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Movies that feel like The Running Man (1987)

If you loved The Running Man, the closest films we have are They Live (1988), eXistenZ (1999) and Escape from New York (1981). All three share The Running Man's kinetic and tense feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 8 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Amazon Prime Video, Criterion Channel and MGM Plus and others, checked against today's data.

By 2017, the global economy has collapsed and U.S. society has become a totalitarian police state, censoring all cultural activity. The government pacifies the populace by broadcasting a number of game shows in which convicted criminals fight for their lives, including the gladiator-style The Running Man, hosted by the ruthless Damon Killian, where “runners” attempt to evade “stalkers” and certain death for a chance to be pardoned and set free.

🍅 59% Rotten Tomatoes6.6 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Paul Michael Glaserkinetictensecerebralbleak
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If The Running Man hit the spot, these will too

They Live poster
They Live
1988 · dir. John Carpenter
🍅 86%7.2science fiction · action · thriller

Both keep coming back to the same thing: dystopia

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

A lone drifter stumbles upon a unique pair of sunglasses that reveal aliens are systematically gaining control of the Earth by masquerading as humans and lulling the public into submission.

Feels alike?
eXistenZ poster
eXistenZ
1999 · dir. David Cronenberg
🍅 77%6.8action · thriller · science fiction

Common ground: dystopia

A game designer on the run from assassins must play her latest virtual reality creation with a marketing trainee to determine if the game has been damaged.

Feels alike?
Escape from New York poster
Escape from New York
1981 · dir. John Carpenter
🍅 70%7.1action · thriller · science fiction

Both land momentum and tension at once

In a world ravaged by crime, the entire island of Manhattan has been converted into a walled prison where brutal prisoners roam free. After the US president crash-lands inside, war hero Snake Plissken has 24 hours to bring him back.

Feels alike?
Mad Max 2 poster
Mad Max 2
1981 · dir. George Miller
🍅 93%7.6action · thriller · science fiction

Cerebral and bleak in the same breath

Max Rockatansky returns as the heroic loner who drives the dusty roads of a postapocalyptic Australian Outback in an unending search for gasoline. Arrayed against him and the other scraggly defendants of a fuel-depot encampment are the bizarre warriors commanded by the charismatic Lord Humungus, a violent leader whose scruples are as barren as the surrounding landscape.

Feels alike?
RoboCop poster
RoboCop
1987 · dir. Paul Verhoeven
🍅 84%7.6action · thriller · science fiction

Kinetic action in both cases

In a violent, near-apocalyptic Detroit, evil corporation Omni Consumer Products wins a contract from the city government to privatize the police force. To test their crime-eradicating cyborgs, the company leads street cop Alex Murphy into an armed confrontation with crime lord Boddicker so they can use his body to support their untested RoboCop prototype. But when RoboCop learns of the company's nefarious plans, he turns on his masters.

Feels alike?
Mad Max poster
Mad Max
1979 · dir. George Miller
🍅 89%6.8action · thriller · science fiction

Tense thriller, and it commits to that

In the ravaged near-future, a savage motorcycle gang rules the road. Terrorizing innocent civilians while tearing up the streets, the ruthless gang laughs in the face of a police force hell-bent on stopping them.

Feels alike?
District B13 poster
District B13
2004 · dir. Pierre Morel
🍅 81%7.1action · thriller · science fiction

Science fiction built on ideas, twice over

Set in the ghettos of Paris in 2010, an undercover cop and ex-thug try to infiltrate a gang in order to defuse a neutron bomb.

Feels alike?
The Omega Man poster
The Omega Man
1971 · dir. Boris Sagal
🍅 65%6.4science fiction · action · drama

Action with a pulse of bleakness, in both cases

The difference: Sits closer to drama than The Running Man does

Due to an experimental vaccine, Dr. Robert Neville is the only human survivor of an apocalyptic war waged with biological weapons. Besides him, only a few hundred deformed, nocturnal people remain; sensitive to light, and homicidally psychotic.

Feels alike?
Surrogates poster
Surrogates
2009 · dir. Jonathan Mostow
🍅 37%6.3science fiction · action · thriller

Both lean on momentum more than on thriller

The difference: 22 years apart, and the 2000s show

Set in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact through surrogate robots, a cop is forced to leave his home for the first time in years in order to investigate the murders of others' surrogates.

Feels alike?
Logan's Run poster
Logan's Run
1976 · dir. Michael Anderson
🍅 58%6.8action · science fiction

Cerebral science fiction, and it commits to that

The difference: Missing the tension of The Running Man

In the 23rd century, inhabitants of a domed city freely experience all of life's pleasures — but no one is allowed to live past 30. Citizens can try for a chance at being "renewed" in a civic ceremony on their 30th birthday. Escape is the only other option.

Feels alike?
Death Race poster
Death Race
2008 · dir. Paul W. S. Anderson
🍅 41%6.4action · thriller · science fiction

Action built on tension, twice over

Terminal Island, New York: 2020. Overcrowding in the US penal system has reached a breaking point. Prisons have been turned over to a monolithic Weyland Corporation, which sees jails full of thugs as an opportunity for televised sport. Adrenalized inmates, a global audience hungry for violence and a spectacular, enclosed arena come together to form the 'Death Race', the biggest, most brutal event.

Feels alike?
Rollerball poster
Rollerball
1975 · dir. Norman Jewison
🍅 55%6.5science fiction · action

Bleak science fiction, and it commits to that

In a corporate-controlled future, an ultra-violent sport known as Rollerball represents the world, and one of its powerful athletes is out to defy those who want him out of the game.

Feels alike?

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The best-reviewed films that share The Running Man’s defining feeling.