-Written by Marty Coney.
Run! is a psychological thriller in the vein of Se7en or Saw, directed by Nick Brennenstuhl and Paul Stenerson. A married couple who are renewing their wedding vows in a small desert town are thrust into a deadly game by a killer who wants to test the level of their love.
Run! is the type of movie that gets under your skin and stays there after watching it. It’s dirty, it's grimy, and noisy with lots of blood and gore. It doesn't shy away from showing violence to women, reminiscent of grime house and exploitation movies from the 70’s and 80’s.
Run! follows our protagonist, Runner (Jeremy Miller), and his wife Anna (Alena Von Stroheim) who are renewing their wedding vows in a desert town. On their way back to their hotel their driver gasses them, buries Runner alive, and kidnaps Anna. Runner wakes up a short time later with clues to follow to get his wife back and a drone over his head watching his every move.
The cinematography and the camera lens make us the viewer as disoriented as our protagonist. The camera is shaky and we get a view through the drone with a green tint on the screen. While trying to orient to his surroundings, Runner is being hunted by a sniper (Les Feltmate) who has been dragged into this deadly game under the illusion he is hunting his own wife's killer.
Injured and losing a lot of blood, Runner tries to stay one step ahead of a shooter who will stop at nothing to get revenge for the death of his wife.
In a similar way to Reservoir Dogs, Run! takes us on a journey through multiple characters' eyes; we get to see the entire movie from four different characters' perspectives. Shooter's perspective is a dreamy ethereal look at his short lived romance before he ends up drunk and desperate to find his wife’s killer. Driver (Benjamin Watt), a hulking behemoth who always wears a mask, is a trip into depravity. His world is filled with violence and sex with a touch of necrophilia. He doesn't speak throughout the movie, his heavy breathing reminiscent of Darth Vader. And the drone operator (Kevin Muster) who is the mastermind behind it all and just takes pleasure in putting people through hell.
Run!, a fantastic movie that uses its location to brilliant effect. The lighting and colour grading make it feel like you are in the desert and dying for a drink of water. The scenes when we are with the driver or the drone pilot are dark and grungy that make you feel you need a shower after watching them. I said earlier about the gore and violence and Run! shows everything from a skull being crushed to women getting carved up. For a low-budget movie the directors and producers did a fantastic job. The acting is great and you feel the desperation the characters are going through. The music is heavy hitting and makes the race against time all the more apparent.
Written & Directed by Bill Brennenstuhl and Paul Stenerson
Starring Jeremy Miller, Alena Von Stroheim, Kevin Muster, Benjamin Watt, Les Feltmate, etc
9/10 = DROP EVERYTHING AND WATCH IT NOW
