Loved ‘The Running Man’? This 2020 Action Thriller Gives You the Same “Hunted for Sport” Chaos

Chaos, kill or be killed, high dose of adrenaline, and nerve-wracking pace. These are all key elements of Edgar Wright‘s The Running Man. This 2025 movie is the second adaptation of Stephen King‘s 1982 novel, following the 1987 film, which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. If you’re really into the movies with a similar vibe, you might want to check out The Hunt. Directed by Craig Zobel, this 2020 American action film shares the same premise: regular folks are tossed into a deadly game where they’re the prey. The only real difference is the format each movie uses to deliver the chaos.

For instance, The Running Man takes a grim look at a broken system. The Hunt, on the other hand, is more of a wild, sarcastic cousin that likes to stir the pot. In essence, this breakdown explores how they build tension, what the violence really means, and why viewers might enjoy both.

Survival as Spectacle: How ‘The Running Man’ and ‘The Hunt’ Build Tension Through Human Hunting

The Hunt doesn’t waste a second. In a flash, viewers are dumped right into the action with a bunch of gagged, confused characters in a field with no idea how they got there. Before they can figure it out, all hell breaks loose. One woman gets blown to bits while trying to escape over a fence, and more are taken out by hidden shooters and brutal traps. It’s pure chaos, and you’re just as lost as the characters are. The Running Man is more like a twisted game show. The lead character, Ben Richards (Glen Powell), is thrown into a huge arena where the crowd cheers for his death as professional “Hunters” are sent to kill him. It’s still super scary, but the fear is packaged as entertainment for the masses.

Similarly, both movies feature main characters who are not just strong, but super smart too. In The Hunt, Crystal May Creasey (Betty Gilpin) is a boss lady. She survives by noticing tiny details that others brush off as coincidences or irrelevant. You see that incredible survival skill on display in the gas station scene, where she outsmarts and kills a couple of the hunters who are posing as clerks and charge the wrong price for cigarettes in that region.

Likewise, Richards is a like-for-like in The Running Man. He has a unique ability to adapt and improvise, and those abilities enable him to win fights he can’t win with muscle alone. Case in point is the plane scene where he disguises himself as a flight crew member to kill the hunters hunting him. Ultimately, both films show that survival is about quick thinking, not just being strong.

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‘The Hunt’ and ‘The Running Man’ Use Violence to Say Something Different About Power

One thing you’ll notice about both movies is the ample display of violence. But the violence isn’t for show. In fact, both films use that element to say something about power and society in general, but in different ways. In The Running Man, it’s all about control. The powers that be use the game show as a nasty tool to keep regular people like Richards down and obedient.

He ends up in the game because he’s a desperate man who can’t even afford basic medicine for his sick daughter. The movie further uses Richards’ dilemma to show how a system crushes people without actually laying a finger on them, like when the network used deep-fake footage to make him look like a monster. All the violence you see in the movie is a brutal result of that messed-up system.

The Hunt also uses violence to make a point, although it does so by using humor and exaggeration to make fun of the petty power structures we see in today’s society. Athena Stone (Hilary Swank) and the other hunters are rich folks who think they’re better than everyone else. To prove their point, they organize hunts designed to eliminate everyone they consider beneath them. Crystal and the rest of the hunted represent that group who have to endure the “not good enough” label and have to claw and fight their way to survival. The violence is often over the top, and even a little funny, showing how silly it is for either side to think they’re completely right.

The final fight between Crystal and Athena shows this perfectly in a kitchen showdown that is brutal, clumsy, and almost funny. It isn’t about who is the better person or fighter but it’s instead about tearing down a person who sees herself as untouchable. Crystal survives because she isn’t playing Athena’s game. She refuses to fit the “victim” box Athena built for her.

Shared DNA, Different Flavors: Where The Films Split in Tone, Style, and Impact

Even though both movies are pretty much cut from the same cloth, each one makes you feel something the other doesn’t. For instance, watching The Running Man gives you a heavier, more serious vibe. The world is grimly dystopian, and you’re really rooting for Richards to win and get back to his family. Overall, the movie wants you to think deeply about power and control.

On the flip side, The Hunt is a rollercoaster, and it doesn’t take itself too seriously. One minute you’re gasping at the violence, and the next you’re rolling on the floor laughing because of a dark joke that hits the right spot. Simply put, the movie is more interested in shocking you and making you laugh nervously than it is in making you feel anything too deeply for the characters.

Speaking of characters, the main characters from both movies are slightly different. Richards is the classic hero you root for because of his family, his daughter, especially. But Crystal? Well… she’s a tough survivor, no doubt, but you don’t know much about her past, which makes her much more interesting to watch.

So, if you want to see the kind of chaos you saw in The Running Man, go stream The Hunt on Peacock. Then come back and tell us which Hunter vs Prey scene got your heart pounding the most.