Hello again to our hate-love relationship with Lifetime movies. The latest addition, “The Kept Mistress Killer” (2023), has a cringe-worthy yet intriguing premise that relies heavily on layers of plot twists. The film centers on Catherine, a professional trader, who meets Paul and sees her life spiral downward when she is accused of murdering his ex-wife and assistant.
As Catherine takes matters into her own hands and investigates the case, the truth slowly unravels, revealing that things are not as they initially seemed. Directed by Jeff Hare, the thriller delivers an enjoyable experience with its clever use of metaphors and sharp dialogue. Please note that this article contains spoilers and will bediscussing the events of the movie.
The Kept Mistress Killer (2023) Movie Synopsis & Plot Summary:
The movie opens with a woman named Julia (Rachael Murphy) pointing a gun at a man named Paul (Matthew Pohlkamp), whom she catches sleeping with another woman. Julia is devastated as she threatens Paul to make him pay for everything.
The next scene takes us to Catherine (Alicia Leigh Willis), an independent woman getting ready for her job interview. Her mother, Hailey (Sallie Glaner), cooks her favorite breakfast as the duo discusses Hailey checking on some private tutoring jobs. Catherine then meets Pam (Brittney Q. Hill), who takes her to Paul’s office for the interview.
Paul is impressed with Catherine’s CV and hires her immediately. When Catherine calls her mother to share the exciting news, she gets distracted by the mayhem at the office reception, where a woman is threatening Pam about seeking revenge on Paul. The woman then berates Catherine for taking her job and warns her about Paul’s manipulative behavior towards women.
In the following scenes, we see Catherine diligently taking her job at the Burke Legacy. Impressed by her performance, Paul rewards her with a bonus and a brand-new car. He also invites her to his place to celebrate their newfound success. During the celebration, Pam spikes Catherine’s champagne glass.
The next morning, Catherine wakes up to find Paul gone and the dead body of his ex-wife, Julia, who had earlier come to warn her about Paul’s behavior. Detective Barr arrives and begins questioning Catherine, informing her that her DNA was found on the dead body. When the detective drops Catherine at her home, she notices the luxurious car and considers Catherine as her prime suspect.
How is Catherine involved in Pam’s murder?
Meanwhile, at Pam’s house, we see her talking to someone over the call, asking for more money to keep her mouth shut about taking down the cameras at Paul’s place. Later, as she goes to sleep, an unknown person enters the house and stabs Pam to death. The next morning, Detective Barr meets Catherine at Paul’s office and questions her about her whereabouts the previous night. Catherine responds that her mother can testify that she was at home. After meeting Paul, who has hired a lawyer, Catherine learns about Pam’s death, and the lawyer promises to help her with the situation.
On the other hand, Jackie, who previously threatened Pam and warned Catherine about Paul, resorts to day drinking. Detective Barr questions Jackie, connecting her with a motive to kill Julia and Pam. When the detective leaves, we see a woman in the background, and it becomes clear that Jackie is not telling the truth to the detective.
While Catherine and her mother discuss how the detective is focusing on Catherine as the murderer despite her being innocent, Catherine’s friend Sol visits them. Sol gives Catherine a data miner to help her find evidence on the internet to prove her innocence. The next day, the detective visits Catherine to inform her that her DNA was also found on the knife used to kill Pam.
Later, the lawyer argues with the detective about Catherine being the prime suspect without concrete proof or footage to confirm her guilt. After the meeting at the police station, Paul asks Catherine to visit him at his house. During their conversation, they discuss the situation, and Paul assures her that he will do everything in his power to make things right. They share a kiss, which leads to them having sex. They confess their feelings, and Catherine decides to leave for home. As she leaves, she encounters Detective Barr again, who points out that Catherine is playing a dangerous game and reveals that Paul never shared the actual truth about how his ex-wife, Julia, caught him cheating.
Why does Catherine confront Jackie Reeves?
Back at home, Catherine explains how the data miner Sol helped her discover a connection between Jackie Reeves and Zoey Blackwell (Julia and Paul’s daughter). The photo of the two was deleted a day and a half ago, and Catherine feels that they have panicked about the possibility of being caught. Hailey suggests that Catherine should hand this evidence to the police, but Catherine wants to speak to Jackie about it first.
