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Running Scared

Play trailer Poster for Running Scared R 2006 2h 1m Crime Drama Mystery & Thriller Action Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
41% Tomatometer 130 Reviews 79% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
Mafia flunky Joey Gazelle (Paul Walker) is ordered to dispose of the guns that killed a pair of policemen. He hides them in his basement, where they are found by Oleg (Cameron Bright), the kid from next door, who uses one to shoot his brutal stepfather, a Russian mobster. The boy runs off, and Joey pursues him into the criminal underworld, desperate to retrieve the incriminating weapon. Meanwhile, corrupt detective Rydell (Chazz Palminteri) is following Joey's trail with his own agenda.
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Running Scared

Running Scared

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Critics Consensus

This film runs with frenetic energy punctuated by gratuitous violence but sorely lacks in plot, character development and stylistic flair.

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Critics Reviews

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Brian Tallerico UGO 03/24/2007
Running Scared exists in that world of movies where there are no good guys - just bad guys, worse guys and worst guys. Go to Full Review Trevor Johnston Time Out 06/24/2006
With audiences jaded by the usual sex and splatter, do the filmmakers have no qualms about juicing up proceedings with edgy but troubling material which clearly needs more conscientious handling? Apparently not. Go to Full Review Angie Errigo Empire Magazine 04/01/2006
3/5
Stylish, rollicking post-Tarantino trash which does the business at such a pace you barely notice its preposterousness. Go to Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews 10/21/2020
3/4
Running Scared boasts a larger-than-life, gleefully broad sensibility that's been hard-wired into almost every facet of the proceedings... Go to Full Review Julian Roman MovieWeb 04/26/2011
3.5/5
Felix Gonzalez Jr. DVD Review 07/10/2007
Wayne Kramer's latest film is a hard-hitting, visceral, over-the-top extravaganza of blood and bullets that doesn't let up for one second. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Steven F. @SteveGotScored Feb 19 Easily my favorite Paul Walker movie! See more Frans B @FransB Oct 12 LOTS of fast moving action, dilemma, twists and suspense. Amazing cinematography, some very innovative techniques which creates curious ambiance. Great performances by whole cast, very convincing in character, Paul Walker nailed this one. An adrenaline fueled ride, best concentrate to keep up See more Troy R @Grim16 Sep 28 Good story, but was hectic, in some ways it was good as it kept your interested. But then some scenes you wont catch everything and some stuff will be hand waved in order to further the story. Acting was ok, though kids are annoying, as they are intended to be but.. ehh still annoying. Action was interesting, while it wasn't bad it was clearly a deliberate choice to make it very ridiculous and chaotic. The first and last scenes being the pure gun fu nonsense. I think Walker while he had somewhat of a repetitive role, played a good main character and in some ways really carried the show. And I say that not really being his biggest fan. See more Munchie A @RT97616580 Sep 13 A surreal gem with many memorable scenes and characters. FYI, it’s Alice In Wonderland. See more Pongo K @RT48921889 Apr 4 A lot of stuff going on here. Not all of it makes toooo much sense, but that is ok. It is a cool movie. C it See more James H @jamesmatt 02/09/2025 Really, three and a half Stars. After going through all of the capsule reviews on rotten tomatoes, I didn't expect much, but I get the DVD for free, and when the DVD box said, "makes Kill Bill look like sesame Street", I decided I had to see it. At first, I thought it was going to be just trashy loud violence, and there was plenty of that, but it was a serviceable, if utterly preposterous, story, with decent work by Paul and Vera, and the two kids, Not the greatest film ever, but didn't particularly offend my sensibilities any more than most modern movies (especially action films), and it was pretty entertaining. Definitely worth a look. See more Read all reviews
Running Scared

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Wayne Kramer

Director

Paul Walker

Joey Gazelle

Cameron Bright

Oleg Yugorsky

Vera Farmiga

Teresa Gazelle

Chazz Palminteri

Detective Rydell

Johnny Messner

Tommy "Tombs" Perello

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Running Scared

Running Scared (2006) Running Scared (2006) Running Scared (2006) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Mafia flunky Joey Gazelle (Paul Walker) is ordered to dispose of the guns that killed a pair of policemen. He hides them in his basement, where they are found by Oleg (Cameron Bright), the kid from next door, who uses one to shoot his brutal stepfather, a Russian mobster. The boy runs off, and Joey pursues him into the criminal underworld, desperate to retrieve the incriminating weapon. Meanwhile, corrupt detective Rydell (Chazz Palminteri) is following Joey's trail with his own agenda.
Director
Wayne Kramer
Producer
Michael A. Pierce, Sammy Lee, Stewart Hall
Screenwriter
Wayne Kramer
Distributor
New Line Cinema
Production Co
New Line Cinema, Media 8 Entertainment
Rating
R (Language|Drug Content|Pervasive Brutal Violence|Sexuality)
Genre
Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller, Action
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 24, 2006, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 1, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA)
$6.9M
Runtime
2h 1m
Sound Mix
Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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