Kidnapping in the Grand Canyon (2023 Lifetime)
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Cast: Philip Boyd, Gina Vitori
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DonateDonate monthlyDonate yearlySynopsis (via Lifetime)
When two best friends hiking the Grand Canyon trust an experienced hiking guide to bring them on an off-trail adventure, things go south when he takes them captive, and they have to fight both man and nature to make it out of the canyon alive. Starring Gina Vitori, Philip Boyd, Katrina Rosita, and Ryann Wawro (2023).
Recap/Wine Thoughts.
The movie starts in the Grand Canyon, as the title suggests. The film also claims to be inspired by true events.
A woman runs through the canyon in a flannel straight out of My So-Called Life. She screams for help from nearby fellow campers but is grabbed by a hand and dragged off camera. Reports of the woman missing play on the news.
Cut to Dr. Brooke Anderson, who is taking a much-needed vacation because she has been stuck in work mode. She has been struggling since her photoshopped fiance/husband died in a climbing accident. (Which we see through flashbacks. He could be the calmest man I’ve ever seen die in a Lifetime movie.)
Brook celebrates her 20th Friendaversary with Chandra by hiking the Grand Canyon. (They approach this trip like a girl’s night out; although Brooke brings a map and suggests that Chandra share her location with her, Chandra declines.) Brook is really high strung and still stuffers from nightmares from Photoshop Fiance’s death.
Chandra has problems too, aside from her bucket hat, she also recently broke up with her girlfriend, Meg. Things were getting more serious and Chandra wasn’t ready for that. She also has to answer the age old question, what to watch on basic cable in the motel. Old reruns of Project Runway or an HBO early 2000’s RomCom. (Project Runway, duh!)
Brooke and Chandra go out to eat at a local bar and it is a good thing Brooke is a doctor because the bartender breaks a glass and she picks glass out of his hand in a weirdly graphic scene. (I’m not squeamish, but damn.) As Brooke and Chandra leave the restaurant they literally bump into a handsome trail guide named Nate. Chandra tells Brooke to go for it!
Nate shows the next day and offers to take Brooke and Chandra on a hike. There is lots is sexual tension all around! Brooke and Nate flirt and Chandra basically pimps out her friend to hike solo with Nate. Brooke kills the mood by talking about her dead husband Akil. Nate is also widowed and relates to Brooke on a deeper level.
On a break, Meg text Chandra an “I miss you” text and Chandra responds but the message doesn’t go through. They sit down to eat some protein bars and Brooke notices a whole in hers. She even mentions it out loud and Nate offers to trade with her, but Brooke politely declines. As the continue to hike Chandra and Brooke start to feel ill and think they are going into heat stroke or they might be out of shape. They both pass out after Nate leads them off the hiking trail.
The friends wake up in a cave with thier wrists bound. The hiker from the beginning of the movie is there too. her name is Tara and she weakly tells Brooke and Chandra that no one can save them and Nate intentionally kidnapped them. Tara has an injured from trying to escape. Chandra is not surprised at all.
Nate kidnapped Brooke intentionally because she is a doctor and Chandra is his hostage to get Brooke to fix Tara’s injuries (Which are way less severe than the bartenders!) and not go to the police afterwords. Brooke is terrified, meanwhile Chandra is so unphased and kicks Nate in the balls, she also steals his keys. Brooke gets to work and uses one of those antiseptic pads, wraps her leg in gauze, and gives her some ibuprofen. Brooke tells Nate that Tara needs to go to a hospital. He obviously can’t have that happen and is convinced that Tara is his fiance who died.
While Nate takes Brooke to get more supplies, Chandra uses the key to attempt to free herself. Tara starts to get sicker and weaker as time goes by. Chandra keeps Tara talking and promises to beat Nate up when he returns.
Brooke convinces Nate to trust her and untie her hands while they hike. They go to a local clinic and Brooke claims to have a UTI. The receptionist can tell something is wrong and gives Brooke some antibiotics from her purse. Then she doesn’t call the police.
While they walk back, Brooke asks Nate about Tara and he tells her how they met and bonded instantly. (In his mind at lease.) Brooke validates his viewpoint. to buy herself more time. They return to the cave to find Tara and Chandra have left. Brooke knocks Nate out with a rock.
Meanwhile Chandra carries Tara out of the cave and tries to help her escape. Tara feels bad for leaving Nate because he was there for her when her mom died. The run into a baby rattle snake, which are apparently more dangerous! Tara isn’t looking so hot and they rest in a shady spot.
Brooke runs for her life and comes across a fellow hiker. After chugging some water, she asks for help. The hiker has no signal and is reluctant to help, but he agrees. It is a deadly mistake. Nate finds them and tells the hiker that Brooke is dehydrated and not thinking clearly. Nate and the hiker get into a shoving match and the hiker goes over the cliff and into the canyon.
Brooke takes the opportunity to make a run for it and ends up falling in a ditch due to some lose terrain. Nate falls with her. After some more hydrating, Brooke goes through Nate’s backpack and finds a flare gun, she saves it for later because Chandra finds them and helps Brooke climb out before Nate can come to. As brooke climbs she has PTSD from when her husband died. Chandra tries to calm down her friend and apologizes for not realizing how badly she was hurting. Just as Brooke musters up the courage to climb out, Nate wakes up and grabs her. He holds her at knifepoint and demands they take him to Tara.
Nate takes the medication forces the friends to help him out of the ditch and then forces the stay put (by trapping them in the ditch) while he finds Tara. He finds her and gives Tara some of the UTI pills and she tells him that she needs a hospital. Then the flare fires and Nate rushes back to take care of Chandra and Brooke.
Brooke is ready for him this time and she cocks the flare gun at Nate. She tells him that she is Tara’s doctor and he won’t get in the way for her treating her. Brooke tells him that being alone makes you do crazy things, but Tara doesn’t want to be with him. Helicopters begin to circle and Brooke tells him that it is over. She shoots him with the flare gun and then Nate is bit by a baby rattlesnake before getting curb stomped by Chandra. (Well there isn’t a curb, but you get it!)
Tara is saved! Brooke and Chandra are heros! Brooke offers to tell the hikers family that HE was the real hero. The cops tells Brooke that Nate was impersonating a trail guide who he attacked and then took over his identity and kidnapped Tara.
After everything that happened, Chandra decides that she loves Meg. They friends stay and do one final hike together. Brooke takes the symbolic step of burying her wedding ring at the grand canyon and starting a new chapter of her life. (It was a well done moment! No dialogue and nice cinematography.)
Side Note/Stray Thoughts
Minority Report: Chandra, Akil, Bartender
Overall rating
Numbers of Kills: 🔪🔪 (2 knives)
Enjoyment Level (1-5 scale):🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷 (5 Glasses of Wine)
Should you watch it?
Pour it up! (Give it a shot)
What did you think of the movie? Let me know in the comments or on social media @LifetimeUncorked & @patrickmiguel
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Why o why when this dude was knocked out did she not take his knife! And then slice his achilles heel so he can’t walk. Not super smart for a doctor.
I felt bad for Brooke because shd didn’t sign up for any of the tom foolery Chandra got them into. So looking forward to the podcast recap.