Movies Like Hairpin Circus

If you liked Hairpin Circus (1972), a action and drama movie directed by Kiyoshi Nishimura, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Hellhound (2024)
★ 6.8/10Also action and thriller
Ready to leave his profession behind, Loreno, an assassin, lends help to an old friend, Cetan, and taking one last job in Thailand seeking out a local kingpin. A lapse in judgment means Loreno crosses paths with old…
2
Oscar Shaw (2026)
★ 6.6/10Also action and thriller
After retiring from the police force, a relentless detective haunted by the tragic loss of his closest friend sets out on a perilous quest for vengeance, seeking redemption and fighting to restore justice to the…
3
The Killer (2024)
★ 6.3/10Also action and thriller
Zee is a feared contract killer known as "the Queen of the Dead," but when she refuses to murder a young blind woman, she finds herself hunted both by criminal colleagues and a determined police detective.
4
Hunting Season (2025)
★ 7.4/10Also action and drama
When a reclusive survivalist and his daughter rescue a mysterious, wounded woman from a river, they become entangled in a deadly web of violence and revenge, forcing them to confront a brutal criminal to survive.
5
SAS: Red Notice (2021)
★ 5.8/10Also drama and action
An off-duty SAS soldier, Tom Buckingham, must thwart a terror attack on a train running through the Channel Tunnel. As the action escalates on the train, events transpire in the corridors of power that may make the…
6
Run (1991)
★ 6/10Also action and thriller
When a law student accidentally kills the son of a mob boss in a fight, he finds himself relentlessly pursued by the mob and the police.
7
One Night in Bangkok (2020)
★ 6.6/10Also action and thriller
A hit man named Kai flies into Bangkok, gets a gun, and orders a cab. He offers a professional female driver big money to be his all-night driver. But when she realizes Kai is committing brutal murders at each stop…
8
Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701's Grudge Song (1973)
★ 6.1/10Also drama and action
Nami is once again on the run from the law but is saved by an old classmate who works at a strip club. Through a subsequent conversation they discover they both have a score to settle with a particular crooked cop…
9
Tokyo Fist (1995)
★ 6.8/10Also action and drama
A businessman, Tsuda, runs into a childhood friend, Kojima, on the subway. Kojima is working as a semiprofessional boxer. Tsuda soon begins to suspect that Kojima might be having an affair with his fiancée Hizuru…
10
The System (2022)
★ 7.3/10Also action and thriller
When a young soldier, newly returned from war, gets caught up in a drug bust, he is recruited by the authorities to go undercover in a notoriously dangerous prison in order to figure out what is really going on.
11
Shade (2003)
★ 6.2/10Also action and thriller
Tiffany, Charlie and Vernon are con artists looking to up the ante from their typical scams. They figure a good way of doing this is taking down Dean "The Dean" Stevens, a well-known cardsharp, in a rigged game…
12
Seeking Justice (2011)
★ 5.9/10Also action and drama
After his wife is assaulted, a husband enlists the services of a vigilante group to help him settle the score.
13
Overdrive (2017)
★ 6.1/10Also thriller and action
Master car thieves square off against French gangsters in the South of France with money, women and lives all on the line.
14
Best of the Best 2 (1993)
★ 6/10Also action and thriller
In an underground fight club, blackbelt Travis Brickley is killed after losing to the evil martial arts master Brakus. Travis' death is witnessed by Walter Grady, the son of his best friend Alex Grady. Alex and his…
15
Black Site (2022)
★ 6/10Also action and thriller
A group of officers based in a labyrinthine top-secret prison must fight for their lives against Hatchet, a brilliant and infamous high-value detainee. When he escapes, his mysterious and deadly agenda has far reaching…
16
S.W.A.T.: Under Siege (2017)
★ 5.9/10Also action and thriller
When a D.E.A. and S.W.A.T. cartel takedown ends in a shootout, S.W.A.T. Agent Travis Hall seizes a mysterious prisoner taking him into custody. Before long, the S.W.A.T. compound is under siege by wave-after-wave of…
17
The Island (2023)
★ 6.4/10Also action and thriller
When his brother is killed, LAPD officer Mark leaves the city to return to the island he grew up on. Seeking answers and ultimately vengeance, he soon finds himself in a bloody battle with the corrupt tycoon who's…
18
Trap House (2025)
★ 6.6/10Also action and thriller
An undercover DEA agent and his partner embark on a game of cat and mouse with an audacious, and surprising group of thieves – their own rebellious teenagers, who have begun robbing from a dangerous cartel, using their…
19
Best of the Best 4: Without Warning (1998)
★ 5.9/10Also action and thriller
A group of Russian mobsters have stolen a huge supply of paper for printing U.S. currency, and are now flooding the market with conterfeit bills. When one of the mobsters decides to give herself in and hand over a data…
20
Limbo (1999)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and thriller
Traumatized by a fishing boat accident many years before, Joe Gastineau has given up his hopes for a life beyond the odd jobs he takes to support himself. That quickly changes when nomadic club singer Donna de Angelo…