Movies like Running Scared
If Running Scared hooked you with its action and crime, these are the films to watch next. Every pick says why it matches.
In Too Deep (1999)
Drug lord Dwayne Gittens rules Cincinnati with an iron fist. No wonder he's known as "God" on the streets. Determined to break Gittens' stranglehold on the city is undercover cop Jeffrey Cole. But as Cole takes on an assumed identity to penetrate Gittens' criminal empire, he makes a disturbing discovery -- he kind of likes being a gangster.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStone Cold (1991)
Joe Huff is a tough, loner cop with a flair for infiltrating dangerous biker gangs. The FBI blackmail Huff into an undercover operation that entails infiltrating The Brotherhood – a powerful Mississippi biker gang linked in the murder of government officials as well as dealing drugs with the mafia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like this10th & Wolf (2006)
A former street thug returns to his Philadelphia home after a stint in the military. Back on his home turf, he once again finds himself tangling with the mob boss who was instrumental in his going off to be a soldier.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisHavoc (2025)
When a drug heist swerves lethally out of control, a jaded cop fights his way through a corrupt city's criminal underworld to save a politician's son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeyond the Law (1993)
Dan Saxon is an undercover cop who infiltrates a biker gang to nail the scum behind a drug-smuggling operation. In order to maintain the trust of the gang's leader, he must commit ever more dangerous and heinous crimes. Just how far 'beyond the law' will Saxon go?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMobsters (1991)
The story of a group of friends in turn of the century New York, from their early days as street hoods to their rise in the world of organized crime...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Rookie (1990)
Veteran cop Nick Pulovski is used to playing musical partners; many of the partners he's had in the past have died on the job, and often as a result of Nick's risky tactics. But the rookie who's been assigned to help Nick bust a carjacking ring is almost as hotheaded as he is … and when Nick gets kidnapped, his newbie partner is his only hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisOut for Justice (1991)
Gino Felino is an NYPD detective from Brooklyn who knows everyone and everything in his neighborhood. Killing his partner was someone's big mistake... because he's now out for justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGang Related (1997)
After murdering an undercover DEA agent, two corrupt cops scramble to cover up what they've done.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMcQ (1974)
Police Lieutenant Lon McQ investigates the killing of his best friend and uncovers corrupt elements of the police department dealing in confiscated drugs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Substitute (1996)
When an inner-city Miami schoolteacher gets her knee broken after standing up to the school's gang leader, her mercenary combat specialist boyfriend goes undercover as a substitute teacher to take down the punk. Soon he discovers a conspiracy of criminals at work, and must reassemble his team from his last jungle raid to stop them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStreet Kings (2008)
Tom Ludlow is a disillusioned L.A. Police Officer, rarely playing by the rules and haunted by the death of his wife. When evidence implicates him in the execution of a fellow officer, he is forced to go up against the cop culture he's been a part of his entire career, ultimately leading him to question the loyalties of everyone around him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTriple 9 (2016)
A gang of criminals and corrupt cops plan the murder of a police officer in order to pull off their biggest heist yet across town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbsolution (2024)
An aging ex-boxer gangster working as muscle for a Boston crime boss receives an upsetting diagnosis. Despite a faltering memory, he attempts to rectify the sins of his past and reconnect with his estranged children. He is determined to leave a positive legacy for his grandson, but the criminal underworld isn’t done with him and won’t loosen their grip willingly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Boondock Saints (1999)
Tired of the crime overrunning the streets of Boston, Irish Catholic twin brothers Conner and Murphy are inspired by their faith to cleanse their hometown of evil with their own brand of zealous vigilante justice. As they hunt down and kill one notorious gangster after another, they become controversial folk heroes in the community. But Paul Smecker, an eccentric FBI agent, is fast closing in on their blood-soaked trail.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWar (2007)
FBI agent Jack Crawford is out for revenge when his partner is killed and all clues point to the mysterious assassin Rogue. But when Rogue turns up years later to take care of some unfinished business, he triggers a violent clash of rival gangs. Will the truth come out before it's too late? And when the dust settles, who will remain standing?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Double (2011)
