Movie · 2020 · Thriller, Horror, Drama · 1h 30m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 3.5/10 (459.1K ratings)
You can't escape a mother's love.
Overview
Chloe, a teenager who is confined to a wheelchair, is homeschooled by her mother, Diane. Chloe soon becomes suspicious of her mother and begins to suspect that she may be harboring a dark secret.
Ratings
Curator score: 3.5/10
IMDb: 6.7/10
Letterboxd: 3.15/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 88%
Metacritic: 67
TMDB: 7.2/10
Director
Aneesh Chaganty
Production
Search Party
Cast
Sarah Paulson, Kiera Allen, Pat Healy, Sara Sohn, Erik Athavale, BJ Harrison, Sharon Bajer, Onalee Ames, Joanne Rodriguez, Ernie Foort, Bradley Sawatzky, Cory Wojcik, Tony Revolori, Carter Heintz, Steve Pacaud, Derek James Trapp
Where to watch
Hulu
Curator Review
Verdict
A lean, high-concept thriller with strong suspense mechanics and a standout lead performance, but it also leans hard on familiar captivity-mystery beats and some contrivances. It’s most effective as a tense, accessible genre ride with a sharp emotional hook, even if the twist path feels a little too engineered.
Best for
viewers who like contained thrillers with domestic paranoia
fans of twist-driven suspense and escalating dread
audiences interested in disability-centered casting and perspective
people who enjoy pulpy, fast-moving horror-thrillers
Skip if
you want a deeply original plot
you’re frustrated by thriller logic gaps
you prefer slow-burn psychological horror over propulsive suspense
you’re sensitive to stories about abusive caregiving and medical control
Overview
Run is built like a pressure cooker: small spaces, locked routines, and a mother-daughter dynamic that curdles into something far more sinister. Aneesh Chaganty keeps the pace tight and the setup immediately legible, so the movie works best when it’s simply forcing Chloe to outthink the system around her. The suspense is efficient rather than elegant, but it knows exactly how to keep you leaning forward.
Worth noting
What gives the film real lift is Kiera Allen, whose performance grounds the whole thing with intelligence and physical specificity. Sarah Paulson is also in full command of the material, playing Diane with a mix of warmth and menace that makes the early scenes especially unnerving. The movie’s central reveal and broader shape will feel familiar to anyone who knows this corner of the thriller genre, but the execution is polished enough to keep it watchable.
Bottom line
The film’s strongest quality is how it turns domestic care into a site of fear, control, and dependence. Even when the plotting gets a little schematic, the emotional premise remains potent. It’s not a masterpiece of suspense, but it is a well-made, sharply performed genre piece that earns its tension.
Top Letterboxd reviews
ky (3.5★) · 8314 likes
any director: so there’s this deranged milf
sarah paulson: i’ll do it
hunter strawberry (3.5★) · 2778 likes
good social awareness by the director, he knew that the “no internet connection” sign alone would mortify us to death.
Lucy (4★) · 2715 likes
in today’s world this feels like a familiar story, echoing both fiction like sharp objects and real stories like gypsy rose blanchard, but that familiarity doesn’t make it any less potent here. i was skeptical, not wanting to indulge this worn out plot that seemingly exists only to mystify and thrill able bodied audiences. but i’m excited to say that’s not exactly what i found in this case
my first discovery here was that newcomer kiera allen acts circles around… more
CinemaVoid 🏴☠️ (4★) · 1945 likes
I can totally relate to this movie because every time the internet is down I inject myself with some horse tranquilizer.
2018 · Drama, Mystery, Thriller · 1h 42m · PG-13 · Curator 6.6/10 (496.1K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Netflix Standard with Ads
Same filmmaker’s knack for propulsive, device-driven suspense and clean genre engineering.