Victoria Richards (Sydney Malakeh) is the main villainess from the 2020 Lifetime film, Cheer Camp Killer (airdate October 10, 2020).
Backstory[]
Victoria Richards is a popular cheerleader whose mother, Beth, served as one of the coaches. Their backstory revealed that Victoria's father (Beth's ex-husband) put them in debt due to giving their money to a crooked accountant, and both mother and daughter were looking to gain a cheerleading scholarship for the latter. An obstacle in Beth and Victoria's shared goal was Lilly Walker, a fellow cheerleader who was outshining Victoria, and knowing this, Victoria turned heel (in compliance with Beth's heel turn and ambition) and planned to sabotage Lilly.
Events[]
Victoria with her mother, Beth Richards
Victoria enlisted Greg, a trainer and Victoria's lover, to drug Lilly, resulting in Lilly feeling woozy and crashing her car in the film's opening scene. Lilly survived the crash, but due to the fact that drugs were in her system, she ended up kicked off the squad. Main protagonist Sophia Jacobs joined the squad shortly afterwards, and as she performed, Victoria noticed how good she was and realized that she was a new threat to her goal of obtaining a scholarship. All the while, Victoria was shown practicing late at night, under the urgency of Beth.
Victoria's plan to sabotage Sophia began with inviting her to a late night party on campus, but after they were caught by coaches Cooper and Mary, Jack (Sophia's longtime best friend) covered for the group, leading to Sophia and the others avoiding any harsh punishment. The villainess, after witnessing Jack saving Sophia, decided to flirt with Jack to mess with both him and Sophia, with Jack turning down her advances due to the fact that he was in love with Sophia. Afterwards, Victoria snuck into Sophia's room and used her phone to send texts to Jack and arrange a meeting, which resulted in Jack almost being run off the parking lot. Having driven a wedge between Jack and Sophia, the evil Victoria decided to do the same regarding Sophia's friendship with Charlotte Brown, beginning with manipulating Charlotte into believing that Sophia was hanging with her to make herself feel superior.
Sophia leaving the blue squad for the red squad (which Victoria led and was also coached by Beth) increased the dissension, and later one evening, Sophia and Victoria went out drinking together before they were caught, with Victoria introducing herself as Kara Webber, Victoria's friend, while referring to Sophia as Charlotte. As a result, Kara and Charlotte were both reprimanded, with the former being kicked out completely; all the while, Victoria was scolded by Beth, who knew that she was out drinking and lashed out at her daughter for being "reckless."
Climax[]
Victoria smirking after attacking Sophia Jacobs
During a practice session, Victoria secretly revealed to Beth that Sophia had an aversion to heights, leading to Beth attempting to have Sophia as a flyer. The session ended with Sophia injuring her ankle, with Victoria acting stunned before she and her mother both smirked. Having realized that Victoria was, by her own description, "pure evil," Sophia returned to the blue squad and decided to use her skills to outdo Victoria at the cheerleading showcase, with the scholarship up for grabs.
Sophia later visited Lilly and learned that Victoria and Greg colluded to get Lilly out of the way, leading to Sophia getting video of Victoria and Greg making out. However, just as Sophia was about to report the pair, she saw Victoria in tears and being consoled by her mother, as she had found out about the video and claimed that Greg was sexually assaulting her, resulting in Greg being fired. Victoria embraced Sophia and thanked her for saving her, while ominously warning Sophia about crossing her. The film's climax saw Victoria, under the advisement of Beth, plot to eliminate Sophia, doing so by knocking her out with a rock and tying her to a tree branch in a wooded area.
The deranged and ambitious villainess informed Sophia that she needed the scholarship and was doing whatever it took to win, and in addition to Sophia stating that Victoria would be caught afterwards, Victoria revealed that she would set up Greg in the attack, adding that he had a vendetta against Sophia for getting him fired. At the showcase, Victoria was confronted by Charlotte and Jack regarding Sophia's whereabouts, with the callous cheerleader stating that Sophia buckled under the pressure and left. The pair managed to locate Sophia and saved her, and afterwards, the trio returned and performed, with Sophia selected as the winner and receiving the scholarship. During Sophia's speech, she revealed that she was held captive and attacked by Victoria, who attempted to deny the claims and accuse Sophia of lying. However, a police officer entered and stated that she had video of Victoria tying up Sophia, leading to the villainess being arrested.
Trivia[]
- According to her IMDB page, this was Sydney Malakeh's first villainous role.
Gallery[]
