RUN BITCH RUN – movie review

RUN BITCH RUN

The seventies were a weird time for movies. If the sixties were about freeing our souls, the seventies were about freeing our minds, and for many, they did this in movie theaters. Boundaries were broken, taboos were broken and the groundwork for many of the well regarded filmmakers of today was laid. One of the weird trends that began in the seventies was the Rape/Revenge film. In these films a young woman was abducted and abused by some dastardly villains and either she escapes and gets revenge, or someone connected to her finds out her plight and takes revenge by proxy. These were dark, nasty films that looked at the cruelty of the world and refused to look away, making the viewer look with them. These films have come into and gone out of favor among genre fans and they never cease to start a rousing debate about their validity but one that that has never happened is they have never disappeared, and for further proof of that we have RUN BITCH RUN, a film heavily influenced by the seventies R and R movies and revenge movies in general.

RBR begins with two young women, nuns in training we will say, who are on the back roads of America selling Bibles door to door. They don’t have a lot of luck, and one of the women is far more interested in getting her kicks than in serving the Lord, but the women make their way door to door just the same. Unfortunately for the two women they come across a small time pimp, his prize lady, and their assistant as they are murdering another of the women from the pimp’s stable. Clearly they cannot be allowed to escape so the pimp and his cronies capture the women and begin torturing and teasing them. The rowdier of the two women is murdered in front of her friend and the other is taken to the woods where she is first set free, then captured and brutally raped and left for dead. When the assistant takes pity on her and doesn’t murder her she is left to find her way from the forest, nude and dazed, and unsure why she is alive. She awakes in a hospital and her mind turns immediately to thoughts of revenge. So, dressing as a nurse, the ex-nun heads out into the world to track down the people who did those things to she and her friend. Whatever else happens to her, she will have her revenge.

The movie is a nasty affair with lots of sex, nudity, and gore, and despite the attempts at schlock and humor, it is still a down and dirty film with little to laugh at. The action is at times entertaining, and the film is shot well and apes the seventies style admirably. This really was just a re-tread of any number or rape/revenge films though and I have just never enjoyed those films. The acting is passable, if corny at times, and the leads are generally attractive. The most interesting thing here is that, despite the oddball moments, this is a nasty movie and has a really nasty ending that pulls no punches.

Not at all for everyone but worth a look if you like the R and R sub-genre or just nasty little movies. For me, the movie was ok, and worth a watch, but something I would pass on.

5 out of 10