Is 'Killer Coach' A True Story?

If there's one thing that Lifetime movies do very well, it's turn really, really attractive characters into total monsters. In fact, that attractiveness is often the villain's most powerful weapon — they are the very embodiment of the phrase "seduce and destroy," so it's no surprise that the network has introduced another good-looking authority figure with a shady agenda in its latest movie. And while Lifetime's upcoming film Killer Coach doesn't seem to be based on a true story, it's certainly one that should be somewhat familiar to fans of Lifetime movies and thrillers in general.

Can our hero escape the clutches of the titular character, or will everyone she love be destroyed by her dangerously obsessed authority figure? That's the question plaguing the characters of Killer Coach, a movie that may be a work of fiction, but still reminds me why I never stuck to any athletic activities. Here is the movie's official synopsis, courtesy of Lifetime:

Butting heads with her head coach and mother, swimming phenom Samantha Morgan is being pushed to the brink. When her mom brings in new Assistant Coach Bryce to ensure her daughter wins trials, Samantha connects with him instantly. Their athlete/coach relationship suddenly crosses the line, though, when Bryce seduces Samantha. She tries to end things before anyone finds out, but what Samantha doesn’t realize is that Bryce has other ideas—and she may have just put everyone she loves in danger.

The "dangerous seduction" plot has been found in other Lifetime movies — in fact, the recent film Indiscretion features a similar trope. In that film, a politician's wife is seduced by an artist, who becomes obsessed with her when she attempts to break things off. However, Killer Coach adds an additional layer of creepiness. Not only is the villain, Bryce, an authority figure as Samantha's coach, but the trailer (below) makes it appear that Samantha may be in high school, taking this story to an even darker place.

The trailer for Killer Coach may also remind you of another "fatal attraction"-esque film that received theatrical release: the 2002 teen thriller Swimfan, which starred Jesse Bradford and Erika Christensen. In the film, Bradford plays Ben, an aspiring professional swimmer who gets wrapped up in a dangerous game after he is seduced by his unhinged and dangerous classmate Madison, played by Christensen. The big similarity is the famous pool seduction scene, as there seems to be a comparable moment in Killer Coach.

Things get really, really bad for Ben in Swimfan, so I can only imagine that Samantha will be in just as much danger in Killer Coach. Hopefully, she'll be able to stop her coach before he lives up to the movie's title.

Image: Lifetime