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| This villain was proposed but was rejected by the community for not being heinous enough or lacks what is necessary to be a Pure Evil villain. Therefore, this villain shall be added to our "Never Again List", where proposed villains rejected by the community shall be placed to prevent future proposals of the same evil-doer. They can be proposed again (with the permission of an administrator) if new elements appear in their series that can change their status as non-PE villains. Any act of adding this villain to the Pure Evil category without a proposal or creating a proposal for this villain without the permission of an administrator will result in a ban. | ||
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| “ | I didn't make you do anything that wasn't in you already. People are such hypocrites. They walk through their whole lives playing innocent to the day they die, but they're not innocent. I showed you that. That's why I killed Claire, Mick. | „ |
| ~ Alex taunting Michael and also his last words. |
Alex is the main antagonist of the 1990 thriller film Bad Influence.
He was portrayed by Rob Lowe, who also played Paul Barish in Tommy Boy and the young Number Two in the Austin Powers franchise.
Biography[]
Michael Boll, a shy, socially awkward doormat, finds important work data missing. He knows that Patterson, his dishonest coworker, has somehow hidden them but can't prove it, let alone bring himself to accuse the man. Frustrated, he hides in his office - only to be confronted by his fiancée Ruth, whose prattling about their upcoming wedding serves to create further anxiety for Michael. He goes to a bar at the beach and buys a drink for a woman who has lost her wallet. Her abusive boyfriend appears and assaults Michael. Suddenly, the man from earlier appears, breaks a beer bottle, and defends Michael, menacing the thug until he leaves. Michael turns to thank his benefactor, but the man has disappeared.
At home, Michael’s older brother Pismo borrows money - a frequent occurrence he blames on being unable to get anywhere because of a drug conviction. Michael goes for a couple of nighttime jogs and one night, sees the mysterious man from the bar on the pier. He introduces himself as Alex. They go out for drinks and Alex tells Michael he needs to get the best of Patterson. At work, he does just that by doing what Patterson did to him to get his data back and he feels exhilarated.
Over a short period, Alex introduces Michael to a life of hedonism, aggression, and anarchy. He shows Ruth a video of Michael having sex with his friend Claire to break up the engagement Michael told him he didn't want, creates an unnecessary distance between Michael and his brother, involves him in an armed robbery and drug-fueled crime spree, ending with an assault on Patterson, though Michael is too drunk and drugged to know what happened.
Eventually, Michael comes to his senses when he learns at work about the assault. He confronts Alex, who tells him in detail about what happened; Michael tells him he's finished with this toxic relationship and kicks him out. At work, Michael wins the promotion he's been dreaming of because Patterson has withdrawn. Michael feels too guilty to enjoy his success. Alex takes it upon himself to convince Michael to reconsider his decision - one way or another. Michael returns to an emptied apartment and realizes Alex is behind it. When he finds him and Alex takes credit for the promotion, Michael tells him to keep the stuff and consider them even.
Alex then begins wreaking havoc on Michael’s life. He makes a video of himself murdering Claire off-camera with Michael’s golf club and leaves her body in his apartment. Alex beats Michael and leaves him, taking the tape of the murder. Trapped, and unable to go to the police, Michael enlists Pismo’s help to get rid of the body in the La Brea Tar Pits.
Michael’s secretary transfers to another department because she hates his changed personality. Claire's body is found by the police, and Michael finds his golf club in his office - both a message from Alex. Michael enlists Pismo’s help again - this time, to find Alex and eliminate the problem.
Michael sends Pismo to the secret floating sex party to follow Alex. Pismo grabs a beer bottle with Alex’s DNA and a bag with the driver's license of the girl Alex is currently staying with. Alex sees Pismo and follows him out of the club. Alex attacks Pismo, but Michael saves him, and Pismo gives him the girl's address. Michael has obtained a gun, lent to him by a security guard from work, and is about to leave to kill Alex when Pismo notices that Alex has rigged the car to blow up. They fix it and Michael changes his mind about killing Alex.
At the girl's apartment, Alex has sex with her and another woman. He prepares to disappear the way he did before. After he grabs a plastic bag with Michael’s bloody jacket, Michael appears and holds a knife to his throat. Alex admits he was going to plant it at Michael’s apartment, and they struggle. Alex prepares to kill Michael, who escapes, running down the pier. Alex traps him at the end of the pier, but Michael grabs the gun which he has planted there; it's a trap for Alex. He preens and tells Michael his belief that humanity is inherently as evil as him and admits to murdering Claire and beating up Patterson while Michael was unconscious, he knocked Michael's hand on the pavement to gaslight him. Michael calls out to Pismo who has recorded the entire confession with a video camera. Pismo stumbles, distracting Michael, and Alex lunges at him, but Michael fatally shoots him in self-defense and his body falls into the water.