Bullet Points: Run Hide Fight

Conservative news website The Daily Wire acquired the rights to Run Hide Fight and will premiere the film to its members today. If that is the only thing you know about this film and it is keeping you from seeking it out then I am here to suggest that you not let that stop you so easily. There is no question that Run Hide Fight can be a difficult film to watch, at times, but that isn’t necessarily due to the inadequacies of the product but instead by its sad-but-true depiction of school violence. It doesn’t, however, hide behind some ‘Based on true events’ line at the beginning and tells a story that is more Die Hard (Toy Soldiers for those big time action lovers) than 22 July.

• Father/daughter time: The film opens with Todd Hull (Thomas Jane) and Zoe Hull (Isabel May) on an early morning hunting excursion. The important thing that we learn about Zoe is that she appears to be a no-nonsense person and has not a moments hesitation when it comes time to shooting a deer or later putting it out of its misery. She is clearly in some sort of distress and her father reiterates to her after their trip that maybe it is time for the two of them to ‘seek help’. Based on what I’ve seen I would have to agree.
• High School and the asshole casseroles: Zoe is 17 and nearing her senior prom. Her best friend Lewis definitely plans on asking her but in that way that friends who want to be more than just friends ask someone to go to the prom. Their high school doesn’t seem to be unique in the fact that there are some kids who are popular, some who are not, others who are quiet and a bit strange, and that some of them are straight-up assholes. Zoe is in full lockdown mode. She has recently lost someone in her life and keeps herself as guarded as humanly possible. Her father, her friend Lewis, and her teachers try to chisel away at her hardened skin to no avail.

• Invasion: During lunch period, a white van plows through the glass and into the cafeteria sending screaming teenagers to all corners of the room. From the van jumps gun wielding teens who begin killing their classmates and corralling them into the corner of the room. Zoe is thankfully tucked away in the restroom when this happens and so begins her Worst Day Ever.
• Running: The film turns into a uniquely paced action film following young Zoe as she evades her captors by climbing into ceiling space, hiding behind various desks, and leaping behind lockers. Luckily, the run portion of the film is accompanied by the always excellent Radha Mitchell as Zoe’s recently deceased mother Jennifer. It was the death of her mother that caused Zoe to build up all of her emotional walls and she still communicates with her. It’s convenient for her in her escape from the killers but it allows us as an audience to get closer to the normally guarded Zoe and understand why she shields herself behind that old green jacket.

• The Plan: I’m sure that some people will have complaints about the tropes used for the attackers in Run Hide Fight. One of the kids is clearly motivated by the bullying he received in both junior high and high school. The others are full of mental health issues and identity questions. The movie doesn’t set out to answer any questions as to how these things could have been prevented and only spends a few minutes here and there to remind us that our current school system is ill-equipped to deal with a situation like this.
• Hiding: The run and hide portion of Zoe’s makeshift plan happen fast. She escapes the initial invasion of the attackers and then slips her way past them and out into the open air. This is the moment where she has to make the decision to leave her “nothing matters in high school” ideas behind and save herself or to effect the biggest change and help those that she had cut herself off from. Being the hero that she is, she pivots and turns back to the school to warn as many people as she can. If the rigid school lockdown measures wouldn’t protect the students from an active shooter then it would take an active rescuer to save them.

• Missing pieces: One thing that I really liked about Run Hide Fight is that it felt like a “show me, don’t tell me” kind of movie. Instead of telling me about all of the issues that Zoe has been dealing with after the loss of her mother we are shown them through her interactions with various characters. Even her conversations with her dead mother are telling. The way she sees her mother changes over the course of the film and we can see that this experience has somehow been a cleansing one for her. As strange as that sounds, the parts of her life that came up missing after her mother passed are found deep within her by helping her fellow classmates in their time of need.
• Fighting: Once Zoe is forced into fight mode it becomes an all-out war between her and the attackers. Bruised and bloody, she outsmarts them and stays a step ahead of their master plan. Speaking of master plan, the leader of the group of shooters is played masterfully by Eli Brown. He’s equal parts Hans Gruber and The Joker with his controlled chaos. It’s at this point in the film when Zoe’s usefulness inside the school becomes apparent as the law enforcement outside of the school led by Treat Williams is helplessly in place.

The Verdict: Run Hide Fight is an exciting and entertaining film about a subject matter that has become very taboo in our current state. Thirty years ago no one batted an eye when a school was overtaken by armed assailants in a movie but sadly reality has stolen much of the entertainment value to be had from something like this and instead makes it very hard to watch at times. The tone of the film is a somber one, as it should be. Zoe has her own personal issues before a shot is ever fired but witnessing the atrocities in the movie teaches her all sorts of things about how she has treated those around her and her growth is apparent by the end. The villains are downright despicable. There is no other way to look at it, and you’ll be cheering as you watch the heroic Zoe take them down one by one. As a first foray into the film industry, The Daily Wire has picked an explosively awesome picture in Run Hide Fight!