Upamanyu Biswas
‘Killing the Competition‘ follows Elizabeth Fenwick, a mother with an overbearing attachment to her high school daughter, Grace. When the latter fails to enter the high school dance team, Thresherettes, Elizabeth takes it upon herself to fast-track her daughter’s career at any cost. As she was a former star on the team, the mother feels beholden to ensure her daughter has the same experience as her, fulfilling her high expectations of success. However, this only leads to a complex series of events that spiral out of control, eventually leading to a kidnapping plot that shocks the entire community. Meanwhile, the Thresherettes remain at the heart of the narrative, adding to the central drama and fueling Elizabeth’s grand delusions of vicariously living through her child.
The Thresherettes are a Fictional Dance Team With No Connections to Reality
While ‘Killing the Competition’ is inspired by real events, the story, characters, and setting are largely fictional. This extends to the Thresherettes dance team at the heart of the narrative. It is a fictional high school dance team created by the film’s scriptwriters, Jane Espenson and Christina Welsh. The film describes the Thresherettes as the main cheerleading squad of the local high school where Grace is enrolled. In the past, her mother, Elizabeth, was also a part of the troupe as one of its star members. Elizabeth wants her daughter to be a part of the dance team as it represents success both as a parent and also for Grace’s future. However, this desire masks deeper issues rooted in Elizabeth’s psyche, which spills toward more and more disturbing actions as the story moves forward.
Intriguingly, the name Thresherettes is a feminine version of the Threshers, which is the name of the school’s athletic teams. In reality, the Threshers is the name of the athletic teams that represent Bethel College, a private Christian college in North Newton, Kansas. Although the two share similarities in their names, the Bethel Threshers are a college sports team, whereas the Threshers in the movie are meant to represent a high school team, which separates them. According to the movie, the Thresherettes are an all-female dance team performing at the beginning of every significant sporting event that Grace’s high school participates in. As such, she tries to make it into the squad to help brighten her career prospects and reflect them in her profile.
As the narrative progresses, the Thresherettes become a source of increasing toxicity in Grace and Elizabeth’s relationship. While the daughter desires to make it into the team by her own actions, her mother is increasingly vehement that she needs to step in and solve all of her problems. It creates a rift in their bond that ultimately leads to a kidnapping incident. Elizabeth confuses her responsibility as a parent with her own selfish need to be recognized again when instructing her daughter’s next steps in life. As a result, it breeds an overzealous attitude which only distances Grace from her mother. Meanwhile, Elizabeth is convinced that her daughter’s biggest achievement would be to shine as the lead dancer in the Thresherettes. The dance team helps illustrate a specific point within the narrative, even though it is a fictional band that does not exist in real life.
Read More: Killing the Competition Review and Ending, Explained
