Run Hide Fight is a 2020 American action thriller film written and directed by Kyle Rankin. Starring Thomas Jane, Radha Mitchell and Isabel May, it follows a high school besieged by a quartet of school shooters.
The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 10, 2020. Distributed by The Daily Wire in North America, the film premiered on their platform on January 14, 2021, and received mixed reviews from critics.
Around town several incendiary devices are set off, distracting first responders and clogging up the roads. A van crashes into the school cafeteria carrying four school shooters. The leader, Tristan Voy, orders his accomplices Chris Jelick, Anna Jelick and Kip Quade to begin killing students. Lewis, who has access to the school's Facebook page, is tasked with live streaming Tristan. Zoe crawls through the bathroom ceiling and is able to escape the school. She begins warning students and helping them escape.
Tristan calls the front office to alert them of the shooting. Because school protocol requires that the shooting be confirmed, the school's principal and security guard are sent to the cafeteria to investigate. The principal attempts to talk Tristan down, blaming himself for Tristan's rage. However, Tristan admits his only motivation is to cause mayhem. Tristan kills the principal but allows the unarmed security guard to escape, commenting on how unprepared the guard was for an actual shooting. With the situation finally confirmed, the front office calls a lockdown.
Sheriff Tarsy attempts to coordinate a response to the shooting, but it proves difficult. An explosion in the front office kills the first police officer to respond. Anna is sent to survey the damage, but along the way she encounters Zoe, and is killed in the resulting fight. A police officer arrives at Tristan's home only to find that he has murdered his mother. The media picks up the livestream, much to Tristan's delight, and he begins removing students from their classrooms where they are sheltered in place.
Kip encounters Zoe and chases after her, but he is quickly subdued. Handcuffed, Kip admits his motivation for the shooting was retaliation for a bullying incident that occurred in middle school. Zoe points out that Kip has murdered several innocent students who had nothing to do with the incident. Zoe contacts the Sheriff and tells him that he needs to direct the media's cameras away from the school so that she can safely evacuate students. Sheriff Tarsy calls Tristan live on-air to provide cover, but Tristan soon realizes the ruse. Tristan demands Zoe reveal herself to him, threatening to kill hostages every five minutes if she does not.
Zoe returns to Kip, who expresses remorse for what he has done. As partial atonement for his crimes, Zoe has Kip ambush Tristan, and in the ensuing chaos that leaves Kip dead and Lewis injured, Zoe escapes with Lewis. Zoe settles Lewis and reveals that she reciprocates his feelings for her, but that she has a hard time expressing them. Lewis warns her that the van in the cafeteria is filled with explosives. Chris is sent to kill Zoe, but he is instead killed by Todd, who has taken a sniping position outside the school, right before Chris can execute her. Zoe hijacks the livestream, telling Tristan that she is the one people will remember, not him.
Tristan rigs the van to explode and escapes with a single hostage and an explosive. Zoe removes the van from the cafeteria by putting the shift in reverse and jamming the gas pedal with Chris' rifle; it explodes in the vacant parking lot. Zoe then tries to pursue Tristan, but is mistakenly arrested by SWAT. Outside the school, Zoe meets Sheriff Tarsy, who thanks her for her actions and tells her Tristan died in an explosion. Zoe meets with her father, affirming their love and repairing their relationship. Afterwards, she sees Tristan fleeing into the woods, having faked his own death. Zoe retrieves her father's hunting rifle and shoots Tristan as he retrieves a cache of money and a passport. Standing over him, Zoe lets Tristan bleed out, telling him that it's what he deserves for what he has done.
Casting
- Thomas Jane as Todd Hull
- Radha Mitchell as Jennifer Hull
- Isabel May as Zoe Hull
- Eli Brown as Tristan Voy
- Olly Sholotan as Lewis Washington
- Treat Williams as Sheriff Tarsy
- Barbara Crampton as Mrs. Crawford
- Cyrus Arnold as Kip Quade
- Britton Sear as Chris Jelick
- Catherine Davis as Anna Jelick
- Cindy Vela as Ms. Nunez
- Tom Williamson as Mr. Coombs
- Joel Michaely as Mr. Yates
In December 2019, it was announced Thomas Jane, Radha Mitchell, Isabel May, Eli Brown, Olly Sholotan, Treat Williams, Barbara Crampton, Cyrus Arnold, Britton Sear and Catherine Davis had joined the cast of the film, with Kyle Rankin directing from a screenplay he wrote, with Rebeller distributing.
The opening shot of the film, which features the main character hunting deer with her father, garnered some amount of controversy due to the fact that the scene featured actual footage of a deer being shot, which is discouraged by the American Humane Association. Despite this, SAG-AFTRA noted that no specific violations occurred with respect to the scene, and it was understood that the hunter who took the shot would have done so regardless of if filming was being done or not.
