It takes Rebecca a near-death experience to appreciate the perks of city life and the convenience of having neighbors at arm’s length. And Trapped In The Cabin does take its sweet time, prolonging the torment for the celebrated romance novelist looking to reconnect with her muse in the snowy countryside. For a pick from the dedicated assortment of thrillers, Lifetime makes you feel no shortage of Trapped In The Cabin brews a nifty concoction of terror and betrayal with an isolated woman caught up in the thick of it all. Here’s how Rebecca’s nefarious stay goes in the cabin that was supposed to help her loosen up:
Spoilers Ahead
Plot Synopsis: What Happens In The Film?
The relentless meetings and interviews have understandably gotten Rebecca sick and tired of her life in the city as a bestselling author of romance novels. And she doesn’t have to look too far or plan too hard when her reliable editor Jason has his gorgeous cabin ready for Rebecca to put her feet up, have a glass of wine, and hopefully break out of the rut she’s in. It takes Rebecca all of a couple of minutes in the lavish cabin out in the middle of nowhere to fall in love with it. And the fully stocked wine fridge definitely has a part to play in the big smile she has on her face. Add to it the perfect meet-cute with the handsome handyman next door, and it seems like one of Rebecca’s romance books has come to life. What’s a little hiccup with the hot water supply, if not a blessing, when it brings Nathan, the handyman she’s smitten by, to her door? But things do start reeking of something sketchy when, after a passionate night with Nathan, Rebecca finds her cabin a mess, with no sign of him anywhere.
Is Rebecca Being Watched?
The life of a romance novelist doesn’t always resemble what she fills her pages with. For Rebecca, romance has been an elusive dream. Yet she hasn’t necessarily given up on it, considering Nathan’s sudden departure causes her way more heartache and bouts of self-doubt than she would’ve liked. But the trouble is, Rebecca is so confused by her insecurities refueled by the ghosting that she doesn’t pay attention to the fact that she’s being stalked, both by the CCTV monitoring every room and by an ominous stalker keeping an eye on her every move outdoors. While we’re aware of a masked stalker lurking around her house, Rebecca is blissfully unaware of the danger that’s way closer to her than she’d think. It’s not that she isn’t concerned about having her stuff sifted through by a one-night stand who’s not even responding to her texts anymore. Especially with her mother relentlessly on the case, Rebecca’s well on top of all the awful possibilities the circumstances pose. But she isn’t really able to comprehend the true extent of the evil that’s been following her with a sinister plan. Her suspicion about Nathan being bad news is only elevated by texts sent to her phone from his number, suggesting he’s been stalking her and secretly taking pictures of her.
Does Rebecca Get Free?
You can’t particularly hold it against Rebecca for never questioning if the mystery man could be someone else and not Nathan. He’s of the same build as Nathan, wears the same clothes as him, and even texts her from his phone. It’s likely that Rebecca will downplay the threat to her well-being for a while until she has no choice but to run for her life. The assailant, whatever face he may wear under that ski mask, certainly wasn’t just going to mess with her mind and let her be. The only mistake that Rebecca does make is making light of the situation instead of getting away from the place where there’s no one for miles willing to swoop in to save her life if the need arises.
It’s evident that things are only going to get tremendously worse when she injures her ankle on the run and comes back to the smoke alarm going off. Being chased out of the cabin by a knife-wielding stalker is certainly no picnic in her condition. When her path crosses with Nathan’s, even his obviously breathless state doesn’t seem to convince her that the masked man isn’t him. It takes the real assailant stabbing Nathan to death for Rebecca to come to her senses and see things for what they are. It’s as though the universe has been conspiring against Rebecca when her terrified eyes say goodbye to the man who’d only just wanted to save her. Now, she’s not only lost the one person who could’ve taken her away from that hell, but she’s also unable to call for help when the person she did count on, her editor Jason, turns out to be her stalker.
Jason had gotten pretty good at masking his psychotic obsession with his ruse of helping her flourish in her career. He’s been neurotic in his delusion of love ever since Rebecca and he spent a drunken night together, and the former wanted to go back to the way things were and not jeopardize their working relationship. The obsession has festered to such a grim extent that he’s planned this whole thing to get Rebecca all to himself and hold her hostage if need be. And now that the thorn in his path, Nathan, was eliminated, Jason was all set to terrorize Rebecca into a life of submission. It’s not that Rebecca expects him to listen to reason and change his mind. Not after she’s seen him mindlessly butcher a man and hurt her mercilessly multiple times. But you can’t really blame her for hoping that maybe her words could have some effect on him and he’d decide to let her go. But to her horror, each horrendously deranged word coming out of his mouth only proves how insane and beyond help he really is. I mean, the man is delusional enough to kill a cop and still hopes, time and again, that he’ll be able to keep Rebecca all to himself and that the world will leave them be. It’s his unnervingly ludicrous belief that Rebecca could actually fall in love with him that she’s ultimately able to weaponize and use to incapacitate him.
Trapped In The Cabin‘s ending grants the antagonist a signature back-from-the-dead move just to ascertain that Rebecca can conquer the threat against her life once and for all and reaffirm her own faith in her capabilities. She’s never been a damsel in distress. Even when she succumbs to the ache of not finding the right person, she knows that she’s capable of taking care of herself and doesn’t need anyone else to make her feel whole. If anything, her terrifying brush with a twisted sense of love is only going to serve as a push for her to venture out of her comfort zone and try new things in life. And if it starts with her taking a break from writing romance and trying her hands at exploring the darker aspects of human emotions, so be it.
