Run (2020 American film)

2020 film by Aneesh Chaganty

Run

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Aneesh Chaganty
Written by|

* Aneesh Chaganty
* Sev Ohanian

Produced by|

* Natalie Qasabian
* Sev Ohanian

Starring|

* Sarah Paulson
* Kiera Allen

Cinematography| Hillary Spera
Edited by|

* Nick Johnson
* Will Merrick

Music by| Torin Borrowdale

Production
companies

* Summit Entertainment
* Lionsgate
* Search Party Productions

Distributed by| Hulu

Release dates

* October 8, 2020 (2020-10-08) (Nightstream)[1]
* November 20, 2020 (2020-11-20) (United States)

Running time

| 89 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English
Box office| $5.2 million[2][3]

Run (referred to on-screen as Run.) is a 2020 American psychological horror thriller film directed by Aneesh Chaganty, and written by Chaganty and Sev Ohanian. The film stars Kiera Allen as disabled teenager Chloe Sherman, who begins to suspect that her mother, Diane (Sarah Paulson), has been keeping a dark secret about her upbringing. The film has connections to other films by Chaganty and Ohanian and is the second installment in the filmmaking duo's Searching film series.

Run was released in the United States via streaming on November 20, 2020, on Hulu, and was released in other territories both theatrically and through streaming by Lionsgate International and by Netflix on April 2, 2021. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and became Hulu's most successful original film upon its release.

## Plot

[edit]

A woman named Diane Sherman gives birth to a premature baby, whom she goes to see lying in an incubator, surrounded by the hospital staff. Years later, Diane lives a quiet life with her now teenage daughter, Chloe. Due to the circumstances of her birth, Chloe suffers from arrhythmia, hemochromatosis, asthma, and diabetes, as well as paralysis in her legs. She uses a wheelchair, takes multiple medications daily, and is homeschooled by her mother. Chloe desires to go to college, something Diane seems to support, but has received no responses for her applications.

One morning, while looking through a bag of groceries for chocolate, Chloe finds a prescription bottle of green pills with Diane's name on the label. However, when Chloe later inspects the bottle, she finds a label bearing her name has been pasted over the original. She tries to research the name of the pills—Trigoxin—but discovers the house has no internet connection, unaware Diane is watching her with the router unplugged. The next day, Chloe dials a random number from her mother's bedroom phone, and asks the answering stranger to look up the drug. He tells her it is a heart medication and that all pictures of the medication show a small red pill.

Later, while pretending to go to the bathroom at the movie theater, Chloe rushes to the nearby pharmacy across the street. The pharmacist at the desk reveals the green pills are actually a relaxant called Ridocaine, which had been only approved for dogs and, if they were being taken by a human, it could paralyze their legs. Chloe begins to hyperventilate before Diane runs in and sedates her to take her home.

Chloe wakes up in bed and finds her bedroom door locked from the outside, while Diane is out running an errand. She breaks out of her room by dragging herself onto the roof, eventually making her way to her mother's bedroom and breaking the window with a soldering iron and water. She begins to have an asthma attack and only barely manages to crawl to her room to retrieve her inhaler. She tries to use her automated wheelchair ramp to go downstairs, but finds that Diane has cut the power cord. She is forced to throw her wheelchair down the stairs and accidentally falls, sustaining minor injuries but also discovering that she can move one of her toes, due to having not taken Ridocaine in the last few days.

Outside down the road, Chloe sees a mail truck and rushes to stop it; she explains her situation to Tom, the postal worker, who agrees to help her. Diane pulls up and Chloe asks Tom to contact the police. He, however, confronts Diane and tells her she can't take Chloe home. While closing up the van to take Chloe to the police station, Diane suddenly appears and stabs Tom in the neck with a syringe. Chloe hyperventilates again and blacks out. When she awakens, she is in the basement of her house, with her wheelchair chained to a steel pole as Diane drags Tom's body through her hallway.

