Best movies like Running on Karma
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A monk turned body-builder, with the gift to see into people's lives, befriends a female cop, and uses his gift to change the force of Karma and her destiny.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, tense, suspense, twisted, surprise ending, modern fairy tale
Best tv shows and movies like Running on Karma (2003):
Similar in 86%
Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan (1972)
Plot Summary:
18 year old Ainu (Lily Ho) is kidnapped and sold to a brothel. Her good looks and wild personality make her very popular with the lustful clients, but also draws the lesbian attentions of brothel madam Betty Tei Pei. Betty teaches Ainu the ways of lust and the ways of kung fu, and Ainu becomes more and more similar to her captor. But rage at her treatment is still burning inside her.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 810
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: epic, tense, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, surreal, stylized, sexual
Similar in 90%
Shatter (1974)
Plot Summary:
Shatter, an international contract killer, has been assigned to assassinate the President of a small African country and collect his fee from a bank in the Far East. On arrival in Hong Kong his life is threatened and when the bank denies all knowledge of payment arrangements, he realises he has been drawn into a dangerous game where there are no rules. Amongst the players are the Mafia and several foreign intelligence services and the stakes being played for are deadly.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 600
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, Hong Kong
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychotronic, independent film, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, fast, poliziottesco
Similar in 81%
Cold Steel (1987)
Plot Summary:
Detective Johnny Modine gets his Christmas celebration spoiled with news of his father's death, which seems the work of psychopathic junkies.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 909
Genere: Action, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, realistic, exciting, serious, suspenseful, neo noir, independent film, fast
Similar in 78%
The Viral Factor (2012)
Plot Summary:
International Security Affairs agent Jon is on a dangerous mission to escort a criminal scientist to another country. En route, a member of his team turns out to be a traitor and shoots Jon in the head while kidnapping the scientist. When Jon wakes up in the hospital, a doctor tells him that within weeks, the bullet in his brain will cause complete paralysis. Jon returns to Beijing to see his mother, who confesses that Jon has a brother in Malaysia who was raised by his father, a gambler. Jon takes a flight to Malaysia to find his brother, Yeung. On the plane he forms a bond with Dr. Kan, who promises to look into possible treatments for his condition. However, when they arrive, Yeung tries to kidnap the doctor and when Jon intervenes, he's also taken hostage. The two soon realize they're brothers, and decide to work together in order to keep the criminals behind the kidnappings from reinfecting the world of a disease long thought cured.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, tense, suspense, heroic, action packed, realistic
Similar in 80%
Zinda (2006)
Plot Summary:
The film is about a man, who has been imprisoned for 14 years, who has been released and has four days to figure out why he was imprisoned in the first place.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: India
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, captivating, suspense, psychological, surprise ending, rough, mind bending, serious, realistic
Similar in 86%
Tai-Chi Master (1993)
Plot Summary:
Falsely accused for cheating in a martial arts competition, two boyhood friends are banished from their Shaolin Temple and go their separate ways. As adults, they join opposing sides in a civil war. When one betrays the other, they settle their differences mano-a-mano.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Drama, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: cult classic, exciting, serious, stylized, fast
Similar in 81%
The Redemption: Kickboxer 5 (1995)
Plot Summary:
Kickboxing champion Matt Reeves witnesses the murder of his friend Johnny. While investigating the crime, he learns that a Mr. Negaal in South Africa has founded a new kickboxing association and does not leave international champions much of a chance. Johnny had to pay with his life when he did not want to join. Neegal seems to kill everybody who is in his way especially David Sloan from the previous Kickboxer films. Matt is on his own now, but suddenly finds an unexpected ally.
IMDB Rating: 3.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: independent film, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 83%
Bad Blood (2010)
Plot Summary:
When the boss of a ruling Hong Kong triad is arrested and executed in China for counterfeiting money, mayhem ensues as the mob's leading contenders circle the throne.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 597
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: captivating, exciting, bleak, tense, bloody, crime drama, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 77%
Born to Fight (2004)
Plot Summary:
When a remote Thai village is overrun by terrorists armed with a nuclear missile, an elite undercover operative leads the most unique fighting force ever assembled in a heroic bid to save their nation.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Thailand
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, tense, suspense, action packed, fast, detective, cult film
Similar in 84%
Blind Detective (2013)
Plot Summary:
A blind detective, former cop, teams up with a policewoman who admires him to solve the disappearance of a girl friend of hers, years ago. Besides, he helps her to improve her skills as an investigator.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, detective, tense, captivating, suspense, rough, offbeat, humorous, realistic
Similar in 83%
Kill Switch (2008)
Plot Summary:
A troubled detective travels to Memphis in order to track down a pair of serial killers.
