Review: Range Runners

Range Runners (2019), directed by Phillip S. Plowden and written by Devon Colwell, is a horror film about a dedicated track enthusiast named Mel (Celeste M. Cooper). Mel, in an act that is as much about running from her demons as it is about achieving some kind of athletic milestone, is run-hiking 200 miles through the wilderness. As the film begins, Mel’s sister Chloe (Tiffany Renee Johnson) is dropping her off at the base of a trail. The two engage in some interpersonal conversation regarding the nature of Mel’s dedication and drive. Is her motive purely physical in nature? Or are there things going on behind the scenes that keep Mel racing towards a non-existent finish line?

Chloe hands Mel a cellphone that she is insistent Mel bring along with her. Mel balks at first, but eventually Chloe manages to get her to accept. The two say their goodbyes, and as Mel grabs her pack and supplies from the back of Chloe’s car, she secretly stashes the phone inside the vehicle. Big mistake. Chloe drives away, and Mel hits the high gear.

As she travels down the woodland path, Mel passes a man sitting on the ground, in the middle of nowhere, nursing some kind of wound. After thinking about it for a few, Mel turns around to offer assistance to the man on the ground. The man on the ground is Jared (Michael B. Woods). As Mel helps him attend to his blisters, we find out that Jared has a traveling companion who is also nursing a wound. Wayland (Sean Patrick Leonard) seems suspicious of Mel, and Jared is acting shady too. Once Mel finishes anointing the sores on Jared’s feet, she gives them a few tidbits of wilderness survival advice, and bounces.

Jared and Wayland watch Mel run off into the distance looking nervous, and thirsty respectively. She disappears from their sight, but this won’t be the last time they see each other. Thus Range Runners is off to the races.

Unfortunately, Range Runners doesn’t exactly set any speed records, if you smell what I’m cookin’. The most glaring issue for me in the film was how characters make decisions that don’t really make much sense. Now, I’m certain being chased through an unfamiliar wilderness by bloodthirsty ex-cons, while nurturing potentially mortal wounds is likely to make even the most even-tempered of us, more capable of error. However, some of the decisions in the film don’t make any sense even under these circumstances. Especially the ones that are made prior to these circumstances occurring in the film.

For example, I understand why Mel would stop for these fools the first time. Especially as, at first, it looked as if there was only one fool to stop for. However, the stench of creepitude hung heavy in the air, so when Mel encounters them a second time, shouldn’t she have done so with more apprehension? Should she really be handing over her knife to a dude who looked like he wanted to eat her for dinner since the moment he laid eyes on her?

And why the fuck is she running on a hiking trail? I mean, I guess I see people jogging on hiking trails sometimes, but I would figure someone who specializes in track would prefer a more even firmament upon which to set their records. But even forgiving that, is she going to sprint for the full 200 miles? And if she is sprinting the entire time, shouldn’t she, over time, put a shitload of distance between her and the dudes that are after her? One of them is 40+ years old, overweight and bleeding heavily. The other, as we saw, has feet that are completely fucked with blisters. Oozing and bleeding, they were so bad that he required assistance in dealing with them. But somehow, he is fine a short time later.

There is another moment later on in the film where Mel finds herself in possession of a piece of leverage that she can use on her pursuers. How does she end up using this leverage? In a way that completely nullifies any leverage she could have used, that’s how. I found myself getting upset at this turn of events because, how stupid can you be? There are a few other flaws with the film, but I don’t want to nitpick too hard, and this is easily the most significant of my criticisms. A lot of shit just didn’t make any sense.

There are positive aspects of Range Runners to be sure. Firstly, there is some good acting in the film, offering a nice contrast to some not-so-good acting in the film. Celeste M. Cooper brings a quiet intensity to her role as Mel. Pensive and brooding, she is like Batman if Bruce Wayne had channeled his existential rage into becoming an Olympian, instead of a vigilante. She’s got a chip on her shoulder and she’s not afraid to let it push her to excel. Y’know, like Batman. Her fury feeds the engine of her will to survive.

Additionally, the flashback sequences feature Mel as a child, training in track under her goal-oriented father. It is a smaller role in contrast with the rest of the film, but one in which Mariah Gordon is surprisingly effective. The narrative of the film is scattered with flashback scenes adding context and backstory to Mel’s struggle. Gordon does a fine job making young Mel feel absolutely real.

The film also gets cool points for being slightly more ambitious, I suppose, than a lot of horror films in that it attempts to tell a very personal story within the larger story. There is a genuine attempt at giving Mel a poignant character arc. The flashbacks, and the way they inform the contemporary story line involve situations that many viewers might find themselves personally relating to. Having emotional depth or weight to your film is rarely if ever a bad thing. The fact that the filmmakers tried to imbue their story with emotional resonance counts for something in my book.

I would be remiss in my duty as a reviewer of this film if I didn’t also bring attention to the shooting locations. Spectacular and beautiful, almost the entire thing is shot in what I guess were several different exterior locations in Southern Illinois. Some of which were so impressive I was almost surprised the crew had access to them. One scene in particular uses the landscape to maximum effect in a fun, scatological inversion of one of the more iconic scenes in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Peter Jackson, 2001).

In summation, Range Runners was neither a total success, nor a total failure. There are things to appreciate, and things that are likely to have you shaking your head. But remember this: supporting independent film is like supporting live music. It’s good for everybody. It’s good for your spirit, it’s good for your soul, it’s good for artists, it’s good for the world. Supporting independent art puts positive energy into the world. It’s kind of like if you could fart out particles that would reverse global warming. Wouldn’t that be rad? If you could save the environment by farting? In reality, farting is probably doing the opposite. But it WOULD be rad if you COULD do it. You can’t fart out ozone-repleting particles. Not yet at least. But what you CAN do is support independent art!

If you like films like Deliverance (John Boorman, 1972), The Descent (Neil Marshall, 2005), Resolution (Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, 2012) or Just Before Dawn (John Lieberman, 1981) then there is a chance you will like Range Runners. It features a beautiful, arboreal location, shitkickin’ white trash with ill intentions, Mother Nature as a character, spotty cellphone service, and gruesome injuries. All taking place far from the concrete jungles of any urban center. However, you might find yourself having difficulty suspending that disbelief when it comes to some of the way the story plays out and is performed.