Best movies like Alcatraz
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A group of prisoners, led by an armed robber and a gangster, attempt to escape from the infamous Alcatraz Island.
IMDB Rating: 3.0
IMDB Votes: 920
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: bleak, suspenseful, suspense, disturbing
Best tv shows and movies like Alcatraz (2018):
Similar in 90%
Prison (1987)
Plot Summary:
After Charles Forsyth was sent to the electric chair for a crime he didn't commit, he forever haunts the prison where he was executed. Flash forward several years when the prison is reopened, under the control of its new warden Eaton Sharpe, a former security guard who framed Charlie. When prisoners are ordered to break down the wall to the execution room, they unknowingly release the angry spirit of Charles Forsyth, a powerful being distributing his murderous rage to all, leading up to the Warden himself.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: slasher, atmospheric, retro, disturbing, cult classic, scary, rough, bleak, serious, suspenseful
Similar in 90%
Abducted (2018)
Plot Summary:
After 7 year old Eden is kidnapped during an home invasion, single father Dane Hunte takes matters into his own hands, while Detective Fini, leading the investigation, unravels the mystery surrounding the unusual crime.
IMDB Rating: 4.0
IMDB Votes: 754
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: surprise ending, suspense, suspenseful, psychological, exciting, tense, unusual plot structure, disturbing, detective
Similar in 83%
A Sense of Freedom (1981)
Plot Summary:
A Sense of Freedom is a 1979 British crime film directed by John Mackenzie for Scottish television. The film starred David Hayman and featured Hector Nicol & Fulton Mackay, is a based on the book of the true story of Jimmy Boyle, who was reputed to be Scotland's most violent man.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 602
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: independent film, cult film
Similar in 79%
The Utah Cabin Murders (2019)
Plot Summary:
Two sisters fight for survival when masked intruders invade their vacation cabin.
IMDB Rating: 2.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Horror, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 79%
Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story (1980)
Plot Summary:
Filmed on location at Alcatraz Island, this two-part "whole story" actually concentrates on a handful of the denizens behind the cold grey walls of "The Rock". Michael Beck plays the real-life Clarence Carnes, an Oklahoma Choctaw Indian said to be the youngest man ever incarcerated in the notorious maximum security prison. Serving a 99-year sentence for a gas station holdup and murder, Carnes makes periodic attempts to escape, the final attempt being the most violent. Many of the subordinate characters are fictional (as are most of the details concerning Carnes' escape efforts); the one exception is Robert Stroud, the "Birdman of Alcatraz", here portrayed by Art Carney as a gentle, kindly philosopher. Telly Savalas, a costar of the Burt Lancaster vehicle Birdman of Alcatraz, also guest starred in the 1980 film. Originally titled Alcatraz and Clarence Carnes, this made-for-TV movie wavers between gritty realism and "I'm bustin' outta here!" artifice.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 327
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 196 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 77%
A Violent Man (2022)
Plot Summary:
Steve Mackleson is a dangerous prisoner, incarcerated for double murder in a maximum security prison. We follow, as he navigates his struggle against redemption the system and his inner turmoil, when a young black gang member becomes his unlikely new cell mate and a daughter he has never met, finally requests to meet her estranged father, face to face.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 802
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 75%
Convict (2014)
Plot Summary:
Set in the dark and old Parramatta prison built by the original convicts our lead character Ray a war veteran finds himself serving 18 months for manslaughter after defending his fiance. He soon realizes that the prison boss has it in for him and does everything possible to break Ray even going after his fiance.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing, crime drama
Similar in 90%
To Survive (2014)
Plot Summary:
A post-apocalyptic thriller about a heartbroken man and his new friends who must together battle marauders in order to survive in a new lawless world.
