REEL ACTION: Running Scared (2006) with Paul Walker and Vera Farmiga

Last Updated on July 23, 2021

RUNNING SCARED (2006)
Rating: 3.5 on 4 / Buy the DVD here

Tagline: Every bullet leaves a trail

Directed by Wayne Kramer
Starring Paul Walker, Vera Farmiga, and Chazz Palminteri

THE PLAN:When a drug deal gone wrong results in the death of an undercover cop, Joey (Paul Walker) is tasked with hiding the gun, which would have been great until Oleg, the neighbor kid, steals it, shoots his deadbeat dad, and goes on the run. Now Walker has to find the kid before the mob, the cops, the Russians, a crazy pimp, and an array of despicable f*cks do.

THE KILL:Halloween is the time of year to sit back and watch some solid horror films, but if you’re in the mood for action then you can do no better for the time of year than Wayne Kramer’s RUNNING SCARED, starring the great Paul Walker in a role that will make you believe the guy’s a badass and not just some pretty boy who can’t act. Filled with dark imagery, set in the absolute worse part of humanity, and featuring a couple of the scariest “normal” looking people you’ll ever meet, RUNNING SCARED has enough firepower and ferocious violence to satisfy the biggest Reel Action fan while giving horror hounds the level of blood-soaked intensity they’re looking for in a Halloween flick.

While the film isn’t set during Halloween (or even October), and there’s not an ounce of supernatural shit going down, it remains to rock a dark and almost gothic visual palate that will remind you of All Hallows Eve, and there’s even a black-light sequence that should remind you of a few haunted houses you’ve been to in the past. If visuals and atmosphere equate to anything, RUNNING SCARED hits the Halloween feel that is usually missing from horror films that try to stir up a scare set during the same time period. And while some may argue this point, there’s no denying the dark fairy tale like animated end credit sequence that stirs up the horrifying stories of Hansel & Gretel and the Big Bad Wolf. Seriously, stay for the credits on this one, it’s one hell of an entertaining ride.

But enough about the scares, and more about the action. If there’s one movie out there that doesn’t hold back on violence, that doesn’t give a crap when it comes to balls-out gore or gratuitous sex and a love for the dropping the F-bomb like it’s going out of style, it’s RUNNING SCARED. Seriously, this movie doesn’t give a shit when it comes to blowing fools away at point blank range and all the gore-soaked mess that comes with it. The violence is extreme and unflinching and makes watching this bad boy one hell of a fun ride from beginning to end. Forget about your PG-13 spiked action sequence of big-budget explosions and high octane car chases, there’s none of that here. There are guns blazing, no-holds-barred attitudes, and a high enough body count to not even remember all of the people who bite the bullet.

Paul Walker is a bonafide badass in this flick. If you can’t get past THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS or EIGHT BELOW, RUNNING SCARED will do the trick in convincing you that he’s actually way more badass than most of the films he makes or what he is usually portrayed to be. The guy f*cks some serious shit up in this flick and he has the attitude to go with it. And while he was sorta badass in FAST FIVE, that’s still nothing when it comes to the ferocity of what he gets away with in RUNNING SCARED. One second he’s in a grisly shoot-out, the next he’s eating out Vera Farmiga’s pussy. Ain’t nobody but a badass can get away with that shit, yo!

There are so many great little scenes throughout the flick to have to pick a favorite, but the one that seems to come out of left field is the pedophile sequence. And this is when shit gets creepy and even a little bit Halloweeny, as it features little kids dressing up—but not for trick or treating. For some sick and twisted game by a couple of real sick f*cks. There are a few movies that have scared me (or at least disturbed me) as much as this line of events, but holy hell… the whole thing comes out of nowhere and is as sick and twisted as you can imagine. Lucky for Oleg, Vera Farmiga is the queen of f*cking shit up in this movie and she does so tenfold over here, after saving the kid from more than doom… wow. Talk about intense!

And that’s the thing about RUNNING SCARED. It’s just so damn intense from beginning to end and just when you think it’s gonna stop and chill out for a minute, someone gets shot in the face or some heavy mob shit goes down in a hockey arena lit via black light. If you ever imagined what it’d be like to be hit in the face with a hockey puck going full force, well… you get a taste of what it’d be like here and it’s as f*cked up and hard to watch as you probably imagined. Paul Walker owns this movie, you’ll fall in love with Vera Farmiga all over again, and the rest of the cast pulls their weight to make this one of the best action flicks of the 2000s.

The Top Action Scene from RUNNING SCARED!

TOP DEATH:Vera Farmiga owns the best kills in the flick, surprisingly enough, as she straight-up murders to the pedophile f*cks at point-blank range. Partly because out of all the people who deserve to die in this movie, these two deserve it the most, and because it’s such a shock that she goes through with it: first she is, then she isn’t, then… BAM! she does. Awesome.

TOP ACTION SCENE: The opening drug deal gone horrendously wrong is great because it sets up the tone for the whole movie. There’s slow motion shotgun blasts, a room full of blood-soaked carnage, and there’s plenty of reasons to jump on board team Paul Walker.

TOP HOMOEROTIC MOMENT: Nothing really flaming or over the top, unless you count those sick pedophiles, but those a-holes are on a whole other level.

FEMALE EXPLOITATION: Did someone ask for T&A? We have a nice “pussy eating” sequence featuring Vera Farmiga’s hot ass (in one of the hottest scenes ever), and a trip to a strip club featuring lots of boobs, lots of ass, and even a fully-shaved beaver shot. Plus, there’s even a gangload of prostitutes up in the house, though most of them keep their clothes on.

TOP LINE/DIALOGUE: Oleg: John Wayne was a faggot…

DRINKING GAME: Every time someone drops the F-Bomb, you gotta drink (see below)!

TRIVIA: The F-Bomb is dropped 328 times, ranking in as the 7th most F-Bombs dropped in a single movie ever, beating such fine films as PULP FICTION and SCARFACE on its race to number one (currently held by SUMMER OF SAM).

GET THE DVD HERE!