Joseph Guzman

(In French, On Cable TV, April 2020) With a title like Run! Bitch Run!, you can expect the worst and not be surprised. Think of the worst film you ever saw and then dig deeper. Much deeper. Past the made-for-TV uninspired pap. Past the dull but watchable straight-to-streaming generic products. Past the cheap horror-festival film with at least one idea. When you get into the neighbourhood of softcore pornography and revenge horror, slow down because that’s where you’re going to find this film. The only thing that potentially saves this film is how much writer-director Joseph Guzman intended this to be a homage to grindhouse exploitation film. (The trailer is almost fun in a “wow, I can’t believe they’re this blunt” kind of way.) On the other hand, what may drag the film back to the trashcan is how much viewers can like or even tolerate such exploitation material. I was not convinced: Run! Bitch Run! is, true to title, exploitative to the point where it’s difficult to become or remain invested in what happens to the heroine. Ultra-cheap production values translate into garbage-grade visual, lousy sound, excruciating acting and even more terrible direction. It’s somewhat helped by a (slight) restraint in terms of gore, but by that point it’s far too late to be thankful. Not even the nudity can save this one, and that’s how far from the light Run! Bitch Run! ends up. When it comes to grindhouse exploitation, I’d rather be the hands of someone who knows what they’re doing, and has the means necessary to do it well.