Before I sat down to watch RUNNING SCARED I didn’t know quiet what to expect. The comments on the back of the cover said “This makes KILL BILL look like SESAME STREET” which excited me even more. However I got a complete surprise, yes the movie is a violent one and one that is furiously energetic hence where the comparisons to KILL BILL came from, however they should end right there. RUNNING SCARED is a genre-bender, and quiet easily one of the most violent, sick, twisted, fast paced, stylish, and pulse-pounding action thrillers I have seen in a long time. Yes it is a case of style over substance and it does require an acquired taste as the movie is an excessive indulgence in to the world violence…and I simply loved it!
After a drug-op gone bad, Joey Gazelle(Paul Walker in the finest performance in his lifeless career) is given the charge of disposing the gun that shot a dirty cop. However when his neighbours son who is also Joeys sons best friend, steals the gun to shoot his abusive and demented father things go horribly wrong. In a race against time, Joey now has to find the gun and keep himself from being killed as two dangerous mobsters as well as a crooked cop are all after the piece. And after all that, if he survives the night he has to go back and answer to his wife (the damn sexy Vera Farmiga).
The story is simple, yet it has been sharply written. The premise of the movie sounds straight forward on paper, however the execution as well as some splendid plot twists keep the proceedings alive and leave the viewers at the edge of their seat.
The screenplay of the movie is fantastic, right from the opening credits to the poetic ending credits, the movie grabs the viewer by the throat and doesn’t let go. As a writer Wayne Kramer is clear from the outset that he wants to make an “R” rated action movie which will shock the viewer and give them a jolt of adrenalin like no other. In this sense, it is similar to the recent Jason Statham starrer CRANK where the core purpose of the movie was style, violence and above all…to give a jolt of adrenalin to the viewer which keeps them totally on the edge of their seat. However RUNNING SCARED offers more plot twists is certainly more stylish and the tone of the movie is more morbid.
Director Wayne Kramer does an outstanding job!! Critics have drawn comparisons to Tarantinos work here, and I think that’s a little unfair. Yes the movie is violent, slick, stylish etc; however this is NOT as cartoony as KILL BILL or SIN CITY for that matter. Yes there is a “fantasy” element running throughout the movie hence one cannot take the movie too seriously in order to really enjoy, and in some cases it a case of sick, sadistic dark and twisted humour, however this is a much more “real” film than a KILL BILL. Kramer has intentionally worked in a lot of parallels from the Grimms fairytales. Oleg(the kid) is a HANSEL AND GRETEL type character with his father being the woodcutter that is supposed to kill him but can’t bring himself to it. The paedophiles are like the evil witches living in the gingerbread house, the prostitute is like the good fairy and so forth, and all of these morbid fantasy elements have been spellbindingly sewn together. This is a technique earlier used in FREEWAY( 1996) where the whole LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD tale was given a sick and violent twist. The end credits with the comic drawings further confirm this…what an imagination!
The violence in the movie is over-the-top. 5 minutes into the movie we have a gory shootout with peoples heads and nuts being blown off in close range and we get to see the after affects of a bullet once it hits the skull or the pelvis-brutal stuff. But not just gun violence, the film has extreme doses of domestic violence, fist-to-fist violence and heck..just a lot of violence. In one of the scenes Gazelle sets a man on fire and slowly lets his body burn until the man gives him the answer to his question. In another scene Gazelle is held down on a ice hockey rink as the puck is repeatedly hit into his face at full speed and the viewer gets to hear the sounds of his face bones and nose cracking, in another scene we have someone eating into another persons ear and then spitting it out…if this doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, then RUNNING SCARED isn’t your type of movie. The violence here can be compared to that of A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, and so can some of the themes; however this isn’t as deep as A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, and the violence here definitely does have a more “extreme” touch to it. Apart from the violence there is a lengthy sequence involving paedophiles which is as scary as it is disturbing. Though the movie avoids showing any actual scenes of child abuse/violence, it’s the visual images of what the paedophiles actually do and how seemingly they lead a “normal” life is what scares the viewer-shocking. The entire sequence in a sense is to justify the character of our leading man, as her wife looks him in the eye after shooting the 2 paedophiles and tells him “I saw pure evil tonight, and I don’t see that in your eyes”. This movie would’ve definitely given the censor board a heart attack and is quiet frankly deserving every inch of its “R” rating with gun violence, knife violence, violence against children, excessive swearing (the word “FUCK” is said over 300 times), explicit sex scenes with a real raw edge, full frontal nudity, drugs, suicide, torture scenes, prostitution, gore, and paedophilia.—disturbing? Oh yea! And given the viewers reactions at IMDB..every inch a cult film.
