The nightmarish horror of Amazon’s “Run Sweetheart Run” is initially so over the top the movie promises to be little more than a predictable, campy excursion into a sadistic would-be rapist getting his just desserts.
Yet as written and directed by Shana Feste and reportedly inspired by her own horrors on a first date that ended in sexual assault, “Run Sweetheart Run” takes on a welcome gravity as it barrels along.
A Gothic nightmare of pursuit and multiple murders, “Run Sweetheart Run” begins innocently enough as Ella Balinska’s Cherie goes on a first date with her boss’s biggest client Ethan (“Game of Thrones” villain Pilou Asbaek). They meet in his mansion and at the restaurant all is well until a diner’s dog lunges at Ethan who literally erupts in volcanic, bellicose rage.
This, we who are watching, immediately understand is not a good sign. Cherie however is clueless and with her baby daughter with a babysitter she accepts Ethan’s offer to come inside for a nightcap rather than taking a taxi home.
The carnage that happens behind the closed door is only heard. Cherie emerges bloody, battered, her dress and self a mess. This is the first of many times the screen will fill with a bright blood-red warning RUN!
And so Cherie runs, only to end up in jail, only to quickly realize Ethan “owns” the cops. When he shows up at her cell, his insanity and cruelty is all too evident as he tells her he’s giving her a chance to run before he catches and kills her.
So the race begins with our barefoot, understandably hysterical heroine who has a huge problem. She needs a tampon and, worse, she’s soon warned that Ethan can literally smell her blood to track her down.
Cherie’s night of horrors means practically everyone she meets is killed in the most savage ways. Almost immediately she discovers her boss (Clark Gregg) regularly serves up sacrificial women to Ethan, his biggest client.
There are diversions when Cherie mistakenly believes, again and again, that she’s safe. Her ex-best friend is hosting a party where they’re watching the ‘70s horror classic “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” not realizing they’re about to live it.
Ethan slaughters them all – and then forces Cherie to dance with him. Asbaek is wonderfully over the top in his taunting insanity and Balinska (“Resident Evil”) vitally commanding in an incredibly physical performance.
“Run” comes full circle with the appearance of dogs who defend Cherie and the realization that Ethan is no ordinary sociopath.
MOVIE REVIEW
“RUN SWEETHEART RUN”
Rated R, streaming on Amazon
Grade: B