While in the basement, Chloe discovers her childhood photos, which show her walking, a death certificate for a girl named Chloe who died two hours and eleven minutes after her birth, and an article about a couple who had their baby stolen from the same hospital. She also finds college acceptance letters that were hidden from her. When Diane enters, Chloe accuses her of poisoning her along with lying to her about her medical conditions and demands the truth. Diane insists everything she ever did was to help and protect Chloe, exclaiming that she saved her. Diane then fills a syringe with paint thinner, saying it will make her forget. Terrified, Chloe crawls away and locks herself in a closet. She then swallows a bottle of organophosphate, forcing Diane to rush her to the hospital.

Chloe wakes up in a hospital bed, intubated and barely able to move. Diane insists that her "daughter" be discharged, but the doctors refuse until Chloe has been evaluated by a mental health professional. Chloe signals to a nurse, who brings her a crayon and paper. While Chloe is attempting to write "MOM" on the paper, a code blue is called and the nurse rushes out. Armed with a handgun, Diane then sneaks in and ties Chloe to a wheelchair to escape; the nurse finds the bed empty and alerts hospital security. As Diane tries to find an exit, Chloe is able to move her foot and hold the chair in place. Chloe replies that she doesn't need her but Diane viciously states she will. Diane aims her gun at security guards, yelling "We are going home!" as she is cornered and shot in the arm, causing her to fall down the stairs.

Seven years later, Chloe still relies on her wheelchair, although is able to walk short distances using a cane. She visits a correctional facility where Diane is confined to a bed in the infirmary ward. Chloe then talks about the life she had built for herself: her husband, Ara, daughter, Annie, and work. She mentions that Annie has a preference in grandparents, implying that Chloe had been reunited with her birth parents. She takes out three plastic-wrapped Ridocaine pills that were concealed under her tongue, and tells Diane that she still loves her before asking her to open her mouth wide.

## Cast

[edit]

* Sarah Paulson as Diane Sherman, Chloe's "mother."
* Kiera Allen as Chloe Sherman, Diane's "daughter."
* Pat Healy as the mailman, Tom.
* Sara Sohn as the hospital nurse, Kammy.
* Sharon Bajer as Kathy Bates, a homage to the actress of the same name.[4]
* Tony Revolori as Brooklyn Boy (voice)

## Production

[edit]

In June 2018, it was announced Lionsgate would produce, distribute, and finance the film, with Aneesh Chaganty directing, from a screenplay he wrote alongside Sev Ohanian. Ohanian and Natalie Qasabian produced the film.[5] In October 2018, Sarah Paulson joined the cast of the film,[6] and in December 2018, Kiera Allen was set to star as well.[7]

Principal photography in Winnipeg, Canada began on October 31, 2018, and wrapped on December 18, 2018.[8]

Torin Borrowdale composed the film's score, as he previously collaborated with Chaganty in Searching. According to Borrowdale, the goal for the film's musical direction was to achieve "the essence of Bernard Herrmann, but for a 2020 cinematic experience."[9] The film was a joint production between Summit Entertainment, Lions Gate Films, Search Party Productions, and Hulu Original Films.[10][11][12]

## Release

[edit]

Run was originally scheduled to be theatrically released on May 8, 2020, coinciding with Mother's Day weekend,[13] although as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, its release was delayed indefinitely. Lionsgate intended to announce a new release date "once there is more clarity on when movie theaters" will reopen.[14]

In August 2020 however, with the pandemic's continued influence on the film industry, Hulu acquired American distribution rights to the film,[15] and it debuted exclusively through them via streaming on November 20, 2020.[16] The movie was released in other continents under Lionsgate International banner.[11]

Netflix later acquired international streaming rights and released the film on April 2, 2021.[17]

## Reception

[edit]

### Audience viewership

[edit]

Following its debut weekend, Hulu reported that Run was the most-watched original film in the platform's history, as well as the most talked about on Twitter.[18]

### Critical response

[edit]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 88% based on 139 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Solid acting and expertly ratcheted tension help Run transcend its familiar trappings to deliver a delightfully suspenseful thriller."[19] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[20]

