Running Through Darkness

This was a simple story with a very likable leading man. His 'regular' demeanor was refreshing and made him quite likable. I felt for him. He was in over his head and was just doing the best he could. The relationship between him and the female lead never quite jelled for me. She gave a good performance. She reminded me a bit of Zooey Deschanel. That, "I don't care" attitude, which worked for this role. And it made her turn at the end plausible. She gave a solid performance.

The overall film held my attention and kept me wanting to watch to see what would happened. I think a thriller is a hard film to make and Peter O'brien did a good job of keeping things moving and making the audience feel off balance as we wondered what nasty thing might befall either character.

This was just so bad. The acting was bad, the sound effects were non-existent, and the story was super basic. There's several bad scenes that stick out: the one where the bad guy shows the good guy a family and relates their situation to them, the silent fight scene, and who could forget the father/son bonding moment! This is worse than made for TV movies. I wish Amazon Prime would stop tricking me into watching movies like this.

All too often you see people of color portrayed in films as either racial stereotypes, or scapegoats for racial stereotypes. This film stands tall and just tells a simple story about people in an insane situation. It was so great to see a black protagonist not bound by social expectations. I kept waiting for that to come into play and it never did. A great surprise. Very progressive.

Character and casting aside, the film itself is pretty impressive. It reminded me of what independent films were like, before celebrities started making them their pet projects. Obviously no one famous was involved. I didn't recognize anyone in the film, which helped lend credibility to the characters and situations. There were some very tense moments between the main character and the bad guy.

One thing that really stood out to me was the music. It hit in all the right places and set a perfect tone for the film. OH! And the chase scene was a lot of fun, too. Thank you to the filmmakers for putting out such a truly independent film. A lot better than most of the stuff I've seen in the theaters (and online) lately.

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.