The mysterious murder of a US senator bearing the distinctive trademark of the legendary Soviet assassin 'Cassius', forces retired CIA operative, Paul Shepherson to team with rookie FBI agent, Ben Geary to solve the crime. Having spent his career chasing Cassius, Shepherdson is convinced his nemesis is long dead, but is pushed to take on the case by his former supervisor, Tom Highland. Geary, who wrote his Master's thesis on Shepherdson's pursuit of the Soviet killer, is certain that Cassius has resurfaced.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisLast Three Days (2020)
After getting mixed up with a dangerous crime syndicate, an undercover cop wakes up to discover he is missing his partner, his wife, and three days of his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJohn Wick (2014)
Ex-hitman John Wick comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that took everything from him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNobody (2021)
Hutch Mansell, a suburban dad, overlooked husband, nothing neighbor — a "nobody." When two thieves break into his home one night, Hutch's unknown long-simmering rage is ignited and propels him on a brutal path that will uncover dark secrets he fought to leave behind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSilver (1999)
The story in "Silver" is about a female wrestler who is really an undercover agent. Disguised as a wrestling warrior, heroine Jun Shirogane (Atsuko Sakuraba) goes after the gang that killed her family in Takashi Miike's action-packed thriller. Aided by secret service colleague Yusuke Minamida (Kenji Haga), Jun goes undercover as Silver, a formidable fighter in the professional women's wrestling circuit. But Jun's success in the ring doesn't distract her from her primary mission: exacting revenge on the Paradise gang.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Rosewood (1997)
Spurred by a white woman's lie, vigilantes destroy a black Florida town and slay inhabitants in 1923.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Human Jungle (1954)
Danforth is assigned to take over the police department in a section of a large city saddled with juvenile delinquency, petty crimes, graft and also a recent unsolved murder of a strip-tease dancer. Recognizing the laxity of the department he implements many changes and soon finds himself under fire by the newspapers, the attorney of a racket leader and the denizens of this human jungle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Behind the Veil 2 (2023)
Stacy once again finds herself in trouble when she runs back into the arms her drug dealing boyfriend. And secrets from the grave are revealed when she discovers her dead husband's illegitimate son is at the center of a police investigation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Scum (1979)
Carlin is a new reform school inmate with a reputation as a hard case. The authorities encourage gang leader Pongo to humble Carlin, but Carlin overtakes Pongo as Daddy of the ward. The guards institute a reign of terror and neglect, with Carlin emerging as an unlikely leader.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKim Novak Never Swam in Genesaret's Lake (2005)
14-year old Erik gets sent to live with his older brother, Henry, during the summer as his mother is dying in cancer. Henry starts dating Ewa, who is married to Berra. A few days after Ewa shows up battered and bruised from an altercation with Berra, he is found dead on a nearby parking lot.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHidden Blade (2023)
Follows the story of underground workers who risked their lives to send intelligence and defend the motherland, set after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor when the Wang Jingwei regime declared war on Britain and the U.S.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTension (1949)
Warren Quimby manages a drugstore while trying to keep his volatile wife, Claire, happy. However, when Claire leaves him for a liquor store salesman, Warren can no longer bear it. He decides to assume a new identity in order to murder his wife's lover without leaving a trace. Along the way, his plans are complicated by an attractive neighbor, as well as a shocking discovery that opens up a new world of doubts and accusations.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisT-Men (1947)
Two T-men, U.S. Treasury agents, go undercover in Detroit, and then Los Angeles, in an attempt to break a U.S. currency counterfeiting ring.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSusanna (1996)
An irresponsible young Spaniard having spent 6 months in jail for embezzlement gets a job as a waiter in a bar restaurant and becomes involved in a stolen goods racket.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Running Scared?
The closest matches to Running Scared are In Too Deep, Stone Cold, 10th & Wolf.
How are movies similar to Running Scared chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Running Scared, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.
Are there English movies like Running Scared?
Yes: In Too Deep, Stone Cold, 10th & Wolf.