Run Sweetheart Run is a blood-fueled cat-and-mouse game that attempts to reclaim women’s power.
We open to a montage of women paralegals for what appears to be an all-make law firm. Cherie (Ella Balinska) fills in for her boss at a client dinner after he claims she double-booked him — but if you know Cherie, you know how unlikely that scenario is. Cherie is a single mom who hasn’t been out in a while, making her both nervous and excited to have dinner with a man she’s never met. Oh, and of course, her period comes right before heading out on her business date. A relatable moment for many viewers.
As her somewhat perfect date with Ethan (Pilou Asbæk) comes to a close, Cherie goes into his home for a nightcap. You don’t see what happens, but you hear the racket, and before you know it, Cheri bursts through the doors, makeup running, dress torn, and the big, bold letters shoot out as if projected from the character’s mind — RUN!
Cheri tries to get help and instead ends up in jail. She mentions a few details from her evening to her cellmate and quickly learns that she’s been marked by a predator that’s been assaulting women for an unknown amount of time. She’s then visited by her assailant, who informs her that she will be hunted and has until dawn to attempt to change her fate. The rest of the film is filled with Cheri — you guessed it—running, trying her best to stay alive until sunrise.
This supernatural horror comes from director Shane Feste. One thing that can’t be denied is the unique choices and risks taken with the story. Some of the scenes are so wild they’ll make genre fans giddy because those bold initiatives are what genre fans love most. These types of films don’t have rules to follow. They aren’t contained by traditional story patterns, which lends to the imagination. Still, the ideas thrown out need a place to land, and that’s where the film fell a little short.
A lot of questions were posed, but only some were answered. Things were talked about ambiguously, but nothing felt concrete. The plot was more implied than declared. By the time you reach the third act, you’re just wondering how it will end. Once the conclusion is reached, you wonder what the point was.
However, the story is original. There was not one moment that I predicted what the next scene would bring, which was refreshing. It can be difficult to create a film within the horror space that doesn’t have people guessing the end by the film’s midpoint.
The production makes several choices that help to possess the viewer’s attention, like swelling the music and cutting to complete silence. Balinsk’s terror is convincing, as is Asbæk’s sinister demeanor. The pace of the film remains steady. Each time a different scenario unfolds, Cheri’s instinct seems to hit at the same time ours does, which keeps us engaged with the RUN, letting us know it’s go-time yet again.
It’s a unique choice to have a horror film where the violence isn’t shown on screen. We’re not privy to any violence on screen for the first hour of the film. And then, out of nowhere, it is — another way the film keeps us on our toes and makes us feel as though we’re on this ride with Cheri.
On a side note —it shouldn’t be lost on the viewer that the only men that helped Cheri were of color. All the white men dismissed her.
There are a few moments when it feels that the film prioritizes stereotypical horror gimmicks over the story it’s trying to tell. It starts with what resonates as a specific point aimed at the everyday life of a woman working at that firm, reminiscent of a scene out of Colin Higgins’ 9 to 5. But, the wires get crossed along the way, and it isn’t evident if we’re all seeing the same film or receiving the message the director is trying to convey. Still, Run Sweetheart Run is a new-fangled film with quick-witted moments and enough adrenaline to compel you to finish. The midnight crowd will quickly add it to their library. It’ll also remind you to add tampons to your shopping list.
Run Sweetheart Run is now streaming on Prime Video.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
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