Girl in the Attic (2025 Lifetime Movie)
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Cast: Jean Louisa Kelly, Keenan Tracey, Sophia Carriere
Director: David Weaver
Writer(s):
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DonateDonate monthlyDonate yearlySynopsis (via Lifetime)
Girl in the Attic follows Kelsey (Sophia Carriere), a determined young woman grieving the loss of her mother. To honor her mother’s memory Kelsey decides to run a marathon and shares her journey online to raise money. However, her public posts catch the attention of Billy (Keenan Tracey), a seemingly unassuming grocery store worker who has put his own dreams on hold to care for his mother Debbie (Jean Louisa Kelly), a former dancer now confined to a wheelchair after a spinal cord injury. Billy quickly becomes obsessed with Kelsey and devises a sinister plan to abduct her after she posts where she’ll be on her next run. Intent on making Kelsey his wife, Billy hides her away in the attic of the home he shares with Debbie. Bound and isolated, Kelsey is forced to endure years of torment as Billy controls her every move and exploits her through online videos for financial gain. In a shocking turn of events, Debbie discovers Kelsey’s imprisonment and now the two women must band together before it’s too late…
Recap/Wine Thoughts
Inspired by real events
The movie begins with a wheelchair-bound mother climbing up her two-story home and into the attic. She is horrified to find a GIRL IN THE ATTIC.
That girl is named Kelsey, and she learns how to do makeup from her best friend for a social media video about her mother’s battle with breast cancer. Kelsey plans to post updates as she trains for a marathon in memory of her recently deceased mother.
Kelsey isn’t in as good shape as she wants to be and trains with her dad; he is encouraging and reminds her that the challenge is mostly mental, emphasizing the need for her to develop a strong mind. Kelsey responds to every comment and follower.
One of the followers is Billy, a failed actor who has moved home to take care of his mother, who is now confined to a wheelchair. He habitually checks Kelsey’s social media, steals money from his mom’s bank account, and gaslights her into thinking she is losing her mind. His mother was a dancer, and the life change is a lot for her to deal with. His mother tells Billy to stop taking care of him and go out and get a girlfriend. She even encourages him to turn the attic into a gym.
Kelsey has worked up to ten-mile runs and posts about them on her social media, giving Billy the perfect opportunity to follow her path and drive by. Billy pretends to be looking for a lost dog and gets Kelsey near his trunk to look at a flyer. Then, he chloroforms her and throws her in the trunk. He drags her unconscious body to the attic while his mother goes to dinner with the neighbor who wears hearing aids and goes for walks at 5 pm.
Bestie Sofia and Kelsey’s dad notices she is missing right away and searches the running route, finding her phone. So do Kelsey’s followers, who see she hasn’t posted about her marathon training. Two days missing, detectives searched the area but found nothing. Sofia tells them about the social media activity, and the police start to look into her male followers.
In the attic, Kelsey wakes up tied to a mattress with no phone in sight. She screams for help, but no one hears her because Billy has soundproofed the attic. Billy tells Kelsey that he wants her to be his wife, but she must first earn his trust. She reluctantly agrees and gives him her social media passwords. He is abusive to her when she talks back, but doesn’t escalate things sexually because he wants a “pure” wife.
Billy’s mother and neighbor make fun of him for spending all his time in the attic. They think he is working out in the attic gym, but don’t think he looks particularly muscular.
Two Months Missing, Billy is getting more adventurous in taking Kelsey down from the attic, giving her baths, and bringing her groceries. At the same time, his mother is going to physical therapy and regaining strength.
Billy convinces Kelsey that no one is looking for her or cares that she is missing.
Billy unties Kelsey to give him a massage, but she makes a run for it. He catches her, beats her into submission, and tells her to be more obedient. Billy’s mother thinks she hears the commotion and starts to doubt that her son is just working out. The mother, whose name hasn’t been uttered, starts to mistrust her son altogether when she finds packages of sexy lingerie and hair in the drain. She thinks he has a girlfriend, and he is sneaking into the house. The mother demands that Billy bring his girlfriend to the family dinner. When he says Kelsey is sick, the mother wants photo evidence, which Billy provides. The only trouble is, the mother recognizes her own attic, duh!
We are back at the beginning of the movie, where the mother discovers that Kelsey is trapped in the attic. The mother tries to reason that it is some kink, but Kelsey is adamant that she is a prisoner and has been trapped in the attic for 15 months.
Billy catches his mother coming down and throws her in bed to prevent her from calling the cops, and tells his mother that if she tries to tell anyone, he will say she has dementia. Billy next goes to tell Kelsey that she belongs to him and is his property. No one will help her now. Kelsey is free to roam the house and is a maid to his bed-bound mother.
The nosy neighbor works into Billy’s trap and believes his mother has dementia. She doesn’t bat an eye when she sees him installing alarms to “keep his mother” safe.
When Kelsey and Billy’s mother are alone, they agree to play into Billy’s sick fantasy but secretly work together to escape. Billy is surprised his mother has come around so quickly and laughs when she orders Kelsey around.
The trapped ladies plan to use some pills to drug Billy and make their escape. The mother is horrified at the scars on Kelsey’s. They try to get Billy on his birthday with a beer in a special mug. Billy feels like something is off. He finds the drugs in his beer.
Kelsey is disturbed when she sees Billy looking for more girls online, and she realizes he will kidnap her again. His mother’s health starts failing due to Billy withholding his mother’s medications. The women play into his perception, and the mother pretends to be incapacitated, but she is just faking.
Debbie, the mother, starts a fire, and the nosy neighbor hears the alarm with her hearing aids. Fire and rescue come into the home, and find the chains in the attic. The police find Kelsey and arrest Billy.
Kelsey is released from the hospital and thanks Debbie for sacrificing her home for their freedom. Debbie thanks Kelsey for setting her free from her terrible son.
The first thing Kelsey does when she gets out is go for a run, and she is kidnapped AGAIN!!! Just kidding, she is fine. The End!
STRAY Thoughts
Billy trapping Kelsey AND his mother was something that I did not see coming.
Overall rating
Number of Kills: N/A (0 knives)
Lifetime Tropes: Trapped in the…, Dead Parent, Incel
Enjoyment Level (1-5 scale)
🍷🍷🍷 (3 Glasses of Wine)
Should you watch it?
Pour it Up (Give it a shot!)
Put a Cork in It (Skip It!)
What did you think of the movie? Let me know in the comments or on social media at @LifetimeUncorked and @patrickmiguel.
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Let me know what you thought of the movie in the comments below or @lifetimeuncorked
This was a pretty solid one. I didn’t like the time jumps though. Felt like I was missing out on a lot of the plot. Entire thing could have taken place within 1 or two months and that would’ve been satisfying enough. Shocking that it hasn’t even been two hours since the movie aired and you already have a review for it, you’re quick!
Sometimes I do manage to catch them live, but I work in theatre so it is rare!