The major setting for "Blood, Sweat, and Lies (a.k.a., "The Killer Trainer") is the Power in Progress fitness center. It is there that that Melissa, the heroine of the film, begins a program with a personal trainer named Trey. This is Melissa's attempt to start her life over after a painful breakup with her boyfriend of five years. The physical training is a way for Melissa to set her life straight and move on.
But Melissa is slow in figuring out that Trey is a nut case specializing not in personal fitness, but in personal obsession. The creepy touching, the intensity of his gaze, the invasiveness into her personal life, the showing up at her apartment unannounced, should have been warning signs. The undisguised jealousy of Trey for Melissa's new beau Adam should have registered as well.
To make up for her inability to recognize the danger that she is in with Trey, Melissa must rely on the superb physical training she has received from her tormentor. Trey has even given Melissa lessons in self-defense, which will eventually be put to good use, as well as her skills is mastery the equipment and clambering around the facility, despite her fear of heights.
There are only two other characters who figure in the film's action. In addition to Adam, a charmer who romances Melissa in a whirlwind courtship, there is Melissa's best friend Leslie. At first supportive of Melissa training program, Leslie is the first to become genuinely suspicious of Trey, and Leslie goes on a "recon mission" to the gym. Leslie is a tech guru, who will provide Melissa with valuable insights into combating the forces of evil lurking in the gym. It is also Leslie who speaks the best line in the film when she discovers a "before/after" photo compilation of Trey and colorfully describes the "before" photo of the obese kid as "Lunch Trey."
The actress playing Melissa was obviously in superb physical condition to perform a strenuous simulated mountain climbing exercise and effortlessly do a grueling set of pull-ups. Some of the scenes in the gym seemed repetitive and dragged a bit. But the filmmakers had an interesting plot twist up their sleeves in the revelation of the true identity of Trey.
Based on the degree of interest shown to her by men, especially the attention paid to her by the male population in college when she was on the track team or in the classroom studying art history, Melissa should have had her guard up when her personal trainer offered to take control her life with so little resistance. But she is also capable of rising above her own limitations to deal with the killer trainer.
But Melissa is slow in figuring out that Trey is a nut case specializing not in personal fitness, but in personal obsession. The creepy touching, the intensity of his gaze, the invasiveness into her personal life, the showing up at her apartment unannounced, should have been warning signs. The undisguised jealousy of Trey for Melissa's new beau Adam should have registered as well.
To make up for her inability to recognize the danger that she is in with Trey, Melissa must rely on the superb physical training she has received from her tormentor. Trey has even given Melissa lessons in self-defense, which will eventually be put to good use, as well as her skills is mastery the equipment and clambering around the facility, despite her fear of heights.
There are only two other characters who figure in the film's action. In addition to Adam, a charmer who romances Melissa in a whirlwind courtship, there is Melissa's best friend Leslie. At first supportive of Melissa training program, Leslie is the first to become genuinely suspicious of Trey, and Leslie goes on a "recon mission" to the gym. Leslie is a tech guru, who will provide Melissa with valuable insights into combating the forces of evil lurking in the gym. It is also Leslie who speaks the best line in the film when she discovers a "before/after" photo compilation of Trey and colorfully describes the "before" photo of the obese kid as "Lunch Trey."
The actress playing Melissa was obviously in superb physical condition to perform a strenuous simulated mountain climbing exercise and effortlessly do a grueling set of pull-ups. Some of the scenes in the gym seemed repetitive and dragged a bit. But the filmmakers had an interesting plot twist up their sleeves in the revelation of the true identity of Trey.
Based on the degree of interest shown to her by men, especially the attention paid to her by the male population in college when she was on the track team or in the classroom studying art history, Melissa should have had her guard up when her personal trainer offered to take control her life with so little resistance. But she is also capable of rising above her own limitations to deal with the killer trainer.