IMDB Rating: 3.8
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: serious, rough, suspenseful, realistic, fast, suspense, neo noir, detective
Similar in 84%
The Guillotines (2012)
Plot Summary:
During the Manchurian-ruled Qing Dynasty, Emperor Yong Zheng established a secret assassination squad known as the Guillotines to eliminate all who opposed him. Once heavily favored by the Emperor, the Guillotines are deemed expendable once Emperor Qian Long ascends to the throne and adopts Western ideas and technology. To consolidate his power under a new regime, the Emperor continues to use the Guillotines to persecute the conquered Han Chinese in a reign of terror and oppression. Written by Anynomous.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: China, Haiti, Hong Kong
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, realistic, suspenseful, captivating
Similar in 90%
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2010)
Plot Summary:
An exiled detective is recruited to solve a series of mysterious deaths that threaten to delay the inauguration of Empress Wu.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller
Country: China, Hong Kong
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, suspenseful, captivating, stylized, detective, twisted, epic
Similar in 83%
Bounty Tracker (1993)
Plot Summary:
Almost the whole staff of a tax consultant office is slayed by a team of professional killers, only Paul Damone can escape. He didn't know that his partner used to wash gangster Louis Sarazin's money and had to testify as chief witness against him. Paul's brother Johnny, best bounty tracker of Boston, visits Paul to protect him, but can't prevent that he and his pregnant wife are targeted by the same team. Now Johnny's out for revenge.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 735
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: suspense, independent film, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 75%
Fist of Legend (1994)
Plot Summary:
Chen Zhen, a Chinese engineering student in Kyoto, who braves the insults and abuse of his Japanse fellow students for his local love Mitsuko Yamada, daughter of the director, returns in 1937 to his native Shangai, under Japanse protectorate -in fact military occupation- after reading about the death of his kung-fu master Hou Ting-An in a fight against the Japanese champion Ryuichi Akutagawa.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: harsh, intense, tense, rough, realistic, suspenseful, exciting, serious, cult classic, brutal
Similar in 87%
Fatal Contact (2006)
Plot Summary:
A young man learns the fighting techniques of Sanda from a coach. The two become best friends as the young man prepares to enter an underground tournament, competing against some of the top fighters of the world.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, suspenseful, realistic
Similar in 77%
Moving Target (1996)
Plot Summary:
A bounty hunter with a pregnant wife who is urging him to get a regular job gets framed for murder and trapped in a war between Russian gangsters.
IMDB Rating: 4.2
IMDB Votes: 468
Genere: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, serious, intense, independent film, realistic, exciting
Similar in 87%
Kung Fu Jungle (2014)
Plot Summary:
A martial arts instructor working at a police academy gets imprisoned after killing a man by accident. But when a vicious killer starts targeting martial arts masters, the instructor offers to help the police in return for his freedom.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: China, Hong Kong
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: exciting, stylized, rough, suspenseful, scenic, crime drama, perverse, cult classic, serious, realistic
Similar in 77%
Absolute Deception (2013)
Plot Summary:
A widowed reporter recruits the help of a federal agent to investigate her late husband's secrets, but the two become the target of unknown attackers. When FBI Agent John Nelson’s key informant, Miles, is abducted and shot, all that’s left is a severed finger. In order to find a new lead, Nelson travels to New York City to inform widowed magazine reporter Rebecca Scott that her long dead husband, Miles, had only recently been murdered to see if she had heard from him in recent years. Perplexed, Scott joins Agent Nelson in the wealthy enclave of Australia’s Gold Coast to find out what really happened. The two soon discover Miles may have been part of an elaborate “Ponzi scheme” to bilk investors, and a vengeful billionaire, out of millions of dollars. As more layers of Miles’ secret life are exposed, can the two stay ahead of the mysterious attackers who will stop at nothing to halt their investigation?.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Australia, Canada
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: psychological, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, tense, exciting, mind bending
Similar in 81%
Shaolin (2011)
Plot Summary:
China is plunged into strife as feuding warlords try to expand their power by warring over neighboring lands. Fuelled by his success on the battlefield, young and arrogant Hao Jie sneers at Shaolin's masters when he beats one of them in a duel. But the pride comes before a fall. When his own family is wiped out by a rival warlord, Hao is forced to take refuge with the monks. As the civil unrest spreads and the people suffer, Hao and the Shaolin masters are forced to take a fiery stand against the evil warlords. They launch a daring plan or rescue and escape.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 131 min
