The film opens with promise! Crisp visuals, snow-covered shops, and a good establishing scene. Then we meet Lee (Alexander Arnold), a skint delivery driver with a gambling problem, getting hammered by final demand calls. When Rebecca turns up demanding her money, with threats against Reggie, his fish, he tries to sell his stuff to pay Rebecca back, but ends up losing even more cash gambling. Jobs are drying up, stress is mounting, and he keeps having weird encounters with a snowplough. Yeah, you can guess where this is going.

 

Some very odd characters pop up throughout; the policeman, for example, is a strange character who doesn't add anything to the film. By the time something actually happens (I mean that cabin scene was a bit long), it takes a strange turn of events. There were many inconsistencies, and the continuity wasn't done well. There were a few characters and events that didn't serve the storyline or push the plot forward, which was annoying.

 

The score was strange because one minute it fitted the tension perfectly, the next it matched with the humour, they didn't quite nail the genre blend of thriller, horror, and dark comedy; I just feel like they didn't quite know what kind of film they were making. The lack of budget determined what they could do, and it shows. That said, visually, it was excellent.

 

I found it quite a painful storyline; it all seemed a bit half-arsed. The acting was good from the main protagonist; I found myself thinking about what other roles he would be good in (not ideal when you're supposed to be "into" a film). It has all the hallmarks of a good horror, but didn't quite hit the mark for me.

 

Look, I wanted to love this. The premise is solid: a desperate delivery driver pursued by a maniac in a snowplough through frozen Minnesota backroads. It should be gripping, but between the continuity issues, the characters that go nowhere, and a genre identity crisis, it just never gets there. Arnold does what he can with Lee, bringing enough humanity to make you care, but there just wasn't enough for him to work with.

 

And then there's Reggie. Honestly, Reggie the fish might be the best thing in this film. It's such a quirky, endearing detail that actually makes you root for them both! Though let's be real, Reggie would be in fishy heaven in real life.  

 

Delivery Run feels like a missed opportunity. Palmroos clearly knows how to frame a shot. The winter landscapes are genuinely beautiful, but beautiful visuals can't save a weak storyline with pacing issues and scenes that don't push the plot forward. It's frustrating because you can see what this could have been.