Trapped Model (2019 Lifetime)

Trapped Model (2019 Lifetime)

Cast: Lucy Loken, Wes McGee, Kiki Harris, Michael Ryerson Uribe

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Synopsis (via Lifetime)

Inspired by true events. Grace, an aspiring model, is thrilled to have fashion photographer Hunter Kelly help launch her career. But when the photo shoot becomes a kidnapping showing Hunter’s true intentions to use Grace as his next “star” on a sexy website, Grace must find a way to escape before she becomes Hunter’s next model murder victim.

Thoughts

We start off in the woods, and a redhead lady (in a jumpsuit!) is running from someone. The person catches up with them and stabs them in the neck with a syringe. Then we get the title card. “Trapped Model.”

Next, we see a Zaddy photographer shooting with a mediocre model with a middle part named Grace. He tells Grace she will need to take risks and show some more skin if she is going to get anywhere in this business. Grace is uncomfortable but takes off her jacket and continues to model. THEN the Zaddy asks her to take off her top, and she draws the line and rushes out of the shoot.

Grace goes to a diner and talks to Matt, her boyfriend. She goes through some exposition about being a military brat and is emotionally distant. She is also obsessed with fashion magazines and will be skipping college to be a full-time model. Her mom (who works at the diner.) doesn’t want her daughter to throw away the opportunity of college for something millions of girls try… and fails at. 

Her mom may be right because Grace keeps getting rejected until she finds it. www.modelmatchup.com and applies. It is too good to be true, she thinks, but she gets a call from Hunter Kelly, the VERY interested website owner. She asks him to send her some of his work, and she is impressed and thrilled to have this opportunity. Grace packs her bags and goes without talking to anyone. She just leaves a note for her mom and sends a text to her boyfriend.

When she arrives in Miami. Grace is picked up by Nicole, Hunter’s former drug addict assistant. The studio is an hour outside of town in the middle of nowhere. Grace should be nervous (she has no cell service!) but is fine once she sees the mansion and Hunter Kelly (Who has a nut allergy? He freaks on Nicole for bringing a Payday into the house) 

Hunter Kelly sends Nicole away, and Grace and he have wine and dinner. It gets late, and Hunter lets Grace stay in his guest home. It is more like one room with a bed and a HUGE TV (which is obviously a nanny cam situation.) Grace asks him to check his rideshare app to make sure she can’t get a ride back into the city, and he says there are no cars. He leaves and tells her to lock the door behind him. Grace realizes that she doesn’t have her luggage and goes after Hunter Kelly, but is stopped short when she realizes she is locked in the room. Grace checks her cellphone and still has no service and then goes to the window and bangs on it while Hunter walks away. Grace then gets the house phone and calls 911, but it is Hunter on the other end of the line. Grace bangs on the window all night.

Back home, Matt and Grace’s mom are looking through her things to try to find clues as to where she could be.

The next morning, Hunter Kelly comes back and tells Grace that she isn’t going anywhere, and he has great plans for them. Grace will be on a webcam porn site as “Lonely College Girl.” He has tabs on Grace’s mother and boyfriend and will keep them safe if she does what he says. Hunter then takes hold of all Grace’s social media accounts and is cultivating her into a porn star? 

Hunter posts on Grace’s Instagram, and her mom and boyfriend are happy to see she is alive but doesn’t understand why she won’t return their calls. Matt, the boyfriend gets a text (from Hunter) where Grace tells him that she loves him… he knows it is not her texting. She would never tell him that!  

On her first webcam show, Grace is dressed up as a cheerleader with Hunter and Nicole coaching her with an earpiece. Grace goes along for a bit but then screams at the camera for someone to help her. The live stream is shut down and running on a delay, so she more just pissed off Hunter than anything. Hunter tells Grace that there is no use trying to escape, the windows are BOMB PROOF!

The second webcam show happens, and Grace is dressed like a sexy librarian. Grace is going along with it now and is swaying her hips and lying on the bed. WE get a montage of her dancing, and she has amassed a following of 500,000. Everyone loves sexy Grace, except jealous Nicole! Nicole goes to Grace’s room and tells him to stop seducing her man. They scuffle, but Hunter shows up just in time to save Grace from being killed by Nicole. Grace kisses Hunter and tells him that she would never leave him.

