Chloe is played excellently by Kiera Allen (who is a real-life wheelchair user) whilst her mother is a suitably caring (at first) Sarah Paulson whose concerns about protecting her disabled daughter soon become over-bearing.

But one day, Chloe finds a re-labelled bottle of pills in the cupboard, yet her attempts to find out what’s going on are thwarted by her mother who has cut the internet off and refuses to see her post about her college applications.

Anxious and concerned that there is a darker secret underlying these strange occurrences, Chloe tricks her mum at a movie theatre and discovers a shocking fact at a local pharmacy. Yet after the incident Chloe now has more restrictions on her freedom at home with her bedroom door and windows now locked.

The wheelchair bound Kiera Allen is a revelation and the film shows the struggles with some aspects of life which affect Chloe’s ability to easily find out more about her possibly dangerous situation. And Paulson delivers a suitably contrary performance as her increasingly erratic carer.

[Mild spoilers]

Like the real-life 2017 documentary Mommy Dead and Dearest (our review) it is slowly revealed the film explores Munchausen syndrome by proxy – the condition where a parent themselves induces health problems in their offspring. The serious topic gives the film an interesting angle but it certainly sits more firmly in the thriller genre rather than an all-out serious drama. As Chloe’s attempts to get away become more desperate, the film increases the stakes and we get tense cat-and-mouse sequences, riveting suspense sequences and enthralling attempts to escape.

Almost entirely based on the relationship of the two main actresses, it’s fantastic that they both more than deliver here. Paulson draws on her TV role as Nurse Ratched as the unhinged “protector” and Kiera Allen captures the vulnerabilities and determination of a young woman dealing with her daily condition and the added restrictions placed upon her by her captor.

Tonally though the film has more in common with early 90s thrillers The Hand that Rocks the Cradle and Misery as well as the more recent Greta (our review) which was influenced by similar movies from that same era. With exaggerated clashes the daughter does everything she can to escape her mother’s clutches with her disability proving to be an extra frustration to do so.

Balancing the more serious themes of control and manipulation with rousing thriller tropes, Run ends as an entertaining and extremely suspenseful movie held together by a dynamic double-header from the always watchable Paulson and an exceptional performance from newcomer Kiera Allen.