The Runner is a British action thriller film directed by Kevin Macdonald from a screenplay by Mark Gibson. Set in London, the Prime Video film follows Maia Marten, a high-powered lawyer and single mother, as she goes on her morning run after dropping her diabetic son off at school. Things take a turn when she receives a call from her son’s phone, and a mysterious man tells her that her son has been kidnapped and that, to save him, she must follow his instructions and kill a star witness before he can testify. The Runner stars Gal Gadot, Damian Lewis, and Alfred Enoch. The Runner might not be a good film, but many similar films share the same concept and themes and are quite entertaining, so here are some similar movies you should check out next.
Retribution (Rent on Prime Video)
Retribution is an action thriller film directed by Nimród Antal from a screenplay by Chris Salmanpour. Based on the 2015 Spanish film El desconocido by Alberto Marini, the 2023 film follows Matt Turner, a financier whose whole life is thrown into utter chaos while driving his children because he receives a phone call telling him that there is a bomb in his car and to survive, he must follow their every instruction. Retribution stars Liam Neeson, Noma Dumezweni, Lilly Aspell, Jack Champion, Embeth Davidtz, and Matthew Modine.
Carry-On (Netflix)
Carry-On is an action thriller film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra from a screenplay by T.J. Fixman. The 2024 film is set in Los Angeles, and it follows Ethan Kopek, a TSA officer expecting a baby with his girlfriend. Things take a turn when he is blackmailed by a mysterious person who wants him to smuggle a dangerous package into a plane; otherwise, the blackmailer will kill his girlfriend. Carry-On stars Taron Egerton, Sofia Carson, Danielle Deadwyler, Theo Rossi, Logan Marshall-Green, and Jason Bateman.
Nick of Time (Rent on Prime Video)
Nick of Time is a political action thriller film directed by John Badham from a screenplay by Patrick Sheane Duncan. The 1995 film follows Gene Watson, a mild-mannered widowed accountant whose ordinary life is thrown into utter chaos as he learns that his daughter has been kidnapped and her abductors want him to kill the governor of California. Nick of Time stars Johnny Depp, Christopher Walken, Charles S. Dutton, Peter Strauss, Roma Maffia, and Gloria Reuben.
Cellular (Rent on Prime Video)
Cellular is an action thriller film directed by David R. Ellis from a screenplay by Chris Morgan. The 2004 film follows Ryan as he receives a call from Jessica Martin, who has been kidnapped and will be killed soon. Ryan must maintain the call, but Jessica’s phone’s battery is running low, and things get even more complicated when it is revealed that Jessica’s kidnappers are crooked cops. Cellular stars Kim Basinger, Chris Evans, Jason Statham, Eric Christian Olsen, Noah Emmerich, and William H. Macy.
Red Eye (Paramount+ & Rent on Prime Video)
Red Eye is a psychological thriller film directed by Wes Craven from a screenplay by Carl Ellsworth. The 2005 film follows Lisa Reisert, a hotel manager on a red-eye flight to Miami, where she meets a charming man named Jackson who turns out to be a terrorist. He threatens to kill her father if she doesn’t help him assassinate the United States Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security. Red Eye stars Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy, and Brian Cox.
Phone Booth (Rent on Prime Video)
Phone Booth is a psychological thriller film directed by Joel Schumacher from a screenplay by Larry Cohen. The 2002 film is set in New York City, and it follows Stuart Shepard, an arrogant and dishonest young publicist who picks up a ringing phone in a phone booth and receives death threats from the caller in case he cuts the call. Phone Booth stars Colin Farrell, Forest Whitaker, Katie Holmes, Radha Mitchell, and Kiefer Sutherland.
Eagle Eye (Pluto TV & Rent on Prime Video)
Eagle Eye is an action thriller film directed by D.J. Caruso from a screenplay co-written by John Glenn, Travis Adam Wright, Hillary Seitz, and Dan McDermott. The 2008 film follows two strangers who are forced to go on the run together after receiving phone calls from a mysterious woman who is tracking their every move. Eagle Eye stars Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson, Michael Chiklis, Anthony Mackie, Billy Bob Thornton, and Julianne Moore.
Non-Stop (Starz & Rent on Prime Video)
Non-Stop is an action thriller film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra from a screenplay co-written by John W. Richardson, Chris Roach, and Ryan Engle. The 2014 film follows Bill Marks, a former NYPD officer turned U.S. Air Marshal, as he boards a plane and soon begins receiving threatening messages asking him to transfer $150 million to an offshore account or everyone on the plane will die. Non-Stop stars Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, Scoot McNairy, Michelle Dockery, Nate Parker, Jason Butler Harner, and Anson Mount.
Panic Room (Rent on Prime Video)
Panic Room is a thriller film directed by David Fincher from a screenplay by David Koepp. The 2002 film is set in New York City, and it follows mother-daughter Meg and Sarah Altman as intruders break into their house, and they hide in the house’s panic room for safety, but what they didn’t realize at first was that the intruders were there to retrieve something from the room they are hiding in. Panic Room stars Jodie Foster, Forest Whitaker, Dwight Yoakam, Jared Leto, and Kristen Stewart.
Unknown (Rent on Prime Video)
Unknown is an action thriller film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra from a screenplay co-written by Oliver Butcher and Stephen Cornwell. Based on Didier Van Cauwelaert’s 2003 French novel Out of My Head, the 2011 film follows Dr. Martin Harris as he wakes up from a four-day-long coma with missing memories and realizes that someone has stolen his identity, and even his wife doesn’t recognize him. He soon sets out to figure out the mystery behind this inexplicable situation. Unknown stars Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, January Jones, Aidan Quinn, and Frank Langella.