Delivery Run – Review
Joey Palmroos’s latest stakes its claim as a lean, high-tension thriller. It’s rough around the edges, sure, but it’s that scruff-of-the-neck energy that gives it a spark.
The setup is simple: Lee (Alexander Arnold) is a food-delivery driver out in the icy back-country of Minnesota, when a regular drop becomes anything but. He finds himself stalked – pursued by a monstrous snow-plow truck, helmed by a vague but relentless antagonist whose motives remain murky. The wilderness closes in, the isolation grows, and Lee’s route becomes a survival course.
What the film does well is lean into environment as character. The snow, the ice, the emptiness of the roads – all of it conspires to keep Lee exposed. Palmroos’ direction doesn’t linger on grand vistas so much as tight framing, ramping tension, and the relentlessness of the chase. There are moments when you feel the crunch of snow under wheels, the glare of headlights, the panic of being seen and hunted. It’s visceral in modest fashion.
Arnold plays Lee with enough grit that you buy the transition from routine job to survival mode. The menace remains ambiguous, the snow-plow driver never becomes a fully fleshed villain, which may frustrate some viewers looking for a deeper backstory, but that lack of clarity contributes to the threat: faceless, unstoppable, mechanical. The film doesn’t give you much in terms of character arcs or emotional exploration beyond the immediate situation, and that’s both its strength and its weakness.
At around 84 minutes, it maintains forward momentum, keeps the stakes visible, and doesn’t get bogged down by subplots. The setting is used effectively, the remote roads, the cold night, the monotonous whiteness all add to the dread. Palmroos clearly knows what he wants: a lean chase thriller, minimal distractions. The crunched-down production values sometimes show there are a few pacing moments that feel a little less refined and that admittedly can pull you out of the tension. But the film leans into that “underground” feel rather than hide it.
You might want more. More backstory, more character depth, more reason why the pursuit is happening beyond a vague “he’s being chased.” The film leans heavily on the novelty of the scenario rather than thematic complexity and struggles to walk the line between comedy and horror. Also, certain stretches feel repetitive, the driver runs, the truck looms, the snow closes in.
Still, Delivery Run hits with enough momentum and atmosphere to make it worth the ride. It’s not trying to reinvent the chase-movie wheel, but given its setting and its stripped-down focus, it stands out among lower-budget genre films. If you’re into survival thrillers where isolation, vehicle pursuit and cold landscapes are the stars, this one will deliver.
Delivery Run is a gritty, brisk survival-thriller driven by mood and momentum rather than deep drama. Its rough edges give it personality. Not flawless but compelling enough to keep you invested.
On UK digital platforms 6 October 2025
