Mr. Riley

“	You're my girl! We're all we've got...	„
	~ An intoxicated Mr. Riley to his daughter Tamara as he lusts after her

Mr. Riley is the abusive, alcoholic father of Tamara Riley and the secondary antagonist in the 2005 horror thriller Tamara. He takes pride in putting down his daughter and insulting his wife who had abandoned him and Tamara due to his alcoholism. When Tamara discovers that he had incestuous fantasies about her, she compels him to finish his beer bottle (liqueur, beer bottle and all) and then devour the whole six-pack of beers in the fridge, which he does so and dies from bleeding internally. He is portrayed by actor/academic teacher Chris Sigurdson.

Biography

When Tamara returns home from school after being bullied by fellow classmates, Mr. Riley is seen in the kitchen drinking a beer and says to Tamara that she's home rather early. When Tamara tells him she doesn't want to talk about her day, Mr. Riley orders her to get to the storage closet as it needs cleaning. Tamara refuses to do so and prefers to go to her room and stay in there the whole afternoon, angering Mr. Riley who curses at her and claims that his day was no "tea party". He then continues to drink more beer in the kitchen. When Tamara is seeking solace and comfort in her room, Mr. Riley goes into her room asking Tamara what's wrong with her, even though he doesn't really care about her. Mr. Riley tells Tamara that she's been in her room all afternoon. When Tamara doesn't respond to him, Mr. Riley turns his attention to her spellbooks and black magic collection and proceeds to mock her collection, telling her that magic isn't going to make her life any better and chuckles at her while wheezing. Mr. Riley begins to insult Tamara's mother, bemoaning about having to pick up after his daughter ever since she left them, though refusing to acknowledge the fact that it was his alcohol addiction that drove her away. He even mocks his daughter's lacking of skill in cooking for the family in front of his own daughter. However, Mr. Riley notices how upset Tamara is and proceeds to tell her that he is sorry and that he attempted to make his relationship with Tamara's mother work but failed to do so. He tells Tamara that sometimes love isn't enough to give to someone, which Tamara refuses to believe. As he exits out her bedroom drinking his beer, Tamara whispers that he is wrong and though love isn't enough, she was determined to complete her love binding spell later that evening.

When Tamara is getting dressed up for the house party that she wasn't invited to, Mr. Riley appears out of nowhere whilst drinking a beer and loudly exclaims that Tamara looks beautiful, then tells her to come over and give him a hug. Tamara asks him if he always liked touching her. Mr. Riley rebuffs that matter and insists on getting some affection from her, telling Tamara that she is his girl; that they are all that they have left for their family. Tamara reluctantly obeys and approaches him. Mr. Riley proceeds to kiss her but before he could, Tamara touches his face with her hand and reads his mind through the use of her witchcraft. Tamara also discovers Mr. Riley's darkest secrets: flashbacks reveal that Mr. Riley's alcoholism drove his wife away and didn't even bother to win her back, after which he began to have sexual fantasies toward Tamara.

Mr.Riley fantasizing about being with Tamara

One night, Tamara puts on her mother's dress before she goes out to see Mr. Natolly at the motel, Mr. Riley comes into her room to bid her goodbye. As they shared a father-daughter embrace, Mr. Riley holds her longer than usual. Smelling perfume on her dress, Riley (in his mind) feels that he can still smell her and proceeds to smell Tamara's hair in his lust after her. The day after his wife walked out on him, he masturbates while thinking of Tamara.

Tamara is disgusted by this revelation and chastises Mr. Riley: “If you loved Mom as much as you love that bottle, then maybe she wouldn’t have left. And you wouldn’t be chasing your own daughter, you bastard.”

Tamara then asks him if he really does love the beer bottle, which he admits to by nodding his head. Tamara then compels him to finish the beer bottle, liquor and all. As Mr. Riley finishes drinking the beer and begins to eat the beer bottle, Tamara tells him there's more beer in the refrigerator, and suggests for him to finish all the beers. Tamara then leaves for the party, and Mr. Riley is left eating the beer bottle in his hand.

Eventually, the corpse of Mr. Riley is discovered by Chloe, Jesse and Mr. Natolly when they go to Tamara's house to ask him about his daughter’s whereabouts. Mr. Riley is found by the refrigerator, having drunken and devoured the entire six-pack of beer bottles, his throat bleeding out. He manages to regain consciousness for a few minutes (which scares Chloe, Jesse and Mr. Natolly), coughing up bloody shards of glass and gasping his last breaths before finally dying.

Trivia

• Mr. Riley is an alcoholic
• It's hinted that Mr. Riley molests his daughter
• Mr. Riley is borderline incestuous, which is part and parcel in Tamara's troubled life.
• Mr. Riley's death is on of two Psychic-Insisted Suicides, as Tamara compels him to eat beer bottles until he bled internally.
• Mr. Riley is similar to Alvin Marsh: They both abuse their daughters (Tamara Riley and Beverly Marsh) on a frequent basic, they're both sexually attracted to their own daughters, they both are misogynists often putting down the women in their families (wife; daughter; etc) and they both are alcoholics.
• Mr. Riley is similar to Richard Detmer: They are alcoholics who abuse their children and serve as the secondary antagonists of their respective films. However, their abuse is the reason their children become the main antagonists, which makes them the Bigger Bads of their respective films.

Quotes

“	You're home early. Stuart's closet needs cleaning!	„
	~ Mr. Riley's demands as he notices Tamara home from school early

“	Yeah, well my day's been one big fuckin' tea party!	„
	~ Mr. Riley yelling after Tamara says she's feeling really badly

“	What's wrong with you, girl? You've been up here all afternoon.	„
	~ Mr. Riley asking Tamara who is depressed and seeks solace up in her room

“	You think this magic shit's gonna make you feel better?	„
	~ Mr. Riley mocking Tamara's witchcraft collection

“	Of all the habits you picked up from that no-good mother of yours, you couldn't learn to cook!	„
	~ Mr. Riley bashing his absent wife and insults Tamara for her lack of skills

“	I'm sorry, I tried to make things work with her.	„
	~ Mr. Riley apologizing to Tamara and lying about how he tried to make things work with Tamara's mother

“	Sometimes, love ain't enough.	„
	~ Mr. Riley telling Tamara why her mother left him

“	You look beautiful. Come give me a hug.	„
	~ Mr. Riley asking Tamara for a hug as he watches her get ready for a house party

“	I just want some affection. You're my girl! We're all we've got.	„
	~ Mr. Riley's last words to get inappropriately close to her before Tamara compels him with her witchcraft

“	I can still smell her, I can -- I can still smell her, I can still smell her.	„
	~ Mr. Riley's inner voice in his lust after Tamara, fantasizing that he can still smell the perfume on her while he's holding her.

Gallery

Mr. Riley's Evil Grin

Mr. Riley attempting to seduce his own daughter, Tamara