Run to Me is a 2016 thriller film directed by Philippe Gagnon (The Good Sister), starring Claire Forlani (Meet Joe Black), Michelle Nolden (A Christmas Horror Story), Mike Shara (Ride), Amanda Tilson (The Last Sign), Arnold Pinnock (Twitches), George Tchortov (Borealis), and Allison Brennan (Debug).  The film follows an amateur triathlete falls under the spell of a controversial trainer who utilizes experimental therapy.

Positives:

• Decent performances

Negatives:

• Lackluster characters
• Predictable plot
• Poor direction

Plot: An amateur triathlete (Claire Forlani) falls under the spell of a controversial trainer (Michelle Nolden) who utilizes experimental hypnotherapy.   However, Stevens’ training becomes an obsession as she begins to slowly take over Alison’s life.  The movie is terribly, painfully predictable.  It even borders on boring, especially since nothing really eventful actually happens until the end of the movie which anyone could see coming a mile away.  It is a poor attempt at rehashing a tired plot.  (1 out of 5)

Characters:  The film does feature some alright but uneventful characters.  The main protagonist is Alison Wynn (Forlani) who is working towards changing her life after committing to a triathlon.  To aid her goals, she hires Dr. Laura Stevens (Nolden), who is the antagonist, to train her despite her questionable methods.   Alison is such an unlikable character that it is sickening.  Not only is she self centered but she’s also very naive, frustrating airhead.  Laura does little to nothing to charm Alison and yet Alison is so defensive of her.  Laura is a douchebag and although manipulative is a straight up psycho.  She snaps this guy’s neck like she was turning a toilet roll. She was an interesting character although flatter than a steamrolled piece of paper. The only likable characters are Adam (Shara) and Kayla (Tilson), and it’s mainly due to Alison acting like a jackass over Laura. (2 out of 5)

Cast: The casting and performances are pretty decent.  The main cast includes Claire Forlani (Alison), Michelle Nolden (Stevens), Amanda Tilson (Kayla), Mike Shara (Adam), and Arnold Pinnock (Jake). Forlani gives a good performance and Nolden is pretty good. Supporting cast includes Allison Brennan (Brea), George Tchortov (Rod), Morgan Dipietrantonio (Young Alison), and Michelle Leblanc (Alison’s Mom). (3 out of 5)

Visuals: Despite the script, and many other problems with the film it actually looks pretty good with the way its shot. (3 out of 5)

Score: The music is decent but nothing to run home about. (3 out of 5)

Writing:  There is something unbelievably ridiculous about how badly this movie was written.  Philippe Gagnon definitely could’ve done something remarkable with this movie to make it stand out.  One of the biggest problems of the film is how poorly the characters are written.  Of course, each of these characters are totally troupes with nearly no likable qualities.  The director really didn’t give a damn about the characters nor whether certain conversations worked nor situations.  Simply put the dialogue is garbage.  There’s nothing to it and the execution sucks.  The writers of this movie completely suck and have ruined what could’ve been a potentially awesome remake (because let’s admit, this story is not original in the least).  (2 out of 5)

The Verdict:  In the end, Run to Me is a movie not worth running home about.  Despite some decent performances the movie pretty much sucks.  Flat characters, an uneventful story, and poor direction leave Run to Me at 2 out of 5.  A surprisingly lackluster film.