Running Scared (2005)

40% of critics liked it
(129 reviews)
76% of users liked it
(131,980 ratings)

A minor crook finds himself in major peril when a "hot" weapon goes missing in this violent crime thriller. Joey Gazelle (Paul Walker) is a low-level "mechanic" in the Mafia who hopes to rise through the ranks by doing whatever is needed. One night, a drug deal goes very wrong when police show up… More A minor crook finds himself in major peril when a "hot" weapon goes missing in this violent crime thriller. Joey Gazelle (Paul Walker) is a low-level "mechanic" in the Mafia who hopes to rise through the ranks by doing whatever is needed. One night, a drug deal goes very wrong when police show up and try to close down the operation; shots break out and a battle ensues, with a pair of of cops meeting a particularly violent fate at bad end of a gun barrel. Joey is given the gun that killed the policemen and is told to make it disappear so it can't be used as evidence; however, before he can do that, the weapon is stolen by Oleg (Cameron Bright), a friend of Joey's young son, who takes the pistol and uses it to shoot his abusive stepfather. Now that the gun is implicated in high profile crimes, it's vitally important that Joey find it as soon as possible, but his search for the firearm is complicated by the fact that Oleg's stepdad is affiliated with a rival gang of Russian mobsters, and that Rydell (Chazz Palminteri), a seriously corrupt police detective, is hot on Joey's trail. Joey's search for the gun takes him through the grim criminal netherworld of the city, where he must face off against nearly every sort of crook, con artist, and deviate that has ever walked the earth. Running Scared is from writer-director Wayne Kramer, who made a name for himself with the well-reviewed independent feature The Cooler. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 59 min.
Directed By: Wayne Kramer
Written By: Wayne Kramer
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Feb 24, 2006 Wide
On DVD: Jun 6, 2006
Studio: New Line Cinema

Critic Reviews

Hap Erstein, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Presumably patterned after Robert Rodriguez's Sin City, but substantially more graphic, there is surely an audience for this empty brutality, but you would not want to know anyone to whom this picture appeals.
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
The end result of all these cross-mob confrontations is an orgy of nihilistic violence that is curiously exhilarating, I am almost ashamed to say.
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
It's ugly and it's vile and it's disgusting and it's creepy and it just got tiresome.
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
Ethnic stereotyping, moral qualms and plot improbabilities aside, you just wish a movie like Running Scared wasn't so anxious to be exciting all the time: It gets so monotonous.
Allison Benedikt, Chicago Tribune
There's clearly supposed to be tension between Joey's good and bad sides. Sure, he's a mobster, but he's also a family man, which makes him... gray. (Not black and white = very sophisticated.)
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star
In the opening minutes of Running Scared, a drug deal goes bad and takes the entire movie with it.
Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media
A grim and rowdy tale of vengeance, style, and fear. Not for kids.
Felix Gonzalez Jr., DVD Review
Running Scared is one of the most underrated and enthralling action movies of the year ....
Felix Gonzalez Jr., DVD Review
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.
Jette Kernion, Cinematical
The action throughout Running Scared is involving and fast-paced enough that you don't notice the number of cliches being invoked in this film.
Brian Tallerico, UGO
Running Scared exists in that world of movies where there are no good guys - just bad guys, worse guys and worst guys.
Forrest Hartman, Reno Gazette-Journal
A well-acted piece that should appeal to anyone who enjoys the films of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez.
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central
An example of a film I recommend just because it tickled my undercarriage.
Scott Weinberg, DVD Clinic
It's a slick, simple, crazy flick that's well aware of how slick, simple, and crazy it is.
Trevor Johnston, Time Out
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.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
A montagem eficiente, com transições intrigantes, confere ritmo ao filme, que também se beneficia com a atuação surpreendentemente intensa de Walker. Pena que o roteiro seja tão implausível e o final, tão absurdamente ridículo.
Staci Layne Wilson, Buzzine Magazine
Excellent director commentary - if you're at all a cineaste, this is a must-listen.
Rubin Safaya, Cinemalogue.com
There's something films like this reflect in our nature... that we seem to delight in propped up monsters that give the protagonist an excuse to behave like one.
Angie Errigo, Empire Magazine
Stylish, rollicking post-Tarantino trash which does the business at such a pace you barely notice its preposterousness.

