Explaining The Conclusion of Run Sweetheart Run! What Happens During Cherie’s Date with Ethan? Did Cherie Murder Ethan?

Slasher films provide a new type of pleasure, one in which the total of violence, torture, and unprovoked horror amounts to a corpse count. A good slasher film functions in contradictory ways; it immediately makes you feel uneasy, and yet you want to remain longer. To observe what occurs next.

It investigates the concept of catharsis in depth. Shana Feste, co-writer and director, utilizes the slasher genre for a unique form of vengeance. Run Sweetheart Run, which debuted at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, delivers a subversive twist on genre cliches in the post-#MeToo era, through a contemporary lens.

Run Sweetheart Run is a furious addition to the feminist revenge genre, delivering a scathing attack on misogyny. It is covered in blood and enraged. Feste claimed that a portion of Run Sweetheart Run was inspired by her own assault experience. It makes the experience more captivating, but never burdensome in terms of its narrative. Wild and exciting, Run Sweetheart Run also manages to deliver a punch.

Let us delve deeper into the realm of this cathartic story and explore its shocking conclusion. If you have seen the film, you surely have many questions concerning Ethan’s identity and what he represents throughout.

How does he manage to detect Cherie regardless of where she hides? Who is the principal lady? This analysis will take a closer look at these topics and attempt to disentangle the aspects that are skillfully concealed inside Run Sweetheart Run’s visual dynamics. Major spoilers are ahead, so do not continue reading if you have not yet seen the film.

Run Sweetheart Run: Plot Summary & Synopsis

The plot of Run Sweetheart Run centers on the ambitious Cherie (Ella Balinska), who has recently begun working at a legal company. As a single mother, she is also studying at UCLA to become an attorney. Soon, she is scheduled to have dinner with a customer for a business meeting that her sexist employer (Clark Gregg) is unable to attend.

Initially, she realizes that Ethan (Pilou Asbaek) is quite attractive and accommodating in his habitat. After dinner, when Ethan loses his temper with a dog (A Point To Be Made with Care), he invites her for a drink. She accepts willingly, and they kiss. However, as they enter and the door closes behind them, screaming can be heard.

Cherie emerges from the door beaten and covered in blood. She yells for assistance and files a report at the police station. Instead of submitting a complaint, she is arrested for intoxication inside the bars. There, she discovers that her cellmate was also one of the perpetrator’s victims. She is afraid and shocked.

A little time later, it is Ethan himself who enters the cell and challenges Cherie to survive the night. Thus, her struggle for survival becomes the primary subject of Run Sweetheart Run.

Also Read: Explaining the conclusion of The Stranger (2022): Does Henry confess to his crimes?

Run Sweetheart Run: Ending Explained!

Does Cherie Survive The Night?

Cherie, attempting to escape Ethan’s grasp, dials the first lady after all. Earlier in the film, the boss’s wife instructed Cherie to locate the first lady. Only she could save her from the hunt and help her survive the night. She pays a visit to the first lady, who explains that Ethan has a greater chance of surviving in this patriarchal society because it has always been this way.

Women are the ones that suffocate the most in order to survive. Cherie faces the monster with the assistance of the first lady and her squad of women since she has the ability to destroy him. She states that her blood is neither her weakness nor her strength. Cherie initially resists using herself as bait, but when the first lady discloses that Ethan is next in line for her daughter, she relents.

What Happens When Ethan Appears?

She unblocks all of her wounds and discards the tissue that was previously blocking her menstrual flow. Indeed, Ethan appears in the backdrop. She keeps the stone handy, but Ethan strikes her head so violently against the wall that she loses it. When she voluntarily gives in to Ethan’s urges, he is going to suffocate and kill her.

This causes Ethan to pause momentarily, allowing Cherie to smash the stone against the glass wall. It fractures, allowing sunlight to fall on his face, which causes him to scream in anguish. The women appear, shattering the window, and sunlight blinds Ethan, preventing him from seeing more.

As he writhes in agony and attempts to flee, a dark liquid oozes from him. Just in time, Cherie grabs him, and the first lady throws the lighter. He catches fire and is permanently destroyed.

In Run Sweetheart Run, Ethan is essentially a symbol of patriarchy. In the same manner that Cherie runs for her life and screams for help, but is always trapped in the system – law, police, and enforcement – it demonstrates how patriarchy is embedded in an unbreakable web.

Also Read: A Jazzman Blues Ending Explained: Get All You Want to Know About the Movie!

No matter where Cherie attempts to conceal her identity, her period smell and blood become her greatest vulnerability. She persists in using tampons to conceal or halt her period, but with diminishing success. In addition, it is discovered that there have been numerous victims like Cherie who are still missing.

Where are they currently? Why are there no investigations and no inquiries? Run Sweetheart Run is a powerful example of a woman reclaiming her voice and body. This tale of vengeance serves as a vital reminder in the post-#Metoo era of the physical and emotional violence women have suffered at the hands of the other sex.

The subtle reference to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, while acknowledging the film’s clear influence, also demonstrates how Run Sweetheart Run has progressed in its pursuit of vengeance. This is a daring reworking of the slasher film that feels intimate and honest in its examination of feminism.

Run Sweetheart Run is available to watch on Prime Video.