In the end it is easy to tell that Wayne Kramer is a lover of cinema, as he has taken what he likes best from his type of cinema(the violent, stylish, sick, twisted, extreme and darkly funny), put it in a blender and let it rip. Comparisons can be drawn to PULP FICTION, RESERVOIR DOGS, KILL BILL, GO, CRANK, THE PUNISHER, HARD LUCK, John Woo’s THE KILLER, FACE/OFF with a twist directly out of Telugu cinemas POKIRI and a final twist seen too many times before in films like BASIC and ERASER..however in saying that this is for the most an inventive and original piece of work and how homage’s should be paid! Wayne Kramer….eagerly looking forward to what your twisted imagination dishes out next.
Technically the movie is outstanding, and visually one of the most exciting films I have seen in recent times. Comparisons can be made to CRANK, Tarantinos hyper kinetic vision as well as Sanjay.F.Guptas KARAM with it’s whip-pans, CSI style extreme close-ups, super slow motion and poetic gun violence, sepia filters, colour bleaching, fast cut camera movements etc are all used top give the movie a gritty and unique look which works splendidly. For example the kitchen shooting is played from multiple viewpoints in both forward and reverse-innovative! I would go as far as to say for style buffs this movie is worth a watch more than once alone for its style.
As far as performances go the movie is surprisingly good! Paul Walker I have never liked, and he has come across as the usual “whiteboy/prettyboy” who can’t act but is there for his good looks, however that notion was shattered here as the actor really lets loose in a spontaneous, kinetic, furious and above all gritty performance that takes the viewer completely off guard. He plays a hardened/street-smart role superbly and convinces the viewer that he is a “tough nut” which is a problem I had with his earlier films. The restlessness and panic he portrays throughout the movie is really commendable and he he slips into his character very well.
The real “star” of the show is Cameron Bright who plays Oleg. One of the most talented child actors I have seen, the young actor is marvellous and gives an unforgettable performance. His straight expressionless face makes him look something out of THE OMEN, however merged with his big confused eyes he leaves a lasting impression. Given the boy isn’t given more than 20 lines to utter and is there pretty much throughout the movie its quiet a feat. What’s more amazing is that the understanding he has of his character, folks, this is a little kid who gets embroiled with a psychotic and abusive dad, a prostitute, a pimp, the mafia, and above all Padeophiles…so not your everyday stuff. Just witness the entire sequence when he is at the paedophiles house and desperately makes the phone call. Bright was earlier seen in films like THANK YOU FOR SMOKING and GODSEND however this is no doubt his best performance, and he is much better than the annoying Dakota Fanning.
Vera Farmiga who was last seen in Martin Scorceses THE DPEARTED as the sexy psychiatrist is great here. There is something VERY VERY sexy about this girl, and she plays her confident and confused part with conviction.
Johnny Messner as the son of a psychotic mob boss played his clichéd role well. Karl Roden as the mentally deranged Russian father is good, and Ivana Milicevic as his wife is great too. Chazz Palminteri as a crooked cop is charming as ever.
All up RUNNING SCARED may NOT be everyone’s cup of tea, it’s an ultra-violent, sick, twisted and deranged action/thriller which requires the viewer to have a strong stomach. However no doubt for those who thrive on this kind of cinema it’s a welcome treat!
Overall Rating=8.0/10.0
A.Shah
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