Shadows on the Wall | Arthouse Films

Shadows off the beaten path
Indies, foreigns, docs and shorts...

On this page: THE RUN

< < I N D I E S

See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL | Last update 2.Nov.25

The Run
Review by Rich Cline | 3.5/5

The Run
dir-scr Paul Raschid
prd Sara Sometti Michaels, Seth Michaels
with Roxanne McKee, George Blagden, Dario Argento, Franco Nero, Jamie Ward, Guia Jelo, Jemma Donovan, Seth Michaels, Vittoriana Papi, Amelie McLain, Luke Davis, Fabio Testi
release UK 31.Oct.25
25/Italy <3h45

Is it streaming?

This interactive thriller is essentially a game that can be played by a cinema audience. And it's fun to watch with an involved group cheering and waving glow sticks to make choices along the way. So the plot varies with each viewing, and it's amusingly unhinged as it heads towards its outrageous conclusion. Along the way, the protagonist's decisions reflect viewers' attitudes, which gives everything a pointed kick.

Heading to northern Italy for a break, fitness influencer Zanna (McKee) takes an extended run through spectacular wooded countryside and finds herself pursued by several masked killers. Everyone Zanna meets in the woods seems equally ready to violently do her in. Desperate for help, she takes shelter in an isolated farmhouse with Matteo (Blagden), and they fend off various attacks as they hit the trail, heading to the nearby village to find Matteo's somewhat bizarrely running-obsessed 85-year-old grandmother (Jelo). But these villains are almost supernaturally tenacious. Everything comes to a climax in the local church.

Because this is a game, it resets each time Zanna dies (we saw her demise four times) so that the narrative can continue to the conclusion preordained by our choices. Writer-director Raschid created nearly four hours of footage, so the running time will be determined based on which sideroads the audience takes. These include video-calls with Zanna's brother (Ward), flashbacks to a younger Zanna (Papi) and other strands worth exploring in multiple viewings. Most amusing is how doing the right or wrong thing affects the outcome.

Performances are natural within the heightened reality of this scenario. McKee is an engaging lead, plucky and also just a bit tetchy (which might have been our fault) as she deals with the people she encounters. Her banter with Blagden's likeable but hapless Matteo is especially enjoyable, and starry cameos from Argento (as a priest) and Nero (as a hunter) add some spark along the way.

As the plot spirals to its metaphysical finale, the whole thing feels surprisingly ambitious, adding depth to the skilfully scrappy filmmaking style. While some of the questions are somewhat random (do we take the north or south trail?), most offer moral dilemmas that need to be addressed within a complex situation. So the movie actually makes us consider whether we would help someone or run for our lives, which of course has something to say about who we are.

themes, language, violence 1.Nov.25

< < I N D I E S
See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL