Plot: Natalie (Taylor Murphy) is a popular television reporter and she is driven to use her position for good, so she has produced numerous segments about the victims of human trafficking. Her fiance Levi (Josiah Warren) is a successful businessman and the two met when she wanted to look into his business, which led to sparks and eventually, a relationship. The couple even takes the big step and gets married, but before the night is even over, a tragic turn of events unfolds. Natalie is kidnapped by some of the human traffickers she has reported on and while Levi tries to get the police involved, the policies on missing persons means assistance is delayed. Can Levi track down his beloved and can Natalie endure the suffering inflicted upon her, or will she become a statistic in her own news story?

Entertainment Value: This suspense/thriller tackles human trafficking and takes a Christian approach, so expect faith based elements mixed in with the tension, drama, and Stephen Baldwin. The narrative works well enough, a reporter exploring a local human trafficking operation is taken and her new husband has to rescue her, but runs into one problem after another. No real surprises in this one, as Run follows the usual formula for these kind of suspense driven movies, though the faith based moments do help it stand out. I wouldn’t call the religious threads overly heavy handed, but they’re not subtle at all, so you can tell this was made from a Christian perspective, no effort is made to mask that. But Run isn’t as preachy as some and it manages to keep the story on track, using faith to supplement the narrative, rather than letting it push the entire experience. In a situation like the one Natalie and Levi find themselves in, faith can be of immense comfort and that is the case here, though of course, Run is a little more upfront with its intentions. There are also a few interviews in the credits with some folks that have been victims of human trafficking, so the movie also encourages viewers to be active in awareness and prevention.

The lead in Run is handled by Josiah Warren, who also served as the film’s co-director, so he had to perform on both sides of the camera. He is a passable lead, but doesn’t have the kind of screen presence to command attention. That doesn’t mean his performance is bad, I just don’t think he carried the lead well enough, perhaps because he was distracted with his crew duties on Run. Another central role belongs to Taylor Murphy, who does have the kind of charisma and presence to anchor a lead. She has a lot of charm and despite the tribulations her character is put through, Murphy is able to convey more than just desperation. I think the movie would have been much less effective without her capable performance. Stephen Baldwin is the movie’s star power, but his role is rather small, with limited screen time. The cast also includes Marisa Hampton, Chloe Hurst, and Michael Maponga.

The Disc: Mill Creek Entertainment released Run on DVD, in a capable visual treatment that looks quite good. The image has a clean, clear presence throughout, with no compression or other digital woes to contend with. The colors are natural and bright, contrast is smooth, and detail is passable. As far as DVD transfers go, Run looks terrific in this edition.

Use this Amazon link to purchase Run (or anything else) and help support my site!