Run Amok is a Surreal Afterschool Special

Sundance Film Review: Run Amok
Director: NB Mager
Tandem Pictures
Premiere: 01.26.2026

In a country where mass shootings are commonplace, it was only a matter of time before we started seeing commercial art satirizing this everyday occurrence. While I went into this idea with open arms, I can’t help but feel as though Run Amok was not the film I was looking for, nor is it the film that it so desperately wants to be. The film feels more like a disjointed Lifetime after-school special (with random out-of-place celebrities included) than a well-formed critique on America’s gun culture and mass-shooting problem. 

Run Amok follows freshman Meg (Alyssa Marvin) as she rounds the corner of the 10-year anniversary of a mass shooting that not only took place at her school, but also took the life of her mother when she was only a small tot. School music teacher and local hero, Mr. Shelby (Patrick Wilson, Bone Tomahawk, The Conjuring), is holding a commemorative art showcase to remember those who were lost and give a sense of comfort to his community. When Meg finds out about this commemoration, she decides instead of doing a simple musical number on her harp, she’s going to write a whole musical about the events that took place to give her community a sense of “catharsis” (a new word she learned from her favorite librarian). The adults around Meg try everything in their power to redirect her good natured intentions. 

Run Amok has strong moments that elicit overwhelming feelings from its viewers. Although, it’s kind of an easy win since it’s hard not to get choked up seeing actual high-school age kids (a tally in the column of “Things Run Amok Does Right”)  talk so freely about something that should not be an everyday concern for them. That being said, writer and director NB Mager’s script is all over the place trying to tackle every nuance under the gun reform sun. In turn, this leaves most of what she’s trying to say to come off as half-formed or forgotten along the way.

There are also moments of humor and dialogue from Meg that don’t fit in what little there is of an overall theme. Like this weird motif at the end where Meg really hyperfixates on virgin sacrifice in her performance despite having been focused on the loss of her mother and having empathy for the shooter for the majority of the movie. While I understand the metaphor, Meg isn’t thinking about kids in everyday gun politics at any certain point in the film. It’s so random and thrown in at the last minute that it feels unnecessary. There are also certain song covers Meg picks for her musical number that, instead of being quirky and funny, just feel cheap and not worth laughing at. There’s also the character of Nancy, the mother of the teenager who committed the horrible shooting, who’s reduced to a weird hermit for laughs but again feels tasteless as I can’t think of a greater horror or guilt than that of a mother whose child committed such an act while not being aware of what was going on under her own roof. 

Now, not to go full film nerd, but all technical aspects of this film mirror the writing: god-awful sitcom lighting, horrible delivery by actors we know can act and probably one of the worst sound mixes I’ve heard at any film festival in Utah (including the ones from my little community college). Maybe if a bunch of no-name actors had been cast instead of random celebrities here and there, it could have helped with the budget and mitigated weak “here for the paycheck and to feel good about myself” performances. Alas…

Apologies for the rant, dear readers; it’s hard not to get worked up about a topic that requires so much care and consideration when it comes to making art that critiques it. I wanted Run Amok to be the film that it so aggressively wants to be. I guess we’ll have to wait just a tad bit longer to get the movie that sparks the greater (and hopefully final) gun debate our nation so desperately needs. —Yonni Uribe 

Read more of SLUG’s coverage of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.