Rachel Lefferson

**Rachel Lefferson** (Elisabeth Röhm) was a villainess from the 2013 film *Darkroom*.

## Introduction

Rachel was introduced as the therapist of main protagonist Michelle, who was sent to a rehabilitation clinic following a drunk driving accident that left three of her friends dead. Michelle was shown to have a tense relationship with her therapist, as Rachel blatantly told Michelle that she would have to make more of an effort to released from the clinic.

Rachel later sent Michelle to work with a friend of hers named Larry Farland who worked at a company named Darkroom Inc, with Michelle arriving at a secluded mansion where she was convinced to replace a model who quit. Michelle had her hair and makeup done by a woman named Nancy, but later on, Michelle became suspicious after finding Larry's photography equipment was faulty and discovered a Bible and defaced doll in a drawer.

## Reveal

Michelle's suspicions were proven warranted, as the film's progression revealed Rachel as not only Larry's sister, but also a deranged and sadistic conspirator of his along with their mentally handicapped brother Daniel, disguising herself as "Nancy" for the ruse. As revealed in video tapes, the siblings' mother was a psychotically abusive religious zealot, terrorizing and torturing her children for their perceived sins.

In adulthood, Rachel joined her siblings in kidnapping and torturing women to death they perceived to be sinful, with Rachel using her therapist job to find victims. It was also found that Rachel and Larry were frequently abusive towards Daniel, as he was shown to be less willing to harm their victims than his sadistic siblings. After Michelle was trapped in a room in the mansion's basement and forced to watch as Larry tortured another captive victim, she attempted to escape, only to be caught and assaulted by Rachel before Larry stopped her and broke Michelle's fingers before leaving her locked inside the room. After going out into the hall, Larry blasted Rachel for attacking Michelle, with Rachel in turn blasting Daniel for failing to capture Michelle before angrily ordering Larry to make sure Daniel learned his role in their sinister operation.

Later on, Rachel inflicted her own form of torment on Michelle, forcing her to say she was a "dirty girl" (in a similar fashion to what her mother did to her) before giving her food, which she had laced with medicine to give her hallucinations. After breaking out of her room, Michelle set up the intercoms to produce a loud static, allowing her to attempt to escape with Jean Balfour; a fellow patient of Rachel's that had been kidnapped. However, Michelle was ultimately caught by the siblings, with Larry holding Michelle while Rachel injected with a drug that knocked her out. After bathing Michelle, she was tied to a chair by Rachel and Larry, the latter of whom watched sadistically as Larry cut Michelle with a box cutter. Rachel (referring to herself as Michelle's "mother") ordered Michelle to confess her sins, with Michelle attempting to appease the villainess by admitting to her role in her friends' deaths. However, in response, Rachel callously referred to Michelle's friends as "dirty whores" and demanded she confess her sins to *her*, having Larry cut Michelle again when she failed to comply with her delusional demand. The pair then left Michelle in Daniel's care while they went to greet another woman arriving for a "job", leaving Daniel to torture Michelle with acid.

## Death

The film's climax had Michelle freeing herself from her bonds and strangling Daniel to death after convincing him she was his mother, after which she splashed the acid in Rachel's face after she came into the room to find her brother's deceased body. The psychotic villainess chased after Michelle and caught up to her at the surveillance room set up in the house, with the two women getting into a brawl as Larry discovered Daniel's body and went to find Rachel. Just as it appeared Rachel was prepared to kill Michelle, the protagonist managed to break free of her grasp by striking her with a lamp, which she proceeded to use to beat her captor to death, with Larry being killed by Jean as he prepared to kill Michelle afterwards.