Jessica Gomez of AllHorror.com wrote, "If you're like me and you were captivated by the story of Gypsy Rose and her mother Dee Dee Blanchard, then I've got a psychological thriller with your name on it."[21] Ryan Lattanzio of IndieWire gave the film a "C+" and said, "There's enough go-for-broke and whiplash-inducing shifts in tone on display to suggest this filmmaking duo has a future, even when their characters don't seem to have a past."[22]

Rahul Desai of Film Companion wrote, "The film doubles up as an allegory and indictment of modern parenting – the control disguised as caregiving, the lack of identity, the incessant smothering, the manipulation, and the blurred line between selflessness and selfishness".[23]

## Related films

[edit]

Main article: Searching (film series)

### Searching (2018)

[edit]

Main article: Searching (film)

In November 2018, Ohanian revealed that Run includes intentional references to his previous film Searching, while also stating that the latter has connections to the prior as well.[24] Later in November 2020, Chaganty and Ohanian revealed that one of these connections involves a brief appearance by the character of Hannah Pardy from Searching as a stock photo model. The filmmaking duo stated that the references between their movies establish that they take place within the same fictional continuity.[25]

### Missing (2023)

[edit]

Main article: Missing (2023 film)

In November 2022, Ohanian revealed that during the events of Missing, connections to Run will be explored, including revealing what happened to its main characters. The filmmaker referred to the plot-thread as an epilogue to cliffhanger ending.[26]

## See also

[edit]

* Munchausen syndrome by proxy
* Gypsy Rose case

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Run". Nightstream. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
2. ^ "Run (2020)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
3. ^ "Run (2020)". The Numbers. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
4. ^ Chandler, Sarah (December 8, 2020). "The Stephen King thriller reference you missed in Hulu's Run". Looper. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
5. ^ McNary, Dave (June 7, 2018). "Lionsgate to Develop Thriller 'Run' From 'Searching' Filmmakers (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
6. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (October 11, 2018). "Sarah Paulson To Star In Lionsgate Thriller 'Run', Directed By 'Searching' Helmer Aneesh Chaganty". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
7. ^ Nemiroff, Perri (December 6, 2018). "Exclusive: Newcomer Kiera Allen Cast Opposite Sarah Paulson in Thriller 'Run'". Collider. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
8. ^ Sneider, Jeff (October 11, 2018). "Exclusive: Sarah Paulson to Star in Thriller 'Run' from 'Searching' Filmmakers". Collider. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
9. ^ Reeves, Rachel (2020-03-18). "[Exclusive Interview] Netflix's LOCKE AND KEY Composer Torin Borrowdale Unlocks the Magical Power of Musical Exploration". Nightmare on Film Street. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
10. ^ Vlessing, Etan (January 31, 2019). "Lionsgate Suspense Thriller 'Run' Sets 2020 Release Date". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
11. ^ a b Grierson, Tim (November 15, 2020). "'Run': Review". Screen Daily. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
12. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 24, 2020). "'Run' Races To Hulu Record As Streamer's Most Watched Movie Ever In Its Opening Weekend". Deadline. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
13. ^ Couch, Aaron (January 17, 2020). "Lionsgate Thriller 'Run' Release Date Pushed Back 4 Months". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
14. ^ Sneider, Jeff (March 17, 2020). "Lionsgate Delays Chris Rock's 'Saw' Movie, Janelle Monae's 'Antebellum'". Collider. Archived from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
15. ^ Kit, Borys (August 11, 2020). "Sarah Paulson Horror Thriller 'Run' Moves from Lionsgate to Hulu (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
16. ^ Day-Ramos, Dino (September 22, 2020). "Aneesh Chaganty's Thriller 'Run' Starring Sarah Paulson Lands Release Date At Hulu". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
17. ^ "Sarah Paulson's 'Run' Coming to Netflix Internationally in April 2021". What's on Netflix. March 25, 2021.
18. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 24, 2020). "'Run' Races To Hulu Record As Streamer's Most Watched Movie Ever In Its Opening Weekend". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
19. ^ "Run (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
20. ^ "Run (2020) Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
21. ^ Gomez, Jessica. "Run (2020) Review". All Horror. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
22. ^ Lattanzio, Ryan (October 9, 2020). "'Run' Review: Sarah Paulson Careens from Psycho Horror to Camp in Berserk Munchausen Thriller". IndieWire. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
23. ^ Desai, Rahul (3 April 2021). "Run, On Netflix, Is A Run-Of-The-Mill Family Thriller". Film Companion. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
24. ^ Lussier, Germain (November 13, 2018). "An Alien Invasion Was Happening in Searching, You Just Didn't Notice It". Gizmodo. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
25. ^ Pearson, Ben (November 20, 2020). "The Biggest 'Run' Easter Eggs And Cameos, And An Update On 'Searching 2'". Slash Film. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
26. ^ u/sevohanian (November 10, 2022). "The sequel to Searching, titled "Missing", now releasing January 20th". Reddit. Retrieved November 10, 2022. "[A]re you going to do a sequel to Run too? u/sevohanian To be honest, unlikely[,] but if you pay attention in MISSING.... you may find out what has continued to happen to those characters in RUN :)"

