''Saving Emily'' (also known as ''Blood Trap'') is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by Douglas Jackson and broadcast in the United States at 11 October 2004 on

Lifetime channel Lifetime is an American basic cable channel that is part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, a subsidiary of A&E Networks, which is jointly owned by Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company. It features programming that is geared towar ...

Plot

Cheryl (

Alexandra Paul Alexandra Elizabeth Paul (born July 29, 1963) is an American actress, activist, health coach, and former model. Paul began her career modeling in New York before landing her first major role in John Carpenter's horror film ''Christine'' (1983). ...

) lives with her abusive husband Kurt (

Michael Riley Michael Riley (born February 4, 1962) is a Canadian actor. From 1998 to 2000, he portrayed Brett Parker in ''Power Play''. He has acted in over 40 films and television series, including '' This Is Wonderland'', for which he received a Gemini Awa ...

) in a small house at Canada. One night, Kurt returns after having accidentally murdered a man while out. Cheryl flees in a car with her baby daughter Emily (

Annie Bovaird Lindsay Anne Bovaird (born February 28, 1992) is a Canadian actress best known for voicing the title character in the animated TV series ''Caillou'', after the previous voice actress Jaclyn Linetsky died in a car crash. She also voiced Elsa in '' ...

). Ten years later, Cheryl is living with her new husband Gregory (

Bruce Boxleitner Bruce William Boxleitner (born May 12, 1950) is an American actor and science fiction and suspense writer. He is known for his leading roles in the television series '' How the West Was Won'', '' Bring 'Em Back Alive'', ''Scarecrow and Mrs. King ...

). Emily does not know the existence or identity of her biological father. On her tenth birthday, she relapses into

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

and is hospitalised. A small sample of body tissue is needed to save her from an otherwise certain death; however, Cheryl is found to be incompatible with the required transplant. After much hesitation, she decides to contact Kurt. Cheryl locates Kurt's new house after some searching. She is greeted by his girlfriend, who mistakes her for an investor in Kurt's new bar across town. Kurt, she finds out, is now in serious debt from failed investments, and his bar is struggling to stay afloat. Kurt first refuses to help after the anger of meeting a belligerent and hostile Gregory. Kurt later breaks into Cheryl's house, and admits that he is agreeing to help, in exchange for $600,000 from Cheryl. Additionally, she must not involve Gregory. He demands Cheryl's wedding ring as a "deposit". Afterwards, he is shown giving the ring to criminal loan shark Russo, in attempt to buy more time before the debt is due to be paid. Russo turns down the offer, saying " iswife already has enough diamonds". Naturally, Gregory is furious when he realises he has been left out proceedings, and that his wife has been blackmailed. He has no choice but to cooperate, helping collect $300,000. They cannot make any more loans from the bank until they have paid off their current loans, meaning they cannot reach $600,000. Kurt is desperate, and even more so when Cheryl visits one day to find his girlfriend's bloodied corpse. Kurt flees to her home, explaining that Russo is close on his heels, and had killed his girlfriend as an urgent warning. Cheryl visits her estranged Uncle Theo, a rich man, hoping to borrow the remaining $300,000. He scolds her for her foolishness in being blackmailed, and points out that because she ignored his advice when he first warned her about marrying Kurt, he has no obligation to pay her for her mistake. The dialogue which ensues reveals that Cheryl wants to save Kurt, as much as Emily. Kurt, meantime, makes friends with Emily (who only knows him as a benefactor). He deceives Emily into believing that her mother has been involved in an accident. He kidnaps her under the guise of taking her to see her mother, and goes to their old, now abandoned house. Cheryl correctly guesses their whereabouts and confronts him. Gregory secretly rescues Emily through a window. The confrontation between Cheryl and Kurt is disrupted when Russo and his henchman arrive. He comments on Kurt's changing relationships with women, and says that he no longer intends to wait for the debt to be paid. His henchman shoots at Cheryl, but Kurt leaps in the way and takes the bullet for her. Russo is taken aback. As his henchman reloads, Kurt pulls out a hidden gun and kills both of them. At hospital, a dying Kurt calls for Cheryl and tells her that " egave Emily what she needed", and returns her ring. An epilogue shows Cheryl and Gregory waving to Emily from their home, who has now fully recovered.

Cast

as Cheryl *

as Kurt *

as Gregory *

as Emily *

Corinne Conley Corinne Alexandra Conley (born May 23, 1929) is an American actress who spent the majority of her career in Canada, notable for having won the Canadian Council of Authors and Artists' Best Actress Award. Conley is known for her voiceover work i ...

as Grandmother Wilton *

Chuck Shamata Charles "Chuck" Shamata (born 1942) is a Canadian actor. Early life and education Born and raised in Toronto, he worked at Honest Ed's,"Shamata's riding out acting's ups and downs". ''The Globe and Mail'', October 12, 1974. and studied acting ...

as Russo * Sophie Gendron as Taylor * Barry Flatman as Uncle Theo * Andreas Apergis as Will

References

External links

* * *
Saving Emily
at

nytimes.com ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

{{Douglas Jackson Lifetime (TV network) films 2004 television films 2004 films 2004 thriller films Canadian thriller television films English-language Canadian films Films directed by Douglas Jackson 2000s Canadian films