Read all 19 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Lady D

One problem roles into a series of very unfortunate events in this thrilling Action movie. A grittier role than most of Walker's and one that suited him well. An evolving story, with some great visual effects from the camera shots. You don't have time to be bored!!!
Max C

A passionate and excellently made action film where writer/director Kramer invites you to interpret and engage with his hyper-reality. A tour through America's problems or a fairytale? His characters are grotesques and his world is simultaneously hilarious and painfully sad. I… More
A passionate and excellently made action film where writer/director Kramer invites you to interpret and engage with his hyper-reality. A tour through America's problems or a fairytale? His characters are grotesques and his world is simultaneously hilarious and painfully sad. I don't know why this isn't considered a modern day classic. Die Hard meets Fellini? No. But maybe.
Manu G

Ready. Aim. Run. Good movie, lots of action, bullets flying around all the time, people getting killed, if that's the type of movie you want plus a little twist at the end, this is the movie for you. I saw some action scenes which were new to me and that was kinda good. The… More
Ready. Aim. Run. Good movie, lots of action, bullets flying around all the time, people getting killed, if that's the type of movie you want plus a little twist at the end, this is the movie for you. I saw some action scenes which were new to me and that was kinda good. The acting was pretty decent nothing bad to say or overwhelming. Joey Gazelle is a low level mob flanker who gets told to dispose of a gun used for killing some dirty cops. Joey however, hides the gun in the drywall of his basement instead of tossing them in the river. When Joey's 10 year-old son and his best friend, Oleg, witness Joey hiding some guns from a botched drug deal, Oleg steals the gun -- a snub-nosed .38 -- and shoots his abusive stepfather with it. Things would be bad enough if the stepfather didn't happen to be the nephew of a psychotic Russian mob boss... who happens to be in business with Joey's crew on a gasoline scam. But now Joey's also got the surviving dirty cop from the botched drug deal on his case... and that hot .38 out there on the street, changing hands in an underworld of freaks, pimps, hookers and pedophiles. As well as Oleg, who can connect Joey to the gun. And even if Joey can make it through the night, he's still got to answer to his wife...
Jeff "

Running Scared has got to be one of Paul Walker's best films. Considering that I don't like a lot of his work, for the exception of this film, Joy Ride and his brief role in Flags Of Our Fathers, he is a pretty bad actor. Running Scared however is a film that surprised me.… More
Running Scared has got to be one of Paul Walker's best films. Considering that I don't like a lot of his work, for the exception of this film, Joy Ride and his brief role in Flags Of Our Fathers, he is a pretty bad actor. Running Scared however is a film that surprised me. It's should be a surprise that Paul Walker has made yet another watchable film, because as I've just said, nearly all his films suck. Running Scared though is an interesting and well crafted mob thriller where two kids get their hands on a gun that was used by the mob to shoot a cop. What follows is a desperate attempt to find the gun before the mob do. Running Scared is a fairly good film with a fairly interesting story. But the film also has a few things that could have been improved on. Paul Walker gives actually a decent enough performance here and so does most of the cast. But with this film expect something average and you won't be disappointed. The film could have had a slightly better cast at hand, and I think that the best actress in the film in terms of acting quality is Vera Farminga, everything she does is terrific and well done. I can't say that Running Scared is an excellent film, but what I can say is that it's a fairly good film with enough of a decent story to keep you entertained. Considering that this is for the most part a Paul Walker film, the film delivers enough thrills and good action to appeal to the viewer. However I do think that there was plenty of room for improvement. Director Wayne Kramer doesn't hold back at delivering a film that bold, brutal and violent. Kramer doesn't shy away from violent content and he plunges the viewer in world that makes you feel uncomfortable and creeped out. Running Scared is a good film that could have been something great, but never quit gets there in terms of astounding storytelling and good acting. The acting and story are good but aren't exactly excellent material. The viewer is presented with a crime thriller that delivers something that almost delivers everything to thrill, but never gets there.
Mike S

