Killer in the Woods(2025 Lifetime Movie)
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Cast: Clementine Toronto, Randy Wayne, Rib Hillis, Liana Giurissevich
Director: Matthew Toronto
Writer(s): TBA
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DonateDonate monthlyDonate yearlySynopsis (via Lifetime)
To connect with her two teenage daughters, a single mother agrees to a camping trip suggested by her new, seemingly charming, boyfriend. When her eldest/youngest daughter goes missing, the peace and calm she hoped for turns into a trip from hell.
Recap/Wine Thoughts
The movie starts with someone running from a Killer in the Woods, as the title suggests. (So we are off to a good start!)
Three days earlier. We find ourselves at a rock climbing wall, witnessing Sarna’s brave battle with her fear of heights. Her daughters, Alice and Laurie, are her biggest supporters, but Sarna’s struggle leads to a full-blown breakdown. Her hunky boyfriend, Oscar, steps in with a promise to turn her into an outdoorswoman.
Alice and Laurie go to the car to get away from their dramatic mother. While they wait in the car, a random stranger knocks on the window and offers them cookies. Sarna comes out of the gym just in time and scares off the strange lady.
John, Sarna’s ex-husband, waits for the girls at their house. He wants to take back their car and give it to his new girlfriend. John is a total jerk and creates a big scene. Sarna can’t stand up to him and disappoints he daughters, who think their mom is a pushover. (And she kind of is. Sarna continually lets her daughters down by not being more assertive.)
Laurie spends time with her guitar-playing boyfriend, who is pitchy as hell. His name is Derrick, and he tries to put the moves on Laurie, just as her mother comes home. Sarna has no problem disciplining her teenage daughter. Still, since she is a teenager, Laurie is mouthy and laughs off her mother’s scolding.
Sarna has nightmares about the girls being lost in the woods and her not being able to save them. She talks to Oscar about her worries, and he has the bright idea to surprise the girls with a camping trip in the woods! WHAT COULD GO WRONG?!?!?!
They drive into the woods and sing the whole way, much to teen Laurie’s annoyance. As they enter the park, the park ranger warns them about bears, particularly Mama Bears. Does Sarna need to Mama Bear out for her daughters and lift a truck off them or something?
They hike through the woods, and Sarna has no chill. She is not only helpless when it comes to anything outdoors, but she is also a control freak. Laurie is sullen and doesn’t want to be there. Oscar is hot and has the energy of a golden retriever. Total boy scout.
Oscar is great with the teens, and Sarna is impressed. It is a total turn-on, and they get it on in their tent. Meanwhile, Derrick surprises Laurie, and they sneak out into the night. Sarna is still having nightmares about the woods, and maybe camping wasn’t the best idea?
The next morning, when Laurie returns to her tent, Alice is missing. Laurie gets Oscar and Sarna to help look for Alice, but she is gone. Sarna has a panic attack and hugs a teddy bear, which isn’t helpful.
Laurie and Oscar search the woods and find someone has murdered Derrick and stolen his guitar. They run to a camp and come across a rugged man walking his dogs. He brings them into his cabin, and Alice is there, drugged by a woman who was trying to give the kids cookies in a parking lot early in the movie. Laurie is drugged too.
Sarna wakes up from her panic-induced nap and comes across a bear. She scares the bear off and rushes to find her daughters.
The dog walking man turns out to be a cult leader prophet, which is on brand for Rib Hillis. They try to recruit Alice and Laurie into the cult with cupcakes and non-catchy songs. The girls are forced to sing along.
Laurie tries to figure out a way to escape because no one is coming to save them. Oscar is probably dead, and Sarna is hopeless. It surprises everyone (except the viewer) when Oscar brings Sarna to the girls and instead of saving them, locks them in together. Oscar is in the cult too! (This cult only has three members, so they should expand.)
Sarna has another panic attack, and her daughters try to calm her down. Sarna was picked because she doesn’t fight back, but this time she has been pushed too far. Sarna pulls it together, just as Laurie realizes that her boyfriend is dead! Sarna pretends to want to give her daughters to the cult and become a devoted member. At first, her daughters are like WTF, but then they get what is going on and pretend to be on board as well.
Now released from the cabin, Sarna is prepped for her initiation while the cookie lady talks about “the spirit.” The cult wants Sarna and her daughters to become handmaids and produce babies to indoctrinate because the cookie lady is barren. The Prophet takes Sarna to his bed, and just as things get hot and heavy, Sarna stabs The Prophet and takes his keys to free her daughters.
Sarna gives her daughters the keys and runs into the woods to lead the cult members away from them. She trips in the woods and lands next to Derricks’ dead body. To evade her captors, Sarna hides under the body. (Ewwww!) Once they are gone, Sarna uncovers herself, patches up her wounds, and rushes to save her daughters. She even climbs a rock wall with a teddy bear, overcoming her fear of heights and teddy bears.
Laurie and Alice escape and are reunited with their mom in the woods. They don’t make it far, and the cult people roll up with dogs and guns. Laurie grabs a log and hits The Prophet, and Oscar shoots him to take over the cult.
Sarna takes a gun from The Prophet and pulls it on Oscar. He laughs and tells her that she is too weak to stand up to him. That is why he picked her. Oscar wants them to be a family, but Sarna isn’t having it and shoots Oscar and lets the cookie lady go. Everyone is saved. Yay!
One year later, Sarna and her daughters take a normal non-culty hike through the woods and enjoy the view. The end.
STRAY Thoughts
This movie was a Lifetime Movie Club exclusive previously and was initially called Mama Bear.
The Prophet, being named Timmy, was hilarious.
Sarna’s sudden character shift didn’t totally add up. I wish she didn’t need to rely on her feminine wiles to escape.
Rib Hillis must always be shirtless in Lifetime movies. That is what the Lifetime Prophet told me, anyway.
Overall rating
Number of Kills: 🔪🔪🔪 (3 knives)
Lifetime Tropes: Mother/Daughter Relationships, Shirtless Hunks, Bad Boyfriend, Cults
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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