerleader in her own right, but she became pregnant with Cherie at an early age, leading to Renee becoming obsessed with pressuring Cherie with becoming a success at cheerleader, though Cherie was set on quitting the squad.
Events[]
Renee posing as her daughter, Cherie
After Cherie left her mother to move in with her father (Renee's ex-husband), Johnny, Renee took Cherie's phone, which was followed by answering her phone as Cherie. A visit to the school saw Renee actually mistaken for Cherie, and it led to Renee deciding to pose as her daughter and get herself enrolled into Lincoln High School, doing so to live out the high school years that were denied her. As part of her plan, Renee decided to join the school's dance squad, but her attempt saw informed by one of the team members, Tonya, that there were no open spots. Knowing this, Renee donned a hooded disguise and shoved Julie, another team member, down the stairs and injuring her, resulting in Renee replacing Julie on the squad.
In addition to being part of the cheerleading squad, Renee also started seducing another student, Ramsey Iverson, who was actually the ex-boyfriend of squad leader Dorinda. She was caught with Ramsey by Lana, Renee's sister, who admonished Renee for her illicit relationship, though she was unaware of her sister's true plot and motive. Renee was later caught by Dorinda talking to Cherie, and knowing this, the villainess planted drugs in Dorinda's backpack, while claiming that she was talking to her cousin outside her grandmother's house, and gave Dorinda an ominous warning afterwards. Renee's evil plan resulted in Dorinda being suspended after being named as the dance leader for the competition, though she was also facing pressure by Assistant Principal Robinson to provide a viable address so she could remain at school.
Climax and Arrest[]
Renee presented the proper forms to Robinson, but later returned as herself when it came to signing a permission slip for "Cherie" to participate in athletics. Once Robinson noticed that Renee signed Cherie's name and had Cherie's backpack, Renee ran off to her car, with Robinson running after her, only for Renee to back up her car and kill Robinson before driving off. Robinson's death was announced by history teacher Ms. Jenkins, who later informed Renee that she was failing her class and would be unable to participate in any squad activities. After her pleas for a make-up test were denied, Renee (having knowledge of Ms. Jenkins' peanut allergy, baked a cupcake laced with peanut oil and gave it to her teacher, with the teacher's allergy being activated. The villainess snatched away Ms. Jenkins' EpiPen and later changed her grade before calling 911 once her teacher was incapacitated.
Renee later learned that Ms. Jenkins survived, and the climax saw the villainess prepare to perform, only to see Lana and the real Cherie attending the competition. After being approached by Coach Forest regarding a scholarship for her performance, the evil Renee lured Lana away from the audience and later knocked out her sister before trapping her in the broom closet. The madwoman lured Cherie away with a text claiming that Johnny was in the hospital, allowing Renee to perform with the squad. However, Patrick took Ramsey out of the crowd to tell him about "Cherie," but after hearing Lana shout for help and state that her sister attacked her, Ramsey heard Lana address the real Cherie by name, resulting in Ramsey and the others realizing that Renee was posing as her daughter.
After Renee finished her performance, she was confronted by Cherie, who tearfully admonished her callous mother for her actions before Renee left to accept the trophy for the squad's winning performance. Once Patrick appeared with police officers, Renee claimed that her actions were committed for Cherie, adding that she wanted to help her daughter win the scholarship. The school was disqualified when they found out about Renee and the cheating that went on. In response to Cherie calling out her mother's self-serving attitude, Renee ranted that she proved that she could have had a scholarship for herself during her school days, stating that she was a superior cheerleader to Cherie before she was taken away--kicking and screaming--by the officers, and later arrested.
Trivia[]
- Tammin Sursok also played psychotic villainess Audrey Pressler in 2016's You May Now Kill the Bride.
- Renee Mills is similar to Lifetime villainess Vicky Patterson from 2019's Identity Theft of a Cheerleader. Both villainesses are women in their thirties who impersonate cheerleaders in high school to relive the glory days. The only glaring difference between both villainesses is that Renee had a daughter whose identity she stole, whilst Vicky was childless and took the identity of her coworker who dropped out of high school.
Gallery[]