Paul Walker will never make into my favourite actors list, but he does pretty well for himself in this film. With its forced visual effects and ambitions to be stylish, however, it comes off as a rather pretentious production. Action-wise, it's quite exciting though. There's… More
Paul Walker will never make into my favourite actors list, but he does pretty well for himself in this film. With its forced visual effects and ambitions to be stylish, however, it comes off as a rather pretentious production. Action-wise, it's quite exciting though. There's certainly no shortage of adrenaline and the plot is interesting to follow. An added bonus is we get treated to Vera Farmiga's sexy behind. Those godess-like buns sure kept my attention. Anyhow, before I drift off the subject here, this was a solidly made crime flick. A bit contrived as mentioned, but entertaining either way.
Cassandra M

Nobody makes movies like Running Scared any more. Five years ago, this film would've been toned down by whichever studio released it in order for it to receive the lowest certificate possible. Bravo, then, to writer/director Wayne Kramer for sticking to his guns and delivering… More
Nobody makes movies like Running Scared any more. Five years ago, this film would've been toned down by whichever studio released it in order for it to receive the lowest certificate possible. Bravo, then, to writer/director Wayne Kramer for sticking to his guns and delivering one of the most uncompromising, memorable and downright brutal thrillers in recent memory. Joey (Paul Walker) is a small-time mobster hired to dispose of 'hot' guns for his bosses. One of these weapons (with particular value over all the others) falls into the hands of his son's best friend and is used to startling effect. Here is where the real fun starts. Joey can find neither the child nor the weapon in question, and he has only 18 hours before either the police, the Russian mafia or his own employers catch up with him. Walker is surprisingly impressive considering the strictly one-dimensional roles he played in movies such as The Fast And The Furious and Into The Blue. Here he plays Joey as someone well aware of his impending death should he fail, and throughout he is totally watchable and believable. No more will audiences giggle to themselves every time he delivers a dud of a line. The story occasionally flags, particularly in the middle of the film, but Kramer is not afraid to play with the camera-work to keep the audience's attention - whip-pans, CSI-style extreme close-ups, super slow-motion, sepia filters and colour bleaching are all used to give the film a gritty and somewhat unique look - take, for instance, the kitchen shooting about half an hour into the film, played from multiple viewpoints in both forward and reverse. The film's charcoal-dark tone may be too relentless for some viewers, and the pedophilia subplot could be considered as taking things one step too far, but as long as you've got a strong stomach and can face hearing lashings of creative swearing, there's a lot of enjoyment to be found here. Unbearably tense, visually inventive and superbly acted from start to finish, Running Scared is the first real surprise of 2006 - it pulls no punches and thrills from its excessively bloody opening to its foul-mouthed conclusion.
Justin Y

Wayne Kramer's Running Scared is a mess of a crime thriller.The concept for the film is an interesting one, but the execution is where it all comes apart. The story pans out in a little under 1 days time and this can be a nice touch for people that… More
Wayne Kramer's Running Scared is a mess of a crime thriller.The concept for the film is an interesting one, but the execution is where it all comes apart. The story pans out in a little under 1 days time and this can be a nice touch for people that enjoy this type of time frame in a movie. For the most part, a lot does happen in this picture and a bunch of it is violent nonsense. Some of the material also feels unnecessary, as if it is there to fill up 2 hours of screen time for a bunch of uninteresting characters.The editing is a bit erratic. Some if it works; most of it doesn't. The same goes for the multiple rewind and flashback type scenarios. If anything, it just livens up the movie.The violence and profanity is extremely high. The swearing, at times, seem natural, since it is hard to picture all of it being part of an actual script. It can and does get annoying though.There isn't much to the acting. Paul Walker is OK, but nobody is close to winning any awards in here.Running Scared is a film that can satiate a person's violent needs, but that is about it. There is nothing else to say, except to run away from Running Scared.
♥˩ƳИИ &

