Of all the films to skip movie theaters and go straight to a streaming service, this may be the one that hurts the most.
From director Aneesh Chaganty comes “Run,” a mystery horror-thriller about a teenage girl named Chloe Sherman (Kiera Allen) who suffers from many illnesses and gets around in a wheelchair. She soon suspects that her mother, Diane (Sarah Paulson), has been keeping a secret from her and her investigation leads her down an incredibly disturbing rabbit hole.
Chaganty and co-writer Sev Ohanian had previously made the 2018 thriller, “Searching,” a film that takes place entirely on phone and computer screens, which managed to be one of my favorites of the year. With “Run,” Chaganty and Ohanian have done it again, crafting a nail-biting thriller that will pull audiences to the edge of their couches.
Just like with “Searching,” Chaganty has managed to craft a tight, well-paced thriller that pulls you into its narrative and, like Paulson’s character in this film, never lets you go. His sophomore feature brings suspense and thrills to every inch of the frame, and it is one of the best films of the year.
This movie has an excellent setup. Our opening scene has Diane, who has given birth to Chloe prematurely, before cutting to a list of diseases she was born with. Chloe, now 17 years old in a wheelchair, is homeschooled, and the amount of time she has spent at home has resulted in a reliance on her mother.
Diane’s overprotectiveness is initially rational, but it also serves as an asset for the film’s setup. After Chloe discovers something odd about her medication bottles, it leads her down one unsettling revelation after another. Diane doesn’t give Chloe access to a phone or a computer, so she can’t get the information she needs. And as Chloe is in a wheelchair, she cannot escape.
This leads to some truly Hitchcockian sequences throughout, with “Rear Window” inspirations sprinkled throughout the film. Chaganty takes existing directorial styles and makes them his own with this white-knuckle thriller that ramps up the tension in every scene.
What makes Chloe so compelling is that while she cannot move her legs, she is an intelligent protagonist. She must use her ingenuity to get answers to her questions and escape her situations despite her physical limitations.
Many horror movies have their story progression rely on their characters being idiots, and “Run” is very different. We never find ourselves screaming at the screen, wondering why she isn’t doing something; she makes the smartest decisions possible, but her biggest adversaries are her disability and her growing distrust of her mother.
And the mystery surrounding the film’s plot is gripping. As the audience, we discover certain things alongside the protagonist, so our perception of Diane and our growing fear and distrust match what Chloe is feeling, which leads to a film that you don’t want to stop watching once the questions are asked.
This is yet another very contained thriller, with most of the film taking place inside a house. There are very few characters in this movie besides our two leads, putting all our focus on them and their twisting relationship that grows more and more uncomfortable.
“Run” shines not only in the brilliant screenplay, precise editing, and tense direction, but also in its performances. Paulson is a gifted actress with decades of excellent work in film and television, and she brings her all to this role that perfectly combines a well-meaning mother with darkness lying underneath.
But Allen holds her own against Paulson. I must pay my respects to Chaganty, as his first film, “Searching,” was the first mainstream thriller to feature an Asian-American in the lead role, and “Run” is the first in 70 years to star a real wheelchair user. Chaganty is breaking down barriers and doing it in the most exciting way possible.
Allen delivers a fantastic performance as Chloe, perfectly capturing the horror of her situation while also offering a captivating screen presence. The film’s representation of disabled people is very respectful, and casting a disabled actress to portray the character was an excellent decision, especially with someone of Allen’s talent.
Where the film faults is that it feels a bit short. For a film only 90 minutes long, there was potential to explore scenes and characters for a bit longer, and it can feel like a little too much was left on the cutting room floor. But overall, this is a psychologically terrifying film with a fantastic ending.
If you’re looking for an hour and a half of pure suspense, you can’t go wrong by opening up Hulu and letting this movie “run.”
