Scorned (1993)

A woman destroyed by her husband's suicide methodically dismantles the family of the man responsible. The 90s revenge thriller, in its definitive form.

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The film

Shannon Tweed was the most prolific leading woman of the entire direct-to-video boom, and this is the role that defines her: patient, glamorous and entirely pitiless as she works her way through a household under an assumed name. The structure became a genre template overnight — the avenging woman inside the family — and dozens of imitators borrowed it without ever matching the conviction.

It's pacier and more knowing than its reputation suggests, and Tweed plays it with a relish that keeps it compulsively watchable. There's a sequel; it's skippable.

Editions: what to look for

Unrated versus R-rated is again the live question — the unrated cut is the one collectors want, so confirm it's stated on the listing. The film circulates on standalone DVD and in Tweed multi-packs; the standalone unrated disc is the keeper.