Subtlety is not one of Shana Feste’s strong suits and that’s probably why I loved “Run Sweet heart Run.” It’s not subtle at all. It, in fact, clubs us over the head with its message about the dangers of being a woman in modern society. It’s a horror movie in every sense of the word that takes every probable situation that a woman can find herself in, and then amplifies it with a villain that is absolutely more human than human. It’s so blatant in fact with its message about the predatory society women are stuck in, that director Feste even breaks the fourth wall on multiple occasions.
Initially apprehensive when her boss insists she meet with one of his most important clients, single mom Cherie (Ella Balinska) is relieved and excited when she meets charismatic Ethan (Pilou Asbæk). The influential businessman defies expectations and sweeps Cherie off her feet. But at the end of the night, when the two are alone together, he reveals his true, violent nature. Battered and terrified, she flees for her life, beginning a relentless game of cat-and-mouse with a bloodthirsty assailant hell-bent on her utter destruction.
Shana Feste’s “Run Sweetheart Run” is a stellar horror film teeming with social commentary. Although the director is seemingly on the side of character Cherie, she builds a villain that is so powerful that he defies the fourth wall in order to bend the universe to his will. From the first sly acknowledgement to the camera in the epilogue to the final shot of Cheri, “Run Sweetheart Run” is clear with its mission statement. While villain Ethan is a horrifying monster, he’s able to stalk and pursue his victims because of the civilization Cherie is in. She’s in a world where too many women like her have been victimized and stalked, and she’s confronted with so many variations of the fall out. From slut shaming police officers, to dismissive bystanders, to traumatized taxi drivers, Cherie runs the gamut of what assault victims endure.
And as the hours wear on, she runs out of options quickly. Pilou Asbæk really is one of the most charismatic and horrifying horror movie villains of the last five years. He’s just everything you want and don’t want a horror villain to be, and to make things worse, he’s always five steps ahead of our protagonist. As for Ella Balinska, she really does carry the movie with co-star Asbæk, building a fascinating chemistry as well as progressing from someone who is fighting a losing battle for her life. Writers Shana Feste, Keith Josef Adkins, and Kellee Terrell keep Ethan an ambiguous amorphous monster that is a very scathing symbol of the patriarchy.
Ethan is neither a vampire nor a demon. He’s worse. He’s the embodiment of everything women are terrified of. He’s entitled, he’s privileged, he’s sadistic, he’s mentally abusive, he’s physically abusive, he’s predatory, he’s narcissistic, he’s ruthless, he’s masochistic, he’s gas lighting, he’s territorial, and he’s unapologetic. Even worse off is that he knows that the world, deep down, is on his side. Even the director of the film has no power over him, as Ethan controls the narrative whenever he feels it necessary. If we don’t see him victimize Cherie, can we prove he did it? I will say with disappointment that “Run Sweetheart Run” loses all steam once Shohreh Agdashloo’s character is introduced.
Nevertheless Shana Feste’s “Run Sweetheart Run” still wraps up as a nail biting, just downright intense survival horror film with a lot of malice projected toward not just predators, but the society that nurtures the predators.