Secrets in the Wilderness (2021 TV Movie) User Reviews

Reminded me of another LMN movie..... but fun to watch regardless!

[mja58 · 6/10 · 5 December 2021]

Reviewed under title "Secrets in the Wilderness"

This movie reminded me of. "Secrets.in the Woods" in that the primary characters were in a remote area, and there were some weird characters around.

I figured out what was going on fairly early on, and when the big reveal is done about 30 minutes before the end there was no surprise for me.

As this was set in the "Lifetime Universe" look for;

1. The usual attractive characters, acting unusually strange.

2. The fight at the end - yikes!

3. The characters faces in the outdoor scenes - turning RED.....it must have been cold.

As I said, you may figure out as to what is going on, but it was fun to watch anyway.

6/10.

Predictable but strong script and good acting!

[Chartreuse1 · 6/10 · 7 December 2021]

With the backdrop of the wilderness of Alberta, this was a pretty good Lifetime movie. Lisa tells her husband, Tyler, that she's pregnant but he's not exactly thrilled because he's trying to launch a new business and the timing's all wrong. Enter Alana, a marriage counselor, who feels she can assist them or does she have an ulterior motive? Movie good but predictable and I liked the suspenseful music. Well written and acted and recommend as a thriller!!!

Actually pretty good for a LMN movie - only a few complaints

[deedrala · 6/10 · 16 April 2022]

"Secrets in the Wilderness"

Unlike most fictional Lifetime movies, this one has good premise - interesting plot - well-written and acted, so I only have a few complaints:

1) It wasn't explained why the husband and psychologist were romantically involved after he married Lisa if they had known each other in college before he met Lisa. So the audience has to assume the reason, such as - were they a couple in college, broke up, he met and married Lisa, then he and Alana got back together...? Audiences shouldn't have to write missing plot points - that's the job of the writers and producers, etc.

2) I finally gave up trying to figure out what Tyler's business was - along with the name of it. It was very vague even though it was mentioned several times and was apparently one of the reasons why he and Alana set up the retreat with malicious motives (his business meant more to him than Lisa and their baby). Sounded like they were calling it "Tiger Meat". And they said that was the raw meat (yuck!) they had for lunch one day...? Very confusing.

3) There were a few times the actors spoke so fast that I didn't understand what they said, but at least it wasn't the loud background music overpowering their voices like so many other LMN flicks.

4) The villains leaving Lisa's phone so accessible instead of hiding it so she couldn't find it and use it.

I liked the cleverness of the way the villains prevented Tyler and Lisa from sharing the same bed and room the first three nights, since they planned that she wouldn't be alive by the fourth night - especially because we, the audience, had no idea of the real reason yet (Tyler and Alana were a couple).

I keep giving Lifetime movies a chance because there have been some good-to-excellent ones, even though most of them are either mediocre or downright awful. This one was pretty good and not a waste of time like so many others.

Grade B- / 6 out of 10.

Decent thriller, well-acted

[onthewatchlist · 7/10 · 17 August 2022]

Not a bad thriller. Well-acted, especially Lisa's character. The scene where she overheard the truth and sneaked out of the house was tense.

A couple of plot holes though. How did she know how to start a signal fire, and also know what it represented, given that she didn't know much about the outdoors? And I found it unlikely that she was able to set up the snare that got Tyler so good.

Not bad

[haroot_azarian · 25 March 2022]

Not a bad thriller for LMN, I'll give them that, but the major issue with the movie was the snow! There wasn't that much of it. And it looked really stupid with them wearing snow-shoes in what looked like nothing more than a couple of inches on the ground. It seemed to me the movie was filmed sometime towards the end of winter. Truth be told they should have picked a better and more convincing location.

Decent thriller

[CranberriAppl · 16 January 2022]

This is a rare Lifetime movie that wasn't campy and that didn't have a bunch of idiot characters. It became pretty obvious early on what was going on, in my opinion, just based on what we all know about these movies now. But that didn't stop me from finishing it. This movie totally sold me on an affair and an attempt to gaslight and then "remove" the wife from the situation. While the whole idea of this retreat should have been a red flag and kind of ridiculous, it sets up the movie. Even on Lifetime, I feel for characters who are isolated as the wife was so the actress sold the growing fear well. Her husband was such a jerk dismissing all of her concerns. Sure we find out why, but he didn't even pretend to take his wife's side.

One thing that I have to criticize is the ninth hour research into the villain. That's always lame in these movies and even more so when the villain is a doctor, nurse, or some other profession that it makes no sense not to screen first. I realize it's a common plot point but it's 2022 and these movies are modern times. There's just no way these days people don't look up even their new hairdresser. There's gotta be an upgrade to this type of reveal.

I loved the scenery. I love snow (and we are having a snowstorm now), so a Lifetime movie that changes the setting from the constant Melrose Place-looking (albeit Canadian) sets AND has a decent script, works for me. The woods, the snow, and whatever filter they used really added to the mood of the movie. There is another movie called Secret in the Woods that deploys some of the same elements (including the winter weather) but this movie is much better.

I recognize Lisa from some Hallmark movies. She does well here as the lead. Give it a watch.