Two 10-year-old boys get their hands on a mob gun with which a cop was shot. The father of one of the boys must take to the streets in a desperate bid to recover the weapon before the mob finds out it's missing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~… More
Two 10-year-old boys get their hands on a mob gun with which a cop was shot. The father of one of the boys must take to the streets in a desperate bid to recover the weapon before the mob finds out it's missing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Action from start to finish. Liked the twist at the end. Got a lot of mixed recommendations on this movie. I ended up liking it. Thought Paul Walker was great. Really surprised how good Cameron Bright was. Good watch.
A.D. V

Hyper violent crime-thriller that's never dull during its 2 hour running time. The MTV editing gets a little annoying at times but otherwise it's a well made bloody good time.
familiar s

Excellent action thriller.
Lorenzo v

"Its Find The Gun, Or Death .." Joey Gazelle (Paul Walker) is a low level mob flanker who gets told to dispose of a gun used for killing some dirty cops. Joey however, hides the gun in the drywall of his basement instead of tossing them in the river. When… More
"Its Find The Gun, Or Death .." Joey Gazelle (Paul Walker) is a low level mob flanker who gets told to dispose of a gun used for killing some dirty cops. Joey however, hides the gun in the drywall of his basement instead of tossing them in the river. When Joey's 10 year-old son (Alex Neuberger) and his best friend, Oleg (Cameron Bright), witness Joey hiding some guns from a botched drug deal, Oleg steals the gun -- a snub-nosed .38 -- and shoots his abusive stepfather (Karel Roden) with it. Things would be bad enough if the stepfather didn't happen to be the nephew of a psychotic Russian mob boss (John Noble)... who happens to be in business with Joey's crew on a gasoline scam. But now Joey's also got the surviving dirty cop (Chazz Palminteri) from the botched drug deal on his case... and that hot .38 out there on the street, changing hands in an underworld of freaks, pimps, hookers and pedophiles. As well as Oleg, who can connect Joey to the gun. And even if Joey can make it through the night, he's still got to answer to his wife (Vera Farmiga)... Review Watching Running Scared is a kind of new experience. Writer/director Wayne Kramer works both the story and the camera in weird new ways that make the film engaging. The story is dark and violent and is definitely not for the faint of heart, especially during the pedophile scene, but if this movie had not been so dark it simply wouldn't have worked as well. You hear about this kind of stuff on the news but Kramer gives you a new look at how it might play out in real-life. Because of the excellent acting and uncompromising writing, Running Scared is a sleeper that I would highly recommend to anyone looking for an interesting thriller.
Luke B

Running Scared has a lot of style to it. It's awesome style as well, it looks and sounds cool without becoming such a fast paced edited shit fest that it becomes annoying. The film is kind of ridiculous though attempts to keep its feet on the ground. Some twists are just a few… More
Running Scared has a lot of style to it. It's awesome style as well, it looks and sounds cool without becoming such a fast paced edited shit fest that it becomes annoying. The film is kind of ridiculous though attempts to keep its feet on the ground. Some twists are just a few too many such as the whole abused/kidnapped children segment. Which is like a short film all by itself. Seriously the kid who shoots his step-dad has the worst luck. Some of the stupidity is quite nice and bizarrely refreshing such as the final shoot out taking place on ice. It works not only as something a tad different, but also shines as a parody. Walker is pretty damn good, though his characters constant search for a gun becomes annoying with his tactics of running in a room, screaming and waving a gun. Surely explaining the situation that whoever is found with the gun will be tied to the cop murders may give some better results. Still it's gripping and tense exciting shizzle.
Arash X

