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[Run! Bitch Run!]
Plot:Catherine and Rebecca are two Catholic School girls going door-to-door selling Religious paraphernalia in order to pay for their books and education. Things go horribly wrong when they knock on the wrong door in the wrong neighborhood.
Cast:Christina DeRosa,
Cheryl Lyone,
Peter Tahoe,
Johnny Winscher,
Ivet Corvea,
Mike Tursi,
Chenoa Mason.
My Thoughts:Classless, tasteless, you know the drill.
Review:"Run! Bitch Run!" is a super low-budget indie/horror revenge tale. In the vein of "I Spit On Your Grave", "The Devil's Rejects", "Last House On The Left", films like that. Problem is, all of those movies were 500 times better than "RBR". Joseph Guzman's film follows two bible-selling girls who run afoul of three crazy drug-addicted sicophant redneck types while they're going door to door trying to raise money.
It's the age old story, civilized people visiting the lower areas of their town and ending up in trouble. The town in this film looks like the kind of dusty old hillbilly place you'd find in a Rob Zombie movie, and the people there are just as sick, twisted, and screwed up as Baby, Otis, and Cap. Spaulding could ever be. But they don't come off as entertaining or funny, but rather just perverse, gross, and disgusting people.
And when you consider the path of death, carnage, and mayhem that they wreak upon their own friends, and then these bible-selling girls, you hope at some point that they get their come-uppance. Problem is, the movie takes way too long to get to the aforementioned moment where one of the survivors of their chaotic rampage, finally returns for cold-blooded vengeance. And then there's the story, which could've gone in so many different, new, and interesting directions.
But instead, chose to be lazy and just play out as one would expect. For example, there's a scene where the three sickos, who go by the names of Lobo, Marla, and Clint, have brutalized the two bible-selling girls, and killed one of them...accidentally. Nonetheless, still murder. Anyways, the last one left is forced to play a game called "catch me rape me", where Lobo gives her a chance to escape into the woods, and if he catches her he rapes her.
During this scene, Marla and Clint have an inteesting discussion about Lobo, and how he's running their little operation. A convo which if good storytelling existed here, would have reaped some dividends and rewards later on. Instead, the film, which plays on themes of rape, brutality, and various other crazy and sick stuff, decides NOT...to be bold with that possible plot twist. Very disappointing for this viewer.
I would think a film such as "RBR", which has no shame, pulls no punches, and manages to offend just about everyone and everything with it's content, would've certainly been bold enough to take the reigns of the "dog betrays master" plot twist which could've came about late in the film. Instead, it chooses to go the predictable route. Quite a letdown. Although I do have to give the film credit for it's graphic nature.
The way it's filmed, and the locations where it's filmed, give it that graphic, grindhouse 60's-70's look that the director Guzman was obviously going for. However, that's about it when it comes to positives in "RBR". That, and the various scenes where one of the survivors of their murder spree finally returns to get bloody revenge. Those scenes are heaven to watch, and I guess this film pushes the envelope with this particular character so that the viewer can view her revenge as much, much sweeter than usual.
But once "RBR" concludes, we're back to crappy screenwriting as the ending washes away all of the goodwill the film built up by having this violated woman seek revenge on her tormentors. The ending is bizarre, unfair, and makes absolutely no sense. Furthermore, it's just stupid, in every aspect of stupid that an ending can be.
It makes you feel even more like you wasted your time watching the movie, and even worse, makes you feel like you've wasted your time investing yourself in, and cheering for this "lady vengeance" type character who goes after this sick trio, and makes payback a real bitch, so to speak. "RBR" had some good ideas, but when hyper shock value tapes precedent over good filmmaking and most of all, good writing, it always ends in disaster.
Positives:The look of the movie perfectly matches to the 60's-70's grindhouse style the filmmakers were going for. The third act is good, as it allows the viewer to take pleasure in the villains bloody demises.
Negatives:Bad screenwriting, kills two plot twists which could've bumped this films status up quite a lot. It pushes the envelope way too much, and many times, crosses the lines beyond bad taste, and just perverse filmmaking. Rob Zombie, and to a further extent, Quentin Tarantino atleast knew their limits. Guzman apparently did not.
Overall:One star out of four.
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