Lifetime’s ‘The Bear Lake Murders’ tells the story of Ally Foster, a city detective, and a small-town sheriff named Roy Martin, who join forces to solve the mysterious tourist killings troubling the resort community of Bear Lake. As they dig deeper into the case, they uncover the real nature of these murders and the identity of the serial killer behind the crimes. Under the direction of Danny J. Boyle, the thriller film digs into the paranoia of an idyllic town, where the discovery of bodies leads to the emergence of hidden secrets. The more Ally and Roy forge ahead with their investigation, the closer they get to the anxieties plaguing their hometown and how people react to a serial killer on the loose. The story explores themes of death, community, family, justice, and small-town secrets.
The Bear Lake Murders is a Fictional Movie With Vague Parallels to Another Real-Life Case
‘The Bear Lake Murders’ is a fictional thriller narrative penned by Ken Miyamoto. The film dives into the serial killing of tourists in a small resort town far from the abstractions of concrete urban neighborhoods. Although its plot and characters are entirely made-up, the context of the story can be found in other real-life incidents. For instance, in 2002, Cary Anthony Stayner was arrested and sentenced to death for the murder of four women, which included three tourists – Carole Evon Sund, Silvina Pelosso, and Juliana Sund. They were allegedly staying at the Cedar Lodge motel, where Stayner was an employee. Their murders bear some resemblance to the tourist killings depicted in the Lifetime movie and may have provided some grounding for the writer while developing the script.
However, one of the main differences between the serial killing premise of ‘The Bear Lake Murders’ and the Stayner’s killings is the motives of the serial killer. In the film, the murders are more connected to an increased rate of tourists in Bear Lake, which leads to feelings of hate and frustration against the influx of people disrupting the natural flow of the town. However, this clashes with the Stayner case, as the motivations remain a mystery in the latter. Additionally, the film also explains that the Bear Lake killings happen every year during the vacation period when people flock to the town for sightseeing. No such pattern can be seen with Stayner. His period of activity as a serial killer is reportedly confined to a few months, ranging from February to July 1999.
Moreover, it is worth noting that Stayner left the remains of his victims near Yosemite National Park, a habit that gained him the moniker the Yosemite Killer. In ‘The Bear Lake Murders,’ the serial killer is a lot more opportunistic and reckless, leaving his victims’ remains wherever he happens to kill them. Therefore, while real-life cases and incidents may have been helpful in building the framework of the larger narrative, the actual specifics and the events of the film remain a figment of creation by Miyamoto.
Read More: Psycho Party Planner: Is Lifetime Movie Based on a True Story?