Anna Barton (The Wrong Cheer Captain)

## Anna Barton

The psychotic Anna Barton

**Anna Barton** (Sofia Masson) is the main villainess from the 2021 Lifetime film, *The Wrong Cheer Captain* (airdate August 29, 2021).

## Backstory

Anna Barton's backstory revealed that she had been pressured (mainly) by her mother to obtain a cheerleading scholarship, as the Bartons weren't financially able to send Anna to college. Anna had been a cheerleader in her high school in Lombard, and had befriended fellow cheerleader Susie Jacobs; however, a year and a half prior to the film's event, Anna turned heel by fatally drugging Susie, doing so as part of her ambition to become cheer captain. Susie's death was classified as a suicide, with Anna claiming to have found Susie's body and portraying herself as a heartbroken young woman who was shocked over her friend's death.

## Events

    Anna spent the past year in a mental institution before transferring to Pine Hills High School and joining their cheerleading squad. Her ambitions of becoming cheer captain remained intact, and she was expected to be named as such by Coach Johnson. However, Johnson announced that Emma Rogers would be the cheer captain, with the vote being unanimous. Afterwards, Anna was caught using a vape pen by teacher Eric Olsen, leaving Anna facing possible expulsion. As witnessed by fellow cheerleader (and main protagonist) Kate Taylor and Emma's boyfriend, Shane, Anna approached Emma and demanded that they serve as co-captains together, only for both girls to end up arguing with each other when Emma refused.

Later on, Anna murdered Emma in the same fashion as Susie; a fatal drugging that was portrayed as an overdose. Kate and Shane were stunned by Emma's sudden death, while Anna relished in being named cheer captain by Johnson. Anna's response to the announcement caused Kate to be suspicious of Anna. The villainess also planned to get Olsen out of the way, doing so by sneaking into his home and uploading various racy photos of cheerleaders on his laptop, leading to Olsen being fired and arrested under accusations of being a sex offender. As Cari and Kate discussed Olsen's arrest, Anna approached the pair and falsely claimed that Olsen flirted with her.

Kate's suspicions increased to the point where she sent Shane to befriend Anna and get information from her, with the bonding seeing Anna reveal that her ambition was a result of her mother pressuring her to obtain a cheerleading scholarship. As the film progressed, Anna started flirting with Shane, only to end up turned down, and later on, the villainess broke into Kate's home, knowing that Kate was looking into her. Kate and Shane found a pair of girls who knew Anna at her high school, but all they revealed was that she was a cheerleader at their school and that it was in their best interests to stay away from Anna. Kate later found out about Susie Jacobs, as well as Anna's role in her death, with the latter part cemented when the pair visited Susie's mother, who voiced her suspicions towards Anna.

## Climax & Arrest

    The squad's latest practice saw Kate and Anna engage in a fight, leading to Johnson admonishing both girls while disbelieving Kate's statements about Anna, who later gave a theatrical apology to Kate. The climax saw Olsen inform Johnson that Anna had set him up in response to being caught with a vape pen, leading Johnson to search Anna's backpack and find two vials of a lethal drug inside. Anna, upon finding her backpack inside Johnson's office, confronted her coach while wielding a baseball bat, after which Anna blamed Johnson for not naming her cheer captain. The villainess also ranted about the other girls getting handed everything (in her mind), as well as her own mother pressuring her before knocking out Johnson.

Kate arrived and saw Johnson knocked out, and at that moment, the evil Anna brandished a syringe and informed Kate that she would kill her in the same fashion that she killed Emma. The young women's brawl ended with Anna injected with the chemical, and afterwards, Detective Sterling informed Kate and her mother, Carol Taylor, that Anna would be facing charges for not only her crimes in the film's events, but Susie's murder as well. They were also informed that Anna had woken up from a medically induced coma (a likely result of the drug injection) and was claiming not to remember anything. The final scene showed Anna inside a psychiatric hospital, wearing a straitjacket and flashing a crazed smile.

## Victims

* Susie Jacobs (drugged)
* Emma Rogers (drink spiked resulted in a fatal accident caused by drugging)
* Coach Johnson (knocked by a baseball bat but survived and recovered)
* Kate Taylor (attempted and failed)

## Trivia

* This was Sofia Masson's very first Lifetime film and first villainous role.

## Gallery

Anna believes that she would be chosenAnna in a psychiatric hospital on the film's final scene