Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeywoman’ on Netflix, A Needless Extra Chapter In The Serial Killer’s Story

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Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeywoman had a cup of coffee in theaters last year before migrating to VOD and eventually landing here on Netflix. And it refers to itself as a “companion piece” to Monster, the 2003 film which featured Charlize Theron in an Oscar-winning turn as Wuornos. But with its Netflix slot, what it really feels like a companion to is star Peyton List’s other appearances on the streamer, namely in Bunk’d and Cobra Kai.

AILEEN WUORNOS: AMERICAN BOOGEYWOMAN: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: American Boogeywoman opens with the Aileen Wournos we know from Monster. It’s 2002, and she’s serving time on Florida’s death row for the murders of seven men. She’s also telling her life story to a documentary filmmaker, and with that hook we flash back to 1974, where in quick succession Aileen (Peyton List) rolls a john for his wallet at knifepoint, wanders onto a private beach, meets rich girl Jennifer (Lydia Hearst), and inserts herself into Florida society with a bang-bang marriage to her new friend’s tycoon father, a kindly, sickly old guy named Lewis Fell (Tobin Bell) who’s known around town as “Commodore.” The daughter, of course, is incensed. “I really hope we can be friends again someday, Jen,” Aileen says. And don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

As the older Aileen’s voiceover makes it clear, she loves the perks, but has no intention of honoring the marriage. “Do I feel bad about what I did?” she asks. “Hell if I know.” (Ashley Atwood plays “Older Aileen.”) She sneaks off to the Last Resort bar when Lewis falls asleep, where she does blow and stabs a guy. She goes out on the Commodore’s yacht and assaults a rich knucklehead named Grady (Swen Temmel) below deck as Grady’s dad Victor (Nick Vallelonga) is asking Lewis how much he really knows about his new wife. And she writes herself checks out of Lewis’s ledger book, has Jennifer removed as her father’s beneficiary, and insults the local gentry while generally acting like the hardscrabble drifter she is.

Victor, who’s also Lewis’s accountant, quickly discovers Aileen’s checkered past. He offers her $10,000 to walk away from the marriage, but that goes badly for Victor, as well as his son Grady. The destruction is piling up behind Aileen in this rich new life of hers, but there are others on her tail, too, namely her older brother Keith (Joseph Scwartz) – he wants his cut – as well as Jen and her boyfriend, who are doing some investigating of their own. And when she can no longer lie, stab, or shoot her way out of a corner, it’s the Commodore, Lewis Fell, who has to clean up the mess his marriage to Aileen Wuornos made.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of? Boogeywoman writer-director Daniel Farrands also helmed Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman (2021) and The Haunting of Sharon Tate (2019), widely derided true crime quickies that employed a similar stunt casting trick. For those films, instead of Disney Channel star List as Aileen Wuornos, it was former WB/CW dreamboat Chad Michael Murray as Ted Bundy, while Hilary Duff – Lizzie McGuire herself – played Tate.

Performance Worth Watching: There are at least a few lines in the American Boogeywoman script that must have inspired Peyton List to sign on to this thing. After all, when you’ve made your mark on squeaky clean kid’s shows like Jessie and Bunk’d, it’s gotta be at least a little tantalizing to play a killer drifter without a conscience who regularly spouts stuff like “You needle-dicked, mother-fucking, piece of shit, you’re gonna turn and go back out there and tell your daddy it’s time to go and never show your face around me again. You dig?”

Memorable Dialogue: “American Boogeywoman periodically drifts into hamfisted noir, but can’t sustain the style visually, and it definitely can’t sustain it with rote line reads like Jennifer musing “What’s that old saying? Keep your friends close and your enemies closer…”

Sex and Skin: Nothing overt.

