Valerie Hudson (Crystal Day) was the hidden main villainess from the 2021 Lifetime film, A Professor's Vengeance (airdate September 26, 2021).
Backstory and Introduction[]
Valerie Hudson was a veterinarian and the wife of grad school professor Daniel Hudson, who had main protagonist Nicole Atkins and Brandon Davis in his writing class. The film's introduction revealed that Nicole once had an affair with Daniel, which she broke off; however, it was also revealed that Daniel had a previous affair with another student, Rebecca Reese, with Valerie's introduction revealing that she had known about Daniel's past dalliance.
Heel Turn[]
Valerie under her heel persona at the school's library
Unbeknownst to Daniel, Valerie turned heel months prior to the events by stalking and killing Rebecca, with the film's opening showing the villainess murdering Rebecca with an overdose of ketamine. The film's progression saw Valerie accuse Daniel of seeing another girl, as she became bitter and distrustful of her husband ever since his dalliance with Rebecca. Though her first meeting with Nicole saw her display a genial demeanor, Valerie began to suspect that something was going on between Nicole and Daniel and began stalking her as well.
Nicole had been fighting off Daniel's various advances and maintaining a budding romantic relationship with Brandon, which resulted in a tryst. However, on the following morning, the evil Valerie entered Nicole's home and killed Brandon with the same weapon she used on Rebecca: an overdose of ketamine. Nicole called the police after finding Brandon's body, and sent lead detective Kate Larson to Daniel's direction, as she suspected Daniel as the stalker and killer. Daniel denied killing Brandon, with Valerie claiming to be her husband's alibi, though she also heard Daniel confess to his affair with Nicole, leading to Valerie lashing out at Daniel for hurting her.
All the while, the villainess continued to stalk Nicole at the school's library, where she was getting information on Rebecca Reese. A conversation with Rebecca's mother, Pamela Reese, revealed her ties to Daniel, and afterwards, Nicole arranged a meeting with Valerie to discuss her suspicions about Daniel. Nicole arrived and found a sobbing Valerie pointing in the direction of the bedroom, where Daniel was found hanging in an apparent suicide. In actuality, Valerie incapacitated Daniel with an immense amount of painkillers before strangling him to death while he was sleeping, and later hung her husband's body as part of the ruse.
Reveal and Death[]
Valerie preparing her attempt to kill Nicole
Valerie portrayed herself as a shocked and grieving wife, but after Nicole learned that Daniel was drugged, she returned to the library and searched for the video from the night she was stalked. Among the video footage was Valerie in her hooded disguise, leading to Nicole heading to Valerie's house and confronting the villainess regarding Rebecca, only for Valerie to deny knowing her and killing her. In addition, Valerie claimed that Rebecca and Brandon were partying college kids who used drugs, but after Nicole presented a screenshot of Valerie under her true heel persona, the villainess confessed.
Valerie stated that she killed Rebecca not to punish her, but to punish Daniel, and while Nicole believed that Brandon's death was a case of mistaken identity, the maniacal villainess revealed that she intentionally meant to kill Brandon to punish Nicole for her affair with Daniel. Nicole's attempt to escape was thwarted by Valerie, who smashed a glass on Nicole's head before tying her up, and afterwards, the villainess was preparing a fatal dose of ketamine, while also boldly confessing to killing Daniel as well.
Valerie's plan was to kill Nicole and set it up as a suicide by a heartbroken lover, only for Nicole to escape and hide out in the bathroom. The evil madwoman pursued Nicole, who later emerged and sprayed a chemical in her eyes before engaging in a scuffle with Valerie, which ended with Nicole injecting Valerie's own syringe into the villainess, killing her instantly.
Victims[]
- Rebecca Reese (killed by ketamine overdose on a bathtub)
- Brandon Davis (injected with a lethal dose of ketamine)
- Daniel Hudson (strangled to death by painkillers while sleeping, staging as a suicide)
- Nicole Atkins (attempted to inject with ketamine and failed, Nicole injects Valerie to death)
Trivia[]
- This was Crystal Day's first villainous Lifetime film role.
Gallery[]
