In Run Sweetheart Run, secretary and single mom Cherie (Ella Balinska) agrees to take her boss’ client out on the town. But the evening transitions from a business dinner to something romantic and finally to a nightmare. Calling the experience a “date from Hell” is no stretch. At first, the client, Ethan (Pilou Asbaek), who’s wealthy and attractive with a sinister smile, seems charming enough. He’s modest, generous, and playful, taking Cherie out for “the best sushi in L.A.” before a quirky trip to a disco roller rink. But when the evening winds down, Ethan reveals his monstrous side and attacks her, then announces a plan to hunt her until the sun comes up. If she survives until morning, he’ll let her go. The cat-and-mouse game that ensues begins like a straightforward thriller but gradually reveals itself to be a blunt-force metaphor that places misogyny and the patriarchy into the framework of a social horror movie. Usually, that would be a welcome setup and message, except, in this case, the obviousness of the dialogue and execution takes away from the pure genre pleasure.

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