Catherine receives a call from Paul and confronts him about what the detective told her. Paul dismisses it, claiming he thought it wasn’t important. Catherine expresses her desire to take some time off to process everything. Meanwhile, Jackie tells Zoey to go into hiding since the detective is keeping a close eye on her. Zoey becomes agitated and accuses Jackie of abandoning her after all this time before leaving.
Later, at the local pub, Catherine follows Jackie for a confrontation. However, Jackie creates a scene, making it appear as though Catherine is hurting her, and Catherine is forced to flee when the bar owner calls the police. While Detective Barr knows that Jackie is not innocent and is fabricating false accusations against Catherine, she asks if Jackie is hiding any truth. Catherine calls Detective Barr and informs her that she is going off-grid to prove her innocence. She throws her phone away, takes a taxi, and goes straight to Sol’s place.
After arriving at Sol’s place, Catherine shares everything with him. At the same time, Detective Barr takes Hailey with her to question Catherine’s whereabouts. Hailey has no idea where her daughter could be and is shocked to learn about the intricate connections in the ongoing investigation. While leaving the police station, Hailey meets Paul and blames him for involving her daughter in everything. On her way home, the cab driver takes a different route than the highway and stops the car midway, claiming engine trouble. While Hailey waits for the driver to fix the car’s engine, the woman driving the car takes something from her jacket pocket and drugs Hailey, making her unconscious.
Why does Sol call Paul for help?
Sol hands Catherine a new phone with a chip on it that enables her to receive calls from her usual phone number. Catherine opens up about her feelings for Paul, and Sol points out that Paul seems to be a major red flag for putting her in such a position. Back at a remote house, Hailey wakes up to find herself locked inside. She finds a phone and receives a call from her captor, who informs her that everything is locked and she cannot make any outgoing calls from the phone.
Meanwhile, Catherine receives a call from an unknown number informing her that her mother is being held hostage and that she must surrender herself without involving Paul or the police, or her mother will be killed. The captor gives Catherine four hours to reach the specified location for further instructions. Despite Sol telling Catherine that it’s a bad idea, she asks for a favor and leaves. On her way to the location, Sol calls her, expressing his unease and his intention to make a necessary call.
Sol then calls Paul and instructs him to go to the address where Catherine is heading and to bring a gun just in case. Catherine arrives at the location and looks around before the captor finds her and takes her inside. The captor then shows Catherine her captive mother, Hailey, who is tied up in a different room.
Meanwhile, Paul also arrives at the remote area. The captor forces Catherine to record a video reading a script that falsely accuses her of killing Julia and Pam. After the video is recorded as per the captor’s instructions, she prepares to kill Catherine. However, before she can pull the trigger, Paul enters and shoots the captor.
The captor flees from the scene, and Paul saves Catherine and her mother. Detective Barr and her team arrive after Paul’s call and report that the captor has escaped. They put out an APB on the woman but acknowledge the difficulty of catching her without identification. Detective Barr then releases Catherine from being the prime suspect.
The Kept Mistress Killer (2023) Movie Ending, Explained:
Who is the killer?
A few months later, Paul and Catherine drive to the countryside and discuss how the killer is still at large. Upon reaching a beautiful estate, Paul reveals that he bought the house for them and proceeds to propose to her. However, their conversation is interrupted by a video on TV showing Paul discussing the disabling of the cameras with Pam.
Skye, the woman Julia caught Paul cheating with, enters the scene. Skye reveals that Paul has been orchestrating everything and leaving her for Catherine, continuously getting away with his actions.
Skye demands 3 million dollars from Paul to forget everything, threatening to turn him in to the police with multiple copies of the incriminating tape. Paul agrees to her condition, requesting that she leave Catherine out of it. However, before they can continue with negotiations, Catherine reveals that she knows about Paul’s actions, and Detective Barr, along with her squad, arrives.
The detective arrests Skye, and Catherine reveals that Julia had sent her a video recording of Paul cheating on her, and Skye was the woman involved. Meanwhile, Paul tries to escape by firing a gun he found in a nearby chest drawer. As he attempts to run away, the detective chases and arrests him. Catherine confronts Paul, telling him that he did everything for money and now he will face the consequences.
The ending of the Lifetime movie, “The Kept Mistress Killer” (2023), shows Catherine discussing with her mother the number of lives Paul has destroyed. Her mother consoles her, stating that liars who believe their own lies can deceive anyone, but they ultimately face the consequences of their evil actions. The movie concludes with the mother and daughter sharing a toast, looking forward to living another day of their fresh lives.
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