Running Scared is a 2006 neo-noir action thriller film directed and written by Wayne Kramer. The film stars Paul Walker, Cameron Bright, Vera Farmiga and Chazz Palminteri. Its plot follows a low-ranking mafioso who is ordered to get rid of a gun used to kill corrupt cops only to find himself in a race against time when the murder weapon falls into the wrong hands.

Wayne Kramer is a South African filmmaker and storyboard artist. He has written and directed films such as the 2003 film The Cooler, which garnered an Oscar nomination for its star Alec Baldwin, as well as two Golden Globe nominations for Baldwin and Maria Bello. He also adapted his 1995 short film Crossing Over into a feature-length version which starred Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta, Ashley Judd and Jim Sturgess, and was released by the Weinstein Company in 2009. He also wrote the screenplay for the film Mindhunters, but the final script was heavily rewritten by others and bore little resemblance to Kramer's original work.