Plot tags: serious, stylized, exciting, bleak, captivating, realistic, epic, heroic, cult classic, action thriller
Similar in 83%
Dog Bite Dog (2006)
Plot Summary:
A young Cambodian man who has been trained to fight for money in his country is hired to kill someone in Hong Kong. He performs the hit and then flees from Hong Kong police, who are wrestling with internal problems of a model cop and his son, who is also on the force and who was told by his dad not to become a police officer. The father goes into a coma after being shot, and internal affairs suspects him of dealing drugs on the side. The assassin then befriends a young girl who is molested and abused by her father. They both plan to get back on a ship to Cambodia but have to get past Hong Kong police, who do everything they can to catch him.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong, Japan
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, semi serious, tense, exciting, suspense, neo noir, heroic, disturbing, crime drama, twisted
Similar in 88%
PTU: Police Tactical Unit (2003)
Plot Summary:
Over the course of one night, a team of cops frantically search for their colleague's missing gun.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: neo noir, serious, suspenseful, exciting, realistic, heroic, contemplative, detective
Similar in 76%
Tiger Cage (1988)
Plot Summary:
Something fishy is going on in the anti-Drug Trafficking Unit of the HK Police, and only a few honest cops know that the corruption goes all the way to the top. However, they must prove their case quickly, and by unconventional means, after they are framed for murder and drug-trafficking themselves. Dodging bullets from cops and criminals alike, the race is on to clear their names, protect their loved ones, and bring their corrupt colleagues to justice.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: bloody, heroic, cult classic, exciting, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, fast
Similar in 85%
Infernal Affairs III (2003)
Plot Summary:
Infernal Affairs III is a 2003 Hong Kong crime thriller film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. It is the third installment in the Infernal Affairs film series, and is both a sequel and a semi-prequel to the original film, as it intercuts events before and after the events in the original.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: neo noir, tense, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, crime drama, psychological, bloody
Similar in 77%
Drug War (2012)
Plot Summary:
The taciturn police commander Zhang leads an undercover drugs team and in his continuous battle against the ubiquitous drug barons, takes up arms against his arch enemy, Timmy Choi. When he gets hold of Choi, he makes a deal with him: in exchange for his life (in China you can get the death penalty for producing only 50 grams of drugs) the young criminal will help the police infiltrate a sizeable drug network.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: China, Hong Kong
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, exciting, tense, suspenseful, neo noir, psychological, bloody, heroic, hood
Similar in 81%
Fulltime Killer (2001)
Plot Summary:
Professional assassin O has resided in an isolated world of killing and loneliness. But his life begins to change once he meets the innocent Chin; hired to clean O's apartment. However, soon the flamboyent and reckless Tok enters Chin's life with a mission--to unveil O's identity and usurp his place as the number one sharp-shooting assassin in the game.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: tense, atmospheric, harsh, exciting, suspenseful, bloody, cult classic, stylized, heroic, neo noir
Similar in 79%
The Tigers (1991)
Plot Summary:
Cops find their careers and their lives in jeopardy when they spend a gangster's bribe money after releasing him from custody during a drug bust.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 246
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: neo noir, psychological, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 84%
Dragon (2011)
Plot Summary:
A sinful martial arts expert wants to start a new tranquil life, only to be hunted by a determined detective and his former master.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: stylized, enigmatic, melancholic, atmospheric, surreal, serious, suspense, cult classic, thought provoking, detective
Similar in 89%
Running Out of Time (1999)
Plot Summary:
Police inspector and excellent hostage negotiator Ho Sheung-Sang finds himself in over his head when he is pulled into a 72 hour game by a cancer suffering criminal out for vengeance on Hong Kong's organized crime syndicates.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: suspense, sexy, neo noir, dramatic, exciting, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 80%
Infernal Affairs (2002)
Plot Summary:
Chan Wing Yan, a young police officer, has been sent undercover as a mole in the local mafia. Lau Kin Ming, a young mafia member, infiltrates the police force. Years later, their older counterparts, Chen Wing Yan and Inspector Lau Kin Ming, respectively, race against time to expose the mole within their midst.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 130000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspense, suspenseful, tense, neo noir, intense, serious, dramatic, crime drama, realistic