Dallas Sonnier Says ‘Run Hide Fight: Infidels’ Used So Many Squibs the Crew Ran Out

Producer Dallas Sonnier says the production of “Run Hide Fight: Infidels” went through so many squibs — the small explosive devices used to simulate bullet impacts — that the crew simply ran out. The revelation came during a wide-ranging interview with The Daily Wire, in which Sonnier discussed the challenges of making a high-octane action film on a modest budget while steering clear of the creative constraints he associates with modern Hollywood.

Sonnier, whose credits include a string of genre pictures made outside the traditional studio system, described himself as uniquely suited to the current moment. “You don’t hire me to produce a movie if you’re trying to make something for Hallmark,” he told The Daily Wire. He added that his career has been built on “learning how to make high-budget movies for low-budget money,” a skill set that includes landing big-name stars and staging large-scale explosions without a blockbuster budget.

From Columbia Protests to a Sequel

The genesis of the film, according to Sonnier, was a conversation involving Daily Wire CEO Mike Richards, co-founder Ben Shapiro, and Kyle Rankin, the writer-director of the original “Run Hide Fight.” The four convened a call and decided to revisit the property after its strong performance on the Daily Wire platform.

Sonnier said Richards was particularly inspired by the student protests at Columbia University — specifically, the counter-protesters who, in Sonnier’s telling, simply wanted to attend class and were not deterred by what he characterized as “pro-Palestine nonsense.” That dynamic became the creative seed for the sequel’s campus setting.

The producer acknowledged that the subject matter — Islamic terrorism — carries a different kind of risk than the geopolitical threats that have animated past action films. When asked whether participants had concerns about their safety, Sonnier explained that the production largely cast its terrorist roles from the stunt community. He noted that many of those performers were Christians or ex-Muslims, and that the team was “unbelievably blessed” with the group they assembled. The lead antagonist, Stephen Hailo, was discovered through a casting call.

Sonnier also reflected on the way previous generations of action movies handled similar themes. He argued that Hollywood eventually moved away from depicting Islamic terror explicitly, partly because of a desire to leave behind Cold War-era attitudes and partly because of the allure of the Chinese market. He pointed to the China factor as a destructive influence on the creative process, claiming it led to movies that were “dumbed down” and “too afraid to offend anyone.”

“Hollywood went for China; this was about 10 years ago, and it just destroyed movies,” Sonnier said. He recommended that listeners seek out the work of Chris Fenton, a producer on “Iron Man 3,” who has written a book on the subject.

A Younger Audience and a Different Playbook

The Daily Wire’s Ben Domenech, who conducted the interview, mentioned that he had asked a younger colleague to watch the film and share her impressions. She reportedly argued that any irritation older viewers might feel about the way Gen Z characters speak is a feature, not a bug — and Domenech asked whether that linguistic authenticity was a deliberate choice.

Sonnier confirmed it was. “We wanted to make a movie that appealed to young people too,” he said, adding that the Daily Wire audience skews considerably younger than that of Fox News. He framed the film as part of a broader effort to build a reliable slate of movies, and he said the younger generation deserves its own versions of touchstone action films like “Red Dawn,” “Navy SEALs,” and “Toy Soldiers.”

He was candid about what he sees as the benefit of working with The Daily Wire: fewer filters, no quota systems, and no DEI mandates. “When you take off the filters, and you make something that’s artistic and exciting and entertaining, and you’re not dragged down by all the rules and red tape, it gets pretty rad,” he said. He added that audience numbers for the film have been “off the charts,” though the interview did not provide specific viewership figures.

Despite the politically charged premise, Sonnier described the film’s DNA as rooted in the 1980s and 1990s action canon — movies that were designed primarily to be fun and were not preoccupied with avoiding offense. He said the entire cast and crew loved making it, and he positioned the project as proof that a different production model can yield both creative satisfaction and commercial traction.

The original “Run Hide Fight” was a Daily Wire release about a school shooting, and the sequel moves the setting to a college campus while retaining the franchise’s action-thriller framework. The interview, published by The Daily Wire, offered a window into how the company is positioning its growing entertainment arm: as an alternative to what Sonnier and his collaborators see as a risk-averse, ideologically constrained industry.

Whether “Infidels” will replicate the first film’s success on the platform remains to be seen, but Sonnier’s enthusiasm for the low-budget, high-explosive approach was unmistakable. The squib shortage, he suggested, was a badge of honor — a sign that the production delivered the kind of visceral, practical action that he believes modern audiences are craving.

Source: www.dailywire.com — https://www.dailywire.com/news/infidels-producer-we-used-so-many-squibs-we-ran-out