Villainess Review: Devan Walters (The Wrong Cheerleader Coach)

You know, we are about due for Lifetime's annual batch of cheerleader-themed movies--I still, to this day, remember the Cheer, Rally, Kill batch we got in 2019. Among 2020's collection of such films was The Wrong Cheerleader Coach, and it's central villainess was Devan Walters, who was introduced in the film as Lincoln High School's newly hired assistant to cheerleading coach Janice Burke. The school was attended by main protagonist Hanna Thompson, who moved with her father, widowed Jon Thompson, from Chicago.

Upon meeting the Thompsons, Devan quickly became infatuated with Jon, and while working out with friend and partner Jack, she mentions that she's in a "relationship" with Jon. So within the first 15 minutes or so, it's established that Devan's crazy, which--to deviate a bit--makes it easy for me. As a fan of villainesses (especially the Lifetime ones), and as someone who posts profiles of these female baddies on Villainous Beauties Wiki, I do like knowing what to expect quickly, because it takes the guess work out of it, and reduces my main focuses to a) getting captures, and b) following the villainess' story.

Anyway, Devan increases her quickly established insanity by stalking Jon at his workplace, coming after she mentions her "relationship" to her therapist, Dr. Gordon. However, after seeing Jon with his project manager, Melissa Ross, Devan's demeanor sours into deranged jealousy, and vents in another session. She ends up taking out her anger on Jack, as after being suggested that she continue with Dr. Gordon for another two months, Devan bludgeoned Jack to death with a barbell. Devan later gives private sessions to Hanna, doing so to continue seeing Jon, who backs away and turns down Devan's flirtatious advances. Hanna was left in the dark regarding the intentions of Devan, who stalked Jon again later in the film, this time doing so during his dinner date with Melissa.

Devan later appears to Jon while wearing glasses, doing so to look like Melissa in an attempt to please Jon, who has had enough of Devan's obsession over him and bans her from seeing Hanna. As a result, Hanna ends up on the receiving end of a verbal and public lashing by the deranged Devan, who is later admonished by Janice. Hanna and her boyfriend, Ben, looked into Devan's past and found out that she was a college cheerleader coached by Janet Hughes, whose home the pair visited to get the truth about Devan, and they definitely received a very twisted backstory.

As Janet revealed, Devan's mother committed suicide after seeing her husband with another woman, and in addition, Devan had a history of psychotic and obsessive behavior. It was during her tenure as a college cheerleader that Devan attempted to seduce the father of fellow cheerleader Kelsey Riggins, and threatened to accuse him of sexual assault when he turned her down. The madwoman even broke into Riggins' home and killed the object of her obsession, and later continued a pattern of flirting with cheerleaders' fathers while working as a coach, only to lash out at their daughters when she didn't get her way. The outbursts led to the court-ordered sessions with Dr. Gordon, who was strangled to death by Devan; this was after Devan actually tried to run down Melissa in her car.

A confrontation with Hanna and Devan ended with the latter holding the former at knifepoint and threatening to kill her in front of Ben. Hanna was saved by Janice, who knocked out Devan with a hockey stick, but the film's final scenes showed that Devan had escaped, and in a fast forward taking place a year later, Devan was shown flirting with the father of another cheerleader, revealing that she had been hired as a coach at another school, and she had found a new target.

The Wrong Cheerleader Coach aired on October 17, 2020, and among other stars, the film featured Johanna Liauw making her Lifetime film debut as villainess Devan Walters. I would say "not bad," but that would be an understatement; Liauw stole the entire movie and did an excellent job as Devan. I'm honestly not surprised, Liauw is a "natural heel," meaning that she has the look to play a very dangerous and diabolical villainess, which described Devan to perfection. Liauw acted out Devan's psychotic demeanor in a very stellar manner, she was just amazing and terrific in the role. She is set to appear in another film that should hit Lifetime later in 2021, Reel One Entertainment's Deadly Dormitory. Looking forward to seeing that one when it airs!

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Click here for Devan Walters' profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!