What’s It About
Suffering from acute anxiety, young Miranda faces a new terror when a serial killer chooses her as his next target. As he chases her through the woods, she soon finds the strength she never knew she had to elude her murderous tracker.
MOVIESinMO REVIEW
While arriving at a gas station, Wade (J.K. Simmons) is surrounded by a verbally abusive dog owner and some nearby civilians who want the dog to shut up. Already on the verge of a psychotic break, Wade snaps and shoots the dog owner between the eyes. This seems to set up “You Can’t Run Forever” as a story about a homicidal maniac. Next, Wade starts shooting other people. It becomes clear he’s just plain crazy. J.K. Simmons is committed to the role, bringing demented glee to playing a sociopathic serial killer on a rampage. However, the film relies heavily on obscene shock value. Early on, Wade kills someone on the road, gets in their car, and masturbates to photos of the victim’s wife, emphasizing his disrespect for women. This grotesque behavior continues as several women are gratuitously shot to death, lingering on their fatal wounds. Despite having a 100-minute runtime, the film struggles to justify even 80 minutes, failing to develop its characters or plot in a way that could possibly justify its existence. We discover later in the film that Wade (this is also when we find out what his name is) feels disrespected by society, especially by the students in his business survival class, leading him to unleash his wrath on teenager Miranda (Isabelle Anaya). Miranda, already traumatized and suicidal, is isolated and led into the woods by Wade, cutting off her Internet signal. Her pregnant mother, Jenny (Fernanda Urrejola), realizes that the man suspected in earlier killings is now stalking her daughter. Jenny and Miranda’s stepsister Emily (Olivia Simmons) plead with local deputies for help, but they are ineffective. Miranda’s stepfather, Eddie (Allen Leech), is killed by Wade while trying to connect with her during a tough time. Miranda escapes into the woods, dealing with cell phone signal issues and Wade’s pursuit. Wade’s backstory is hinted at but never fully developed, making him a bland villain whose motivations are unclear. The film attempts to build tension with Deputy Morgan (Andres Velez), a newcomer overwhelmed by multiple murder investigations, but this subplot is underdeveloped. “You Can’t Run Forever” loses steam as more characters are introduced and personal histories begin ruining the pacing and adding unnecessary complications. Despite a decent opening, the film’s potential is wasted by its inability to maintain suspense or develop its characters. It makes it feel tedious and gross, loaded with overtones of anti-feminist male superiority.
OUR RATING – A PRETENTIOUS 3