By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 1 cat
Director: Delmar Washington
Starring: Bill Engvall | Diamond White | Hart Denton | Loren Gray | Rutina Wesley | Shane West | Skylan Brooks
Original language title: No Running
Country: australia, united_states
Year: 2022
Running time: 82
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10737358/reference
Michael says: “I don’t see a lot of films about UFO abductions, but NO RUNNING was certainly no THE VAST OF NIGHT. Both films borrow from earlier genres… VAST the radio syndicated program, and NO RUNNING B-movie science fiction, but while the former embraces its genre whole-heartedly and successfully, the latter, tries to take the window dressing and plot elements from the genre, but takes itself way to seriously to be successful, especially as it tries to splice themes of racial injustice into the mix. Not that that can’t be done… just take a look at how ‘Watchmen’ was able to do the same with the comic book genre. But whether it was Morgan’s script, or Washington’s direction, the skill level needed to pull this off just wasn’t there.
“High-school student Jaylen Brown, along with his sister and Mom, seem to be the only black residents in a small town, where they fled after Jaylen’s dad’s domestic abuse became to much for his mom to bear. Ironically, they took shelter with Jaylen’s disapproving aunt, who took them in, unaware of her brother’s actions that drove them to her doorstep. Not sure how they explained that one. Oh, and did I say they were the only black people in town? Sorry that was set up in the film, but apparently there is another young high school student, who has taken a shine to Jaylen, and in the middle of a big party, the two decide to take a walk down by the lake. Things are going pretty well until a thunderstorm starts building., and when the pair decide it’s time to head back, a decidedly non-lightning bolt shaft of light comes streaming down from the sky, engulfing Jayden’s lady-friend and knocking him into the water. When he comes to the next day, she is nowhere to be found, and suspicion quickly falls upon Jayden as to her whereabouts. Fortunately, this is all related to a disappearance decades earlier, and Jayden in desperation reaches out to the man, who as a boy, witnessed a similar occurrence in town. The clock starts ticking to see if Jayden can prove that UFO’s are abducting residents of this town before he is either beaten to a pulp by the locals, or tossed in jail by the local, thug-like sheriff.
“By taking a serious, thriller-driven tone, NO RUNNING undercuts its b-movie roots. If the filmmakers had taken things a little less seriously and had some fun with the plot, things could have worked out much better. The themes of racial injustice could have still been present, but it probably would have been less obvious… another plus in my book. As it stands, the film stumbles under its own weighty ambitions, and ultimately turns out to be a bit of a mess. 1 cat
“Screened at the Tribeca Festival 2021“