When a safe space is invaded and becomes the site of violence, it’s hard to feel comfortable again. The association will stick with it for a long time, even if the people who were present are long gone and the perpetrators no longer pose a threat. In an age where school shootings are frighteningly common and young students do active shooter skills on a regular basis, Run Amok confronts this epidemic through the lens of one overeager teenager who wants to honor the memory of her late mother in an unusual way that might seem right to her but definitely doesn’t seem proper or appropriate to those charged with educating and supervising her peers.
Meg (Alyssa Marvin) lives with her older cousin Penny (Sophia Torres) and her Aunt Val (Molly Ringwald) and Uncle Dan (Yul Vazquez) following her art teacher mother’s death in a school shooting a decade earlier. She has a fondness for her mother’s colleague and friend Mr. Shelby (Patrick Wilson), who famously stopped the shooter himself. When she learns that a commemoration ceremony is being planned to mark the anniversary of the shooting, Meg takes it upon herself to find her own creative outlet and write a musical for Penny and other students to put on that engages very directly with what happened.
There are interesting themes at play in the feature directorial debut of NB Mager, who previously made a thirteen-minute short of the same name, also starring Marvin. The teachers at this school carry red guns with rubber bullets that they draw all too frequently, especially Mr. Hunt (Bill Camp), who is furious about the squirrels that are infesting the school. Mr. Shelby has ridden on a specific reputation earned by his heroic actions, and Principal Linda (Margaret Cho), who didn’t work at the school yet when the shooting happened, is certain that she knows what’s best for these students, which is to find a way to move past it and gain some sense of closure.
Anyone who has lost a loved one, particularly in a sudden way for which there was no opportunity to prepare, will know that it’s not simply possible to just move on and that grief is a living, breathing thing. Fortunately, what the adults lack in substance and three-dimensionality is more than made up for with the two girls at the center of this project. Meg is both awkward and egotistical, an unfortunate combination that doesn’t earn her many friends until she establishes this vision. Penny also isn’t that popular but doesn’t stick out the same way, though she does gravitate towards her younger cousin once she understands what she’s trying to do.
At a time when school shootings frequently form the plot of many films and television shows, this one feels unique in its exploration of an artistic medium through which to express what they’re feeling, which first manifests in a shocking way as a reenactment of the shooting exactly as it happened. That scene is particularly haunting and strong, but what follows is a series of mixed messages as comedy is occasionally added to the story and Meg finds herself drawn to Nancy (Elizabeth Marvel), the mother of the shooter, who just happens to live very close to her. It’s confusing to understand what the tone is supposed to be, which detracts from the film’s overall message and effectiveness.
While the film as a whole doesn’t land perfectly, its two leads are fantastic. Still at the beginning of their careers, Marvin and Torres demonstrate extraordinary maturity in their portrayals and interpretations of these characters. When the film is hard to read tonally and feels disjointed, they remain consistent and are worthy of extensive praise for their efforts. With another film about a questionable musical being put on at a high school (The Musical) also premiering at Sundance, this one gets points for creativity but gets a bit lost with a muddled execution. There’s much to be discussed here that the film doesn’t entirely manage to unpack.
Movie Rating: 6/10
Run Amok premieres in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.
