Running Through Darkness

Running Through Darkness is a dark and effective thriller with a story that will keep you guessing. A man tries to help a woman, who then makes him an ominous proposition. He gets sucked in to a world of threats, crime, and violence. The story goes to some really unexpected and dark places that I did not expect. It really will keep you on the edge of you seat as you try to guess the twists and turns. The writing was very effective in this way. The directing was very good also. The cinematography was fantastic, most especially during an epic foot chase sequence. If you're looking for a thrilling adventure, this film is your ticket.

I ran across this crime thriller on the streaming service Tubi and although it is an older movie (2018) it does a great job at bucking social norms and expectations. Definitely ahead of it's time. Running Through Darkness is a tale of an ordinary guy Calvin (played by Landon Beard), who discovers a beaten and left for dead woman Robin (played by Lillian Bornstein), and he is immediately pulled into her dark and dangerous world. I don't want to give away any spoilers but I will tell you this indie gem is worth a watch. I give the cast and crew two thumbs up and recommend this movie to anyone who likes a thrilling crime drama.

Ok, it is clearly not a Hollywood production. The license plates say Nebraska for crying out loud! I'm sure that is where they filmed it and all things considered, it's pretty freaking good.

The no-name cast are probably all local theater people, and that's awesome! The biggest "name" in the film is some guy who was in Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July - and it wasn't Charlie Sheen or Tom Cruise. In fact, this was a lot better than anything they've turned out in the past few years.

Technically the film moves at a very good pace and the cinematography was impressive for such a small movie. Oh, and the score was SPOT on for every scene.

It's not perfect, but it's just as good as other low/no budget films (El Mariachi/Following) from people that went on to become big time directors.

Our main protagonist goes out for a jog and finds an old flame beaten by the side of the road. She asks for his help, to kill the man who hurt her. He looks into this guy who turns out to be a proper nutcase. But suddenly he is in danger because this volatile guy wants something from him. Now both his morality and his will to survive are challenged and he must decide on how to get out of this nightmare. We follow his struggle, question his reasoning and ultimately root for him to survive this ordeal.

Despite the budget constraints I feel that this indie has achieved what it set to do, pull us into the world of deceit and despair, where we root for the protagonist to come out alive.

This, by far, is more than another independent film! It is a gem of work from the storyline to the cinematography, to the soundtrack. Peter O'Brien has accomplished a very good feature film. This was premiered at The Nyack Film Festival, Nyack, New York this past August. Running Through Darkness won "Best Feature Length Film' and 'Best Soundtrack!'