Wouldn’t you say Trapped in the Rocky Mountains is a deceiving title for a movie that mostly takes place inside a lodge? I mean, sure, the lodge is in the mountains, but I sort of expected an outdoor setting here. Location aside, Lifetime’s new thriller is exactly what you would expect it to be. Like always, it has a ludicrous plot, and the actions of its characters are either blasphemous or don’t make much sense. But isn’t that exactly what Lifetime is for you? Anyway, Trapped in the Rocky Mountains has a really messy ending where everything goes haywire, and we’re here to dissect that mainly.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens in the Movie?
Trapped in the Rocky Mountains begins with a thirty-something mustached guy frantically searching for someone named Ashley in the middle of the wilderness. And that’s all you get out of the initial tease. It turns out the guy, Jared, was actually a college student. Ten years have passed, and he’s now a thirty-something chef, going on vacation with his wife Carrie. Thankfully, he doesn’t have that horrid mustache anymore. For some reason, though, he’s acting jittery while Carrie is all calm and relaxed. Apparently, Jared is anxious about their restaurant business (which he runs with his wife), and this is not a good time for vacationing. However, Carrie is the chill one among the two, and she doesn’t mind having fun; in fact, she feels it’s necessary.Â
Upon reaching the lodge located in the Rocky Mountains (so much for the title), they don’t see anyone around the place. There’s no guard, server, or even a receptionist. That alone should be a matter of concern for anyone , but since Carrie is a Lifetime lead, she decides to stay and see what happens. They soon meet new people though, and they so just happen to be Jared’s old college pals, grumpy-looking Asian guy Wes and his cheery as a butterfly sister Lizzie. Wes is a famous travel writer, and Lizzie is an influencer. Apparently, he’s here on an assignment, and she’s tagged along. Anyway, things get further twisted when two more people from the group—Harrison and Rayanne—also arrive at the lodge. It’s pretty clear that someone has tricked all these people into coming here to do something to them, that is possibly sinister.
What Happened Ten Years Ago?
It’s always the same thing—a group of college kids going somewhere and something bad happening; everyone else covers it up and moves on with their lives—until the tragedy comes to haunt them back. Here, Ashley happens to be that tragedy, who used to be an integral part of the group. How did she die? Due to a stupid game they all used to play where the loser had to do something daring. Ashley’s challenge was spending the night in the woods. Sadly, she never returned in the morning. With the rest of the group reuniting unexpectedly in the lodge, the truth comes out, as Jared has no choice but to tell Carrie all about it. Ashley was also Harrison’s ex, but after their relationship was over, she and Jared were in a secret sort of thing. The reason they didn’t tell the group was to protect Harrison, who couldn’t get over Ashley. Obviously, while telling Carrie “everything,” Jared conveniently leaves out the part where he and Ashley were sleeping together. But Carrie still gets to know about it from Rayanne, who was Ashley’s best friend and not exactly a fan of Jared.
Is Ashley Alive?
The thumb rule with a Lifetime movie is that if you don’t see a dead body, then there’s no guarantee of the death. And with the group mysteriously being tricked into coming together at the lodge in the middle of nowhere, it’s only natural to think Ashley might be alive and out for revenge. However, the group suspects it’s Ashley’s mother Sandra who’s taking it out on them. Obviously, an old woman wouldn’t be able to lock the gate outside of the lodge and tamper with the gas line of the kitchen to cause an explosion (that could have killed Jared) all by herself, so there must be a secret assassin kind of guy hiding somewhere.
However, in the Lifetime world, it’s never how it seems, as it gets revealed that Ashley is not only alive; she’s also having a full-blown affair with Jared. The chef is actually planning to leave his wife for Ashley soon (not sure what’ll happen to the business though). Jared claims to love Carrie, but when he got to know Ashley was alive, he had no choice but to bail on his marriage and leave his wife, who actually seems to be great. And why did Ashley fake her death? To get the insurance money for her mother’s cancer treatment. Yes, things just work like that in life!
Who Was The One Haunting The Group?
Ashley may be alive, but she had absolutely zero reason to gather everyone at the lodge and haunt them for something that they didn’t do. Naturally, it had to be the only other person with a genuine motive—her ex, Harrison, who was mad at Jared (and the rest of the group) and couldn’t get over Ashley. He gets caught thanks to Carrie being smart enough to see through the pretension. It’s quite hilarious how Trapped in the Rocky Mountains wouldn’t mind making a villain out of the black guy even when there’s this cheating husband white guy out there. I see no reason for Jared to try fighting Harrison other than dying and earning sympathy from the audience. This is utterly stupid even by Lifetime standards, and I am really curious to know what the writer was smoking! Jared’s death also fuelled Carrie to go after Harrison and take care of him. She’s the de facto lead here, who has to save the day, and that’s exactly what happens. The reveal of Wes doing something shady for his ex and being blackmailed by this anonymous villain (which is Harrison, of course) doesn’t add anything to the plot.
Trapped in the Rocky Mountains ends with everyone leaving, with Carrie driving the car. Harrison and Ashley have to pay for their deeds, of course. And I hope Carrie finds someone better than the douchebag Jared in the future.
