Story: Diane (Victoria Barabas) is a widow and while some time has passed, she simply can’t bring herself to reenter the dating world, even at a casual level. In fact, she doesn’t even sleep in her former marital bed anymore, as the memories are too haunting to fall asleep. Her attention is on her young son, who she wants to give the best life possible to and for now at least, that means her focus is on her career, not her love life. Her career has intense demands, so she spends most of her time on work projects, though once she makes partner, it will all be worth it. But she is in a competitive office and she worries that attending company events alone might not be a good idea, just on optics alone. So she takes some advice and tries an escort service, so she takes a gentleman named Miles (Nick Ballard) and he is a big hit, as her peers love him and can’t wait to see him again. But will Diane’s plan prove to be a long term success or has she painted herself into a corner now?

Entertainment Value: This is a solid Lifetime thriller that sticks close to the tried & true formula, but keeps a more serious tone, so don’t expect a wild, over the top ride here. Although Max E. Williams does add some brief moments of humor with his scene chewing, which I appreciated. The story here is solid and lays down a nice frame for the thriller elements, while the script allows our protagonist some depth and Diane is one of the better “good” girls in these Lifetime thrillers. She still has to overlook some red flags of course, but she is much less oblivious than most of Lifetime’s heroines, so I was glad to see some care taken with her character work. The pace is brisk and keeps things moving forward, so you’ll stay tuned in and there’s minimal filler, which is nice. Psycho Escort never dials up to high level of melodrama, but it remains solidly crafted throughout, so it might not leave much of an impression, but it is well made and a fun watch. I could have used a little more manic energy at times and perhaps an extra twist or turn, but I’d still recommend this to Lifetime devotees.

I found the cast here to be more than solid, everyone seems invested and takes the material seriously, well except for Max E. Williams perhaps. Williams has only a few brief scenes, but he is memorable thanks to his over the top reactions and facial expressions. I wouldn’t mind seeing Williams brought back as a psycho in a future Lifetime thriller, as he seems like a fun performer. Aside from Williams, the cast is serious and grounded, which helps the tension and mood remain strong, but removes the Lifetime style melodrama and psycho outbursts. Victoria Barabas is a good lead and as I mentioned above, she is given a good character to work with, one far less oblivious than the usual Lifetime heroine. Our villain is the title Psycho Escort himself Nick Ballard, who might not be memorable as a stalker, but his performance is solid and again, grounded. I prefer the wilder side of course, but for those into the more serious thrillers from Lifetime, this should all be good news. The cast also includes Kate Gilligan, Donovan Patton, and Joseph C. Phillips.

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