Two weeks go by, Matt and Grace’s mom go to the Miami police. (who know it is a police station because of a mug that says “Miami Police”) And surprise surprise, they don’t give a fuck. Grace is not missing; she is a famous webcam girl! I’m sure the cop is one of her subscribers.   

Hunter is becoming more enamored with Grace. He buys her a fancy dress, lets her out of her room, and they share some champagne. All this while Nicole seethes while watching on the webcam… Grace gets breakfast in bed and is living the life. She even pitches Hunter some ideas, like being a sexy art student. Things are going well between them, and Hunter takes Grace shopping a gunpoint. In a dressing room, while trying on clothes, Grace pricks her finger and write help on the mirror. Hunter catches her and drags her out of the store, but not before she can swipe something to look like they are stealing. The shopkeeper chases after them, but Hunter scares her off.

Matt’s friend finds the website and sees Nicole whipping Grace on camera. He shows Matt, and they are going to track the IP address and find Grace. Matt text Grace and Hunter makes her call him and tell him it is over. Before she hangs up, she tells Matt that she loves him. He knows that she is lying and vows to find her. Hunter also vows to kill Matt.

Nicole gets tipped off when she is whipping Grace that Hunter has been killing the webcam models. I’m not sure what Nicole was thinking happened to the webcam girls once they left, but I’m pretty sure the thinks they went to live on a farm. Nicole confronts Hunter, and he tells her to shut up, or she will end up just like them.

Grace’s mom goes back to the police and asks them to get the” computer people” on the case to track down where the website is. Matt shows up and is NOT dead yet. The police say that Grace is not missing and is just a pornstar. There is nothing they can do!

Grace is back on her good behavior and promises to do full nudity for the webcam, where she is a sexy artist. She paints her body and cries… umm, who would watch this?!?!? Later that night, Grace turns on the fire alarm in the bathroom and uses paint fumes to set it off. (I don’t know chemistry, I have no idea what she did.) With the alarm going off, Hunter rushes to save Grace. When he turns the corner, she stabs him in the eye with a stiletto and runs into the house to call 911. (For real this time.) Hunter stops her and takes her back to her room.

The police show up, and Hunter is legit wearing a pad of gauze over his eye. Hot cop (with a dimpled chin!) asks Hunter some questions and take a look around. Grace is banging the hell out of the windows in the guest house to no avail. The hot cop gets another call and leaves before he can go inside the guest house!

The next day Hunter (in an eye patch!?!? You guys, this is hilarious.) arranges for a new girl to come and replace Grace. He doesn’t realize that it is Matt and his friend. Nicole goes to pick up the new girl but is instead being trailed by Matt. Good thing he is because Hunter is going to kill Grace on camera.

Matt doesn’t last long on the premises and is hit with a shovel and then tied up. Grace remembers that Hunter is allergic to nuts and houses a Payday (or kind bar or something.) She then makes out with Hunter and sends him into anaphylactic shock. Grace and Matt runoff while Nicole and Hunter struggle over an Epipen. (Hunter kills Nicole, but she manages to throw his Epipen in the garbage disposal.)

Flash to one year later, Grace and her mom are sitting on the beach. Her mom is a lawyer, and Grace is on the cover of a magazine. Matt shows up with his shirt off (I’m not mad about it!), and they tell each other they love one another as the camera pans towards the beach. 

Side Note

Also known as “A Model Kidnapping” or Model Murders.

Written by Andrea Channing, who has been on a roll with Lifetime movies that I’m enjoying. Including “Homekilling Queen” and “Til Ex Do Us Part.” Up next for her is “Cheerleader Escort” You go, Andrea!

This was based on a true story?!?!?!?!

Minority Report: Matt (LatinX represent!) and Matt’s friend.

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Overall rating

🔪🔪🔪 (3 Knives)

🍷🍷🍷 (3 glasses of wine required)

*Photo Credit: © 2019 Lifetime