The version that bothers me most is when the threat clearly is catching up to them, but some kind of unexplained time dilation allows them to escape. In one shot the threat is a few metres away and closing fast, then in the next shot the hero spends much more time escaping than was actually available.

Yeah this is exactly what I am talking about - this is where a movie completely loses me. Like there can be a shot of the people running from a wolf or something toward a door, and from the profile shot you can clearly see that the wolf will close the gap before they reach the door, but somehow they just barely make it. I know they are trying to increase the tension, but it's a cheap trick and would work just as well if they obeyed the laws of physics.

> when the characters are running away from a threat which should clearly be able to overtake them

Many films have the heroes outrun an explosion.