Our Take: “You don’t jab a rattlesnake with a stick and expect it won’t bite you back.” Ashley Atwood, who plays death row Aileen Wournos, ekes out as much as she can from the voiceover that occasionally surfaces in American Boogeywoman. And Peyton List does get a few opportunities to swear up a storm while holding knives to men’s necks. But the film’s attempt to consider Wournos as a kind of femme fatale or warrior against toxic masculinity doesn’t align with all of the other times it’s referring to its main character as a psychopath. It’s also suggested that the tale we’re watching of Aileen’s marriage to Lewis and the resulting chaos is just a death row inmate’s fantasy, but that isn’t supported enough by the writing or plotting to matter. American Boogeywoman wants to be deliciously trashy, a bristly noir full of scheming people and shocking bloodshed. But it’s mostly watery, and clunks between sequences so awkwardly that Atwood’s narration becomes the best thing it has going for it.

As for List, she does a teeth-baring, hard-breathing take on the older Wournos’ infamous cracked rictus for about half her scenes, and the rest of the time lets sunglasses or a pair of cowboy boots try to carry the character. But that isn’t entirely her fault, since there’s very little at all to work with here.

Our Call: SKIP IT. Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeywoman wants to be another chapter in the Monster story, but it’s not clear who asked for this to be told, and besides that, it reads flimsier than a grocery store tabloid.

Johnny Loftus is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift. Follow him on Twitter: @glennganges

The Handmaid’s Tale star confirms show’s fate beyond season 5

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Ann Dowd, who plays Aunt Lydia on The Handmaid’s Tale, has teased whether the show will stretch beyond a fifth season.

The sci-fi series, adapted from Margaret Atwood’s novel of the same name, is set in the dystopian future of Gilead — a totalitarian, fundamentalist society in what was formerly the United States.

The story centres on June/Offred (Elisabeth Moss) who, like numerous other ‘Handmaids’, who are subjected to child-bearing slavery for the ruling classes.

The Emmy-winning drama was renewed for a fifth season in 2020, but it remained to be seen whether the show would stretch to a sixth season… until now.

Hulu

Related: Handmaid’s Tale star Ann Dowd reveals unique filming of new movie Mass

Speaking to Radio Times ahead of the UK release of her upcoming film Mass, Dowd said that while she didn’t know much about the plot for season 5, she did know about the future of The Handmaid’s Tale.

Hulu

Related: The Handmaid’s Tale season 5: Release date, cast, plot and everything you need to know

On the story, the actress admitted: “The writers are very smart. They don’t tell actors anything,” before adding: “What would I say about it? No, I don’t have a clue at all about what will be happening. I do know that there’s a season 5 and 6.”

When asked when filming for the next season is due to begin, Dowd said simply: “End of January.”

Dowd won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series back in 2017 for The Handmaid’s Tale, alongside her co-star Moss. The show itself won Outstanding Drama Series at that year’s awards.

The Handmaid’s Tale airs on in the US and Channel 4 in the UK.

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Daisy & Daniel plot revisited in 28 pictures

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Your full collection of photos revealing what’s ahead on the cobbles in the week commencing Monday, January 24.

We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.