Why on earth this movie is so overrated? it's supposed to be a cool & dark thrill ride, well it may be a dark thrill ride but cool? I seriously doubt that, Over the top in all the wrong ways
Jens S

A violent drug trip of an action thriller: brutal, fast, stylish and bizarre. Sadly, also entirely unbelievable, full of coincidences and cardboard characters that you figure out after one look at them. It's even getting borderline ridiculous once the pedophile couple enters the… More
A violent drug trip of an action thriller: brutal, fast, stylish and bizarre. Sadly, also entirely unbelievable, full of coincidences and cardboard characters that you figure out after one look at them. It's even getting borderline ridiculous once the pedophile couple enters the scene. That being said, the movie is too fast and sometimes even exciting to make you realize how silly it is and keeps you watching. Paul Walker could even be described as convincing in a role that wouldn't make you think of him as actor of choice. The ending isn't as horrible as it first wants the viewer to believe, but still rather weak as solution to the whole bloody mess. So, while really entertaining, the movie is highly irrelevant and sometimes almost unbearably and unnecessarily violent and dumb.
Dan S

An absolutely ridiculous movie. The plot and action is insane, and this would be an automatic recommendation, but like "Lucky Number Slevin", this one has one twist to many at the end. That said, its an over-the-top romp with some standout performances from Paul Walker (yes,… More
An absolutely ridiculous movie. The plot and action is insane, and this would be an automatic recommendation, but like "Lucky Number Slevin", this one has one twist to many at the end. That said, its an over-the-top romp with some standout performances from Paul Walker (yes, I said it) and Vera Famiga.
Bruce B

Good Action Movie, Will keep you on the edge of your seat. Great scene in the arena. But a poor ending.
Keith A

An ruthless rampage of blood, guts, bullets, and lethal hockey pucks. Slightly disturbing and very original.
Al S

A powerful and exhilerating no-holds barred action-thriller. Paul Walker gives a raw and electrifying performance. Vera Farminga is riveting. Johnny Messener is a knockout. Slickly directed, stylish and fuelled by non-stop action. Mind-blowing and pulse-pounding. Your heart will be… More
A powerful and exhilerating no-holds barred action-thriller. Paul Walker gives a raw and electrifying performance. Vera Farminga is riveting. Johnny Messener is a knockout. Slickly directed, stylish and fuelled by non-stop action. Mind-blowing and pulse-pounding. Your heart will be pumping so fast it will stop then get pumped up again by the adreniline that goes with it. Brutal, sick, gut-whrenching, riveting, explosive and totally awsome. It will blow you totally away to it's incrediable finale. It goes right over the line in a way you wouldnt believe.
Craig S

Directed by: Wayne Kramer. Starring: Paul Walker, Cameron Bright, Vera Farmiga, Karel Roden, Johnny Messner. Theres always been in films style and substance (depending on the type of film and whether it aims… More
Directed by: Wayne Kramer. Starring: Paul Walker, Cameron Bright, Vera Farmiga, Karel Roden, Johnny Messner. Theres always been in films style and substance (depending on the type of film and whether it aims for that or not), rarely do they go hand in hand (off the top of my head, Pulp Fiction and The Matrix are examples of the mix), this movie has plenty of style, but very little substance. I'd like to first off give congratulations to Wayne Kramer on his brilliant direction in this film, aside from the Tony Scott style repetitive flashes of light, he brings to the plate highly original camera angles, scene setups and insanely graphic violence that should definitely please gorehounds. But it is just a big shame that his script isn't up to tee. It is basically an incoherent mess, nothing quite fits together and it feels more like he was trying to achieve making 3 films in 1. As the film nears the end, around the hockey sequence to be exact, the script shows some life and starts to show something great and has a nice little twist ending, but I just think it was to late by then. Paul Walker gives a better performance then he has done in the past, but he still needs a lot of work. Overall I'd give the direction a solid 4.5/5 stars, while the script a 2.5/5. I'll make it 3.5.
Ken S

So much better than it deserves to be