At first, this Department of Homeland Security-funded video comes across as a bit cheesy and overdramatic. Released by the city of Houston days after the Aurora shooting (it was filmed weeks prior), the video seems like a waste of money.

As it drew to the end, I kind of warmed to its message, but maybe that was because the shooter is about to be taken down by men holding a fire extinguisher, chair and belt (one error: they failed to move the table in the middle of the room prior to attacking).

The video highlights the three things a person must do in this situation — run, hide and fight.

Perhaps this video will help someone. It could help for no other reason than it makes the viewer think about the possibility of a shooter in a public place and what should be done.

Run. Hide. Fight.

Yet are there any other options besides standing and being shot?

The first inclination for anyone in a situation like this is to run and hide. A very few will fight back, but nearly everyone realizes that is a last resort when unarmed against an armed shooter.

I don’t know what the video cost, but I am left wondering how it is worth it. Perhaps I am missing something as to how this video could serve a purpose. Any person who is going to freeze in shock or scream hysterically is not going to suddenly recall the video and remember to run. Self-preservation cannot be taught in a six-minute video.

Yet if this video saves a life, then it is all worth it. I just don’t see how it can. Plus, a shooter video with actors about a fictional event feels a bit uncomfortable this close to a real tragedy with real people, even if the video is for educational purposes.