Veteran actor JK Simmons (Whiplash) is the main reason to watch this basic horror-thriller, which isn’t as horrific or thrilling as one might hope. Simmons plays Wade, a cold-as-ice killer on a rampage, who kicks off the action by shooting some random people at a gas station. One of whom asks: “Why are you doing this?”; Wade’s response is: “Does it matter?” This could have stood up as an interesting moment of frank nihilistic confession on behalf of a movie genre that loves to invent motivations for maniacs when it probably doesn’t need to bother; most of these kinds of films are about the thrill of the chase, and nobody really cares why the killer is a killer. It’s only a shame that this particular example just isn’t quite as thrilling as it should be.
The setting is promising; apart from Wade, our main characters are a troubled teen with tragedy in her past, a pregnant mum juggling her daughter’s trauma and impending new arrival, and a well-meaning stepdad hoping to do his bit to knit his new family together. And Wade does everything right, in terms of giving good cinema murder: he kills at random without remorse, he rides a Terminator-style motorbike while wearing Terminator-style sunglasses, he’s persistent and goal-oriented, and he has a creepy vibe.
The playbook is dutifully ticked off and Simmons commits to the role, but ironically for a film largely dedicated to predatory pursuit, it lacks the forward momentum and suspense needed to elevate it. Even the violence seems a bit half-hearted – not so much in terms of the actors’ commitment, but the physical staging. There are a few decent ideas here: we may not quite buy our protagonist, Miranda ( Fernanda Urrejola), ingesting magic mushrooms mid-pursuit, but once she has, the resulting trip provides a bit of variety. But the film is thrown off track when it decides to delve into Wade’s backstory in the second half; whatever happened to “Does it matter?”
• You Can’t Run Forever is on UK digital platforms from 27 May.