## External links

[edit]

* Run at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Hulu original programming

Current|

| 2010s
debuts|

* The Handmaid's Tale (since 2017)
* The Bravest Knight (since 2019)

|

2020s
debuts|

* Solar Opposites (since 2020)
* Nine Perfect Strangers (since 2021)
* Only Murders in the Building (since 2021)
* The Kardashians (since 2022)
* Tell Me Lies (since 2022)
* Reasonable Doubt (since 2022)
* Futurama (season 8; since 2023)
* Goosebumps (since 2023)
* The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives (since 2024)
* Interior Chinatown (since 2024)
* Paradise (since 2025)
* Deli Boys (since 2025)
* Good American Family (since 2025)
* Mid-Century Modern (since 2025)

Ended|

| 2010s
debuts|

* The Morning After (2011–14)
* The Confession (2011)
* A Day in the Life (2011–13)
* Battleground (2012)
* Lucha Libre USA (2012)
* Spoilers with Kevin Smith (2012)
* Up to Speed (2012)
* The Thick of It (series 4; 2012)
* East Los High (2013–17)
* The Awesomes (2013–15)
* Quick Draw (2013–14)
* Behind the Mask (2013–15)
* Mother Up! (2013–14)
* The Wrong Mans (2013–14)
* Deadbeat (2014–16)
* The Doozers (2014–18)
* The Hotwives (2014–15)
* Difficult People (2015–17)
* The Mindy Project (seasons 4–6; 2015–17)
* Casual (2015–18)
* 11.22.63 (2016)
* The Path (2016–18)
* Freakish (2016–17)
* Chance (2016–17)
* Triumph's Election Watch 2016 (2016)
* Shut Eye (2016–17)
* Harlots (2017–19)
* Dimension 404 (2017)
* I Love You, America with Sarah Silverman (2017–18)
* Future Man (2017–20)
* Runaways (2017–19)
* The Looming Tower (2018)
* All Night (2018)
* Hard Sun (2018)
* Castle Rock (2018–19)
* The First (2018)
* Unreal (2018)
* The Bisexual (2018)
* Into the Dark (2018–21)
* Light as a Feather (2018–19)
* Pen15 (2019–21)
* Shrill (2019–21)
* Ramy (2019–22)
* Catch-22 (2019)
* The Act (2019)
* Veronica Mars (season 4; 2019)
* Four Weddings and a Funeral (2019)
* Looking for Alaska (2019)
* Reprisal (2019)
* Dollface (2019–22)
* Wu-Tang: An American Saga (2019–23)