ITV View Gallery 28 Photos ITV 1 of 28 Monday, January 24: Tim is ready for his operation The anaesthetic starts to take effect. ITV 2 of 28 Monday, January 24: Tim hears a commotion in the hospital corridor Sally causes chaos outside Tim’s hospital room and gets herself arrested. ITV 3 of 28 Monday, January 24: Lydia quizzes Daniel Lydia is curious after Amy mentions that she and Daniel have both overturned school suspensions recently. ITV 4 of 28 Monday, January 24: Daniel explains what happened Lydia is taken aback when Daniel says that he was wrongly accused of an inappropriate relationship with Summer. ITV 5 of 28 Monday, January 24: Jenny continues to have a good time She’s enjoying her new relationship with Leo. ITV 6 of 28 Monday, January 24: Carla turns up She points out that Jenny promised Kate a share of Johnny’s money. ITV 7 of 28 Monday, January 24: Jenny is taken aback Carla claims that Jenny seems to have abandoned her family in favour of her toyboy. ITV 8 of 28 Monday, January 24: Dev hosts a family dinner at Speed Daal He brings Bernie along as his date. ITV 9 of 28 Monday, January 24: Bernie and Dev make an announcement They confirm that they’re now a proper couple. ITV 10 of 28 Monday, January 24: Everyone reacts to the news Will Dev and Bernie get their families’ support? ITV 11 of 28 Monday, January 24: Lydia confides in Sarah She admits that she’s worried about Daniel’s past. ITV 12 of 28 Monday, January 24: Daisy overhears She leaps to Daniel’s defence, assuring Lydia that he’s a lovely guy. ITV 13 of 28 Wednesday, January 26: Bernie’s lies start to catch up with her Everyone wants to know how Bernie afforded to buy Joseph a new video game. She lies that Dev gave her a pay rise, but Dev finds out. ITV 14 of 28 Wednesday, January 26: Bernie tells another lie She claims that she made up the story about the pay rise to stop Chesney from feeling bad over her buying gifts for Joseph. ITV 15 of 28 Wednesday, January 26: Leo goes to A&E after suffering an injury playing rugby Jenny rushes to join him there, but gets a bigger shock when she arrives. ITV 16 of 28 Wednesday, January 26: Sally is not happy She believes someone has been trying to scupper her election campaign. ITV 17 of 28 Wednesday, January 26: Sally accuses Maria How will Maria react? ITV 18 of 28 Wednesday, January 26: Bernie is facing a backlash Suspicion is rising that she could have been involved in Joseph’s disappearance. ITV 19 of 28 Wednesday, January 26: Police arrive and speak to Bernie Bernie breaks down and tells them everything. Bernie and Chesney are both hauled in for questioning. ITV 20 of 28 Wednesday, January 26: Daniel thanks Daisy He appreciates her kind words. ITV 21 of 28 Wednesday, January 26: Daisy suggests that she and Daniel should go for a drink sometime Daniel is taken aback. ITV 22 of 28 Wednesday, January 26: Lydia watches on She notices the spark between Daniel and Daisy. ITV 23 of 28 Wednesday, January 26: Craig arrives home from work He has news for Faye and Emma. ITV 24 of 28 Wednesday, January 26: Craig explains that Ted’s post-mortem suggests he was run over This might have triggered the blood clot that killed Ted. Faye and Emma are both horrified. ITV 25 of 28 Friday, January 28: Bernie confides in Paul She insists that everything she did was with the best of intentions. ITV 26 of 28 Friday, January 28: Paul listens to Bernie’s problems Bernie says that all she can hope for is that Joseph tells the truth. ITV 27 of 28 Friday, January 28: Sally tries to get Tim to celebrate She tries to mark Tim’s 50th birthday at the hospital. ITV 28 of 28 Friday, January 28: Elaine is not impressed She insists that Tim needs rest. Next Corrie’s Tim suffers shock collapse in 33 pictures Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Coronation Street’s Max Turner to face more trouble over school scandal

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Note: The following article contains discussion of sexual misconduct that some readers may find upsetting.

Coronation Street spoilers follow.

This week, Coronation Street’s Amy Barlow (Elle Mulvaney) took a stand on women’s rights at Weatherfield High School – following the recent upskirting and sexual harassment scandals.

After Summer Spellman (Harriet Bibby) discovered Max Turner (Paddy Bever) looking at the upskirting photos of her on his phone, Amy attempted to investigate the perpetrator.

Later on, while at the bus stop with Summer, Asha (Tanisha Gorey) and Aadi Alahan (Adam Hussain), Amy disclosed that she found out that several other girls at Weatherfield had also been harassed and had upskirt photos taken of them.

ITV

Related: Coronation Street’s Max Turner to make false allegations over Daniel and Summer

Amy and Asha – who also had to deal with private photos of herself being shared in 2020 – urged Summer to report the photo to the police, but Summer felt ashamed to tell anyone.

