Run, Hide, Die tells the tale of five women who take a weekend trip to a family cabin deep in the woods. The five friends have fun, talk smack and entertain each other as they get drunk and try to help themselves forget a recent tragedy. Addison, the main member of the group, struggles to overcome the memory of her late husband on the one-year anniversary of his death. When everyone turns in for the night, Addison’s former mother-in-law takes the entire group hostage and begins to torture them all to take revenge for the death of her son.
This is a perfect example of how not to make a movie out of a paper thin torture and revenge story. The actresses playing our main characters are given very little to go off of and the amount of improv and endless scream-acting in the second and third acts make the film seem unhinged and thrown together. The look of the film is medium-grade digital quality and poor lighting and framing do not do the gritty and dark style any favors. Even the reveal of the husband’s death seems tacked on only to continue the excessive scenes of women tied up and screaming.
The story starts with Addison mourning the death of her husband one year after his passing, and it is later revealed that he committed suicide. The mother-in-law is out for revenge and when the true nature of her son’s death is explained, she kills Addison and goes after her friends. The location is set in an abandoned cabin and the rest of the movie consists of a short road trip, characters running through the woods and a couple of scenes located in a diner that bookend the movie. The one member of the group that manages to survive decides to avenge her friends by killing off the husband’s family. That ends the film and it all amounts to very little.
I can’t recommend Run, Hide, Die even if you are a fan of films that focus on stories involving the horrors of trying to survive captivity and torture. This is a weak and cheap film that lacks style and substance. A few of the main character actresses show some charisma on camera, but the lack of a decent script gives way to far too many scenes of poor improv that go nowhere. The practical effects in the film are cheap and the overall tone lacks conviction and impact. Run, Hide, Die is not entertaining and in the end, it is a film that completely misses the mark.
Hawkins’ Rating:
Out of a Possible 5 Stars