|

2020s
debuts|

* Little Fires Everywhere (2020)
* High Fidelity (2020)
* Normal People (2020)
* The Great (2020–23)
* Trolls: TrollsTopia (2020–22)
* Helstrom (2020)
* Crossing Swords (2020–21)
* Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi (2020–23)
* Woke (2020–22)
* Madagascar: A Little Wild (2020–22)
* Monsterland (2020)
* The Mighty Ones (2020–22)
* Animaniacs (2020–23)
* Sasquatch (2021)
* M.O.D.O.K. (2021)
* McCartney 3,2,1 (2021)
* The D'Amelio Show (2021–23)
* The Croods: Family Tree (2021–23)
* Dopesick (2021)
* Hit-Monkey (2021–24)
* DreamWorks Dragons: The Nine Realms (2021–23)
* How I Met Your Father (2022–23)
* Pam & Tommy (2022)
* The Dropout (2022)
* Life & Beth (2022–24)
* The Girl from Plainville (2022)
* Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story (2022)
* Candy (2022)
* Conversations with Friends (2022)
* Love, Victor (2020–22)
* The Orville (season 3; 2022)
* Maggie (2022)
* This Fool (2022–23)
* Mike (2022)
* Reboot (2022)
* Abominable and the Invisible City (2022–23)
* Welcome to Chippendales (2022–23)
* Koala Man (2023)
* History of the World, Part II (2023)
* Unprisoned (2023–24)
* Up Here (2023)
* Tiny Beautiful Things (2023)
* Drag Me to Dinner (2023)
* The Other Black Girl (2023)
* Fright Krewe (2023–24)
* Black Cake (2023)
* Saint X (2023)
* Death and Other Details (2024)
* Echo (2024)
* We Were the Lucky Ones (2024)
* Under the Bridge (2024)
* How to Die Alone (2024)

Upcoming|

* Chad Powers (2025)
* All's Fair (TBA)
* King of the Hill (season 14; TBA)
* Washington Black (TBA)

FX on Hulu|

| Current|

* American Horror Stories (since 2021)
* The Bear (since 2022)
* Shōgun (since 2024)

|

Ended|

* Devs (2020)
* Mrs. America (2020)
* A Teacher (2020)
* Reservation Dogs (2021–23)
* Y: The Last Man (2021)
* The Premise (2021)
* Under the Banner of Heaven (2022)
* Pistol (2022)
* The Patient (2022)
* Fleishman Is in Trouble (2022)
* Kindred (2022)
* Great Expectations (2023)
* Class of '09 (2023)
* The Full Monty (2023)
* A Murder at the End of the World (2023)
* The Veil (2024)
* Clipped (2024)
* Say Nothing (2024)
* Dying for Sex (2025)

Upcoming|

* Alien: Earth (2025)

Films|

* Little Monsters (2019)
* Wounds (2019)
* Big Time Adolescence (2020)
* Palm Springs (2020)
* The Binge (2020)
* Books of Blood (2020)
* Bad Hair (2020)
* Run (2020)
* Happiest Season (2020)
* The Ultimate Playlist of Noise (2021)
* Nomadland (2021)
* The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021)
* Boss Level (2021)
* Plan B (2021)
* Hysterical (2021)
* False Positive (2021)
* Vacation Friends (2021)
* Mother/Android (2021)
* Sex Appeal (2022)
* No Exit (2022)
* Fresh (2022)
* Deep Water (2022)
* Crush (2022)
* The Valet (2022)
* Fire Island (2022)
* Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022)
* The Princess (2022)
* Not Okay (2022)
* Prey (2022)
* Hellraiser (2022)
* Rosaline (2022)
* Grimcutty (2022)
* Darby and the Dead (2022)
* The Drop (2023)
* Boston Strangler (2023)
* Quasi (2023)
* Clock (2023)
* White Men Can't Jump (2023)
* Flamin' Hot (2023)
* Jagged Mind (2023)
* Vacation Friends 2 (2023)
* No One Will Save You (2023)
* The Mill (2023)
* Quiz Lady (2023)
* Self Reliance (2024)
* Suncoast (2024)
* The Greatest Hits (2024)
* Prom Dates (2024)
* The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat (2024)
* She Taught Love (2024)
* Hold Your Breath (2024)
* Mr. Crocket (2024)
* Nutcrackers (2024)

| Upcoming|

* Summer of 69 (2025)
* Swiped (2025)
* Eenie Meanie (TBA)
* In the Blink of an Eye (TBA)

|

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template