This led to Amy taking action and sparking a major protest over how the school was handling the issues of upskirting and sexual harassment.

And next week’s episodes will find Amy and Summer’s school protest has proven a success.

ITV

Related: Coronation Street’s Daniel Osbourne makes a big mistake as Max Turner plots trouble

Also wanting to help, Daisy suggests writing a social media post encouraging kids to attend the consent workshop that has been organised.

Daisy watches wistfully as Daniel dashes off for another date with Lydia, hoping that she was the one still dating him.

Later on, having found out from Daniel that he skipped the consent workshop, David admonishes Max – who warns him that if he misses another session, he will have to answer to him… But will Max listen?

Coronation Street airs these scenes on Friday, January 28 at 7.30pm on ITV.

Read more Coronation Street spoilers on our dedicated homepage

If you’ve been affected by the issues raised in this story, you can access more information from Rape Crisis England and Wales, who work towards the elimination of all forms of sexual violence and sexual misconduct, on their website or by calling the National Rape Crisis Helpline on 0808 802 9999. Rape Crisis Scotland’s helpline number is 08088 01 03 02.

Readers in the US are encouraged to contact RAINN, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800-656-4673.

Emmerdale to revisit Aaron’s exit story after Meena revelations

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Emmerdale spoilers follow.

Emmerdale is set to revisit Aaron Dingle’s exit storyline, as the recent revelations about Meena Jutla’s killing spree have an impact on Aaron’s jailed sister Liv Flaherty.

Liv (Isobel Steele) was arrested on suspicion of murdering Ben Tucker (Simon Lennon) late last year, as all evidence appeared to point to her following her drunken argument with Ben just before his death. However, viewers were aware that it was actually Meena (Paige Sandhu) who cruelly killed Ben.

Liv has been in prison ever since and Aaron made the difficult decision to leave the Dales behind in December, feeling that he couldn’t remain in the village after everything that had happened.

ITV

Related: Emmerdale confirms Meena twist for wedding episode

In scenes to air next week, Liv informs Vinny Dingle (Bradley Johnson) that a court hearing has been requested over her case because some new evidence has come to light. She asks Vinny to tell Aaron what is going on, and he obliges.

At Wishing Well Cottage, Mandy (Lisa Riley) and Lydia Dingle (Karen Blick) both dance at the news that Liv might be getting released soon if all goes well.

However, the mood is soon brought down when Aaron’s mum, Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter), informs them that Aaron isn’t coming back for the hearing. Vinny panics that Aaron’s absence could upset recovering alcoholic Liv enough to set her off drinking again.

ITV

Related: Emmerdale’s Mackenzie in backlash after Dawn kiss

As the day of the hearing dawns, Vinny is excited about the prospect of Liv being released and, in her prison cell, Liv packs to go home.

But Vinny can’t help worrying about telling Liv that Aaron won’t be coming along and, feeling unable to burst her bubble, he tells her that Aaron is on his way.

Vinny feels wretched over his lie. How will Liv react when she discovers the truth?

ITV

Related: Emmerdale’s Ryan rocked by news of a death

This isn’t the only untruth that Vinny is planning to tell next week in his attempts to help Liv, as he asks Manpreet Sharma (Rebecca Sarker) to lie to the police over details of Meena’s murder confession to her, in order to better vindicate wrongly-accused Liv.

Actor Danny Miller, who won the latest series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in December, explained after his exit was announced why he was leaving the role of Aaron behind. He said that “it felt like the right time to open a new chapter in my life”, particularly after the birth of his son Albert.

“I’ve been there 13 years, I had a little break but 13 years ago I started as Aaron,” he said. “I grew up with him and I feel very protective of him and I think it was time for him to start a new life.”

Emmerdale airs these scenes on Thursday, January 27 at 7pm and 8pm on ITV.

Read more Emmerdale spoilers on our dedicated homepage