Directed by Patricia Frontain, Trapped in the Rocky Mountains tells the thrilling story of a group of college friends who accidentally reunite at a remote cabin, only to find themselves stalked by an unknown presence. When a group of former college friends are invited to a cabin stay and reunited, old resentments and secrets come to the surface and threaten to ruin their lives and relationships. The societal backlash they may face is the least of their worries, however, as someone tries to take advantage of their isolation with malicious intent. The group must find out who has been pulling their strings all along, or the Rocky Mountains will become their final resting place. Lifetime’s thriller creates a mysterious plot around the group members and their pasts, expressing it through the frightening isolation of the cabin stay.
“Trapped in the Rocky Mountains” is a fictional crime story in isolation
The mystery thriller tells a fictional story that takes the form of a dangerous mafia game, with one of the seemingly friendly faces hiding a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Brandi Sperry’s Rocky Mountains is an original work, but may sound familiar to some, as crimes were actually committed in the Rocky Mountains and there have been previous fictional works with a similar story. The 2021 film The Alpines has a plot that has several parallels to Trapped in the Rocky Mountains and is likely to evoke a sense of déjà vu in anyone who has seen the former.
The story follows seven friends who have grown apart over the years and are invited to a reunion in a remote cabin in the wilderness of the Alps. Although they have left their former lives behind, their past is not over and one of them begins murdering the others. Old grudges and secrets are revealed and the survivors must find out who has the biggest reason to become a murderer. However, the film has a major twist that changes the entire direction of the story and sets it apart from similar works.
Parallels to true crime cases in remote wilderness
Although Trapped in the Rocky Mountains is fictional, unfortunately several well-documented crimes have occurred along the mountain trail. Among the most controversial was the death of Toni Henthorn. Toni was out with her husband Harold Henthorn celebrating their 12th wedding anniversary in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado when she fell 130 feet off a cliff and died. When Harold informed police of the supposed accident, Toni’s family members claimed he had pushed her.
Further investigation revealed that Harold stood to win $4.7 million from the life insurance policy he took out on Toni, but he pleaded not guilty in court. Due to inconsistencies in Harold’s story, the amount of life insurance he claimed, and partial footprints, a federal jury found Harold Henthorn guilty. He was sentenced to life in prison for murder in 2015. In addition, investigators believed he was responsible for the mysterious death of his first wife in 1995. He continued to maintain his innocence and attempted to challenge the verdict in federal court in Denver in 2022. The case became the subject of the ABC documentary “Wild Crime: Murder in the Rocky Mountains” on Hulu.
There are a number of thrillers and horror films, including The Alpines, that use the secluded setting of a cabin in the woods to create intriguing stories. Unfortunately, cases of mysterious deaths as well as senseless murders have cropped up in such locations over the years, with the death of Toni Henthorn becoming a tragic warning. Lifetime’s Trapped in the Rocky Mountains is a suspenseful mystery story that creates a fictional plot and characters.
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