IMDB Rating: 4.0
IMDB Votes: 158
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 75 min
Plot tags: apocalyptic, psychological, rough, serious, suspense, suspenseful, independent film
Similar in 90%
Desperate Measures (1998)
Plot Summary:
San Francisco police officer Frank Connor is in a frantic search for a compatible bone marrow donor for his gravely ill son. There's only one catch the potential donor is convicted multiple murderer Peter McCabe who sees a trip to the hospital as the perfect opportunity to get what he wants most freedom. With McCabe's escape, the entire hospital becomes a battleground and Connor must pursue and, ironically, protect the deadly fugitive who is his son's only hope for survival.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: suspense, suspenseful, rough, emotional, breathtaking, dark, cult classic, disgusting, surprise ending, psychological thriller
Similar in 86%
Symmetry (2003)
Plot Summary:
Dwudziestosześcioletni Łukasz, niesłusznie posądzony o napad na starszą kobietę, trafia do aresztu śledczego. Adwokat wynajęty przez matkę bezskutecznie próbuje go stamtąd wydostać. Pod wpływem dramatycznych wydarzeń w celi przejściowej Łukasz za wszelką cenę chce znaleźć się wśród grypsującej części więźniów. Świat gitów wymaga jednak przestrzegania panujących tu twardych zasad. Reżyser uzyskał zgodę Ministra Spraw Wewnętrznych na realizację zdjęć w więzieniu na Białołęce.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: Poland
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 83%
Stray Bullets (2016)
Plot Summary:
In upstate New York, two teenage boys are tasked with cleaning out their father's old mobile home on an abandoned property, but the boys are in for a surprise when they discover three crooks on the run have taken refuge in the trailer.
IMDB Rating: 4.2
IMDB Votes: 407
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 77%
Run Hide Fight (2020)
Plot Summary:
A 17-year-old girl uses her wits, survival skills, and compassion to fight for her life, and those of her fellow classmates, against a group of live-streaming school shooters.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 26000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: suspense, serious, emotional, realistic, disturbing, slasher, teen, psychological thriller
Similar in 77%
Runaway Train (1985)
Plot Summary:
A hardened convict and a younger prisoner escape from a brutal prison in the middle of winter only to find themselves on an out-of-control train with a female railway worker while being pursued by the vengeful head of security.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 32000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, road movie, suspense, intense, rough, realistic, bad ending, exciting, existential, cult classic
Similar in 86%
The Girl Is in Trouble (2015)
Plot Summary:
A Lower East Side bartender becomes entangled in a murder mystery involving a desperate woman, a missing drug dealer and the scion of a powerful investment firm.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 985
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: captivating, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 88%
Desperate Hours (1990)
Plot Summary:
A criminal holds a wealthy family hostage.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspenseful, psychological, tense, suspense, exciting, melancholic, enigmatic, intense, scary
Similar in 76%
Against the Wall (1994)
Plot Summary:
Based on the true story of the Attica Prison uprising of 1971.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: political, cult classic, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 86%
An Innocent Man (1989)
Plot Summary:
Jimmie Rainwood was minding his own business when two corrupt police officers (getting an address wrong) burst into his house, expecting to find a major drug dealer. Rainwood is shot, and the officers frame him as a drug dealer. Rainwood is convicted of drug dealing, based on the perjured evidence of a police informant. Thrown into a seedy jail, fighting to prove his innocence is diffucult when he has to deal with the realities of prison life, where everyone claims they were framed.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: tense, psychological, suspense, intense, suspenseful, disturbing, rough, serious, realistic, scary
Similar in 78%
The Counselor (2013)
Plot Summary:
A lawyer finds himself in far over his head when he attempts to get involved in drug trafficking.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 105000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: neo noir, talky, bleak, suspense, philosophical, intense, sexy, cynical, tense, serious
Similar in 78%
Enemies of the State (2010)
Plot Summary:
Crime thriller inspired by the story of Jiri Kajinek, which is considered the first bounty hunter in the Czech Republic. Thanks to his escape from the prison fortress Mirov it became a legend and the most wanted man in Europe. Five weeks while eluding the police, is still shrouded in mystery. Kajínek Film is a powerful story of the most famous prisoner int the Czech Republic in our story of double murder, the story of lawyer looking for new evidence, the story of the underworld and its penetration into the government and handling of the story. George is a victim of conspiracy or Kajínek cold-blooded killer? Trying to prove his innocence or to intimidate and influence witnesses?.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 936
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Czech Republic
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: captivating, suspense
Similar in 90%
Cell 211 (2009)
Plot Summary:
The story of two men on different sides of a prison riot -- the inmate leading the rebellion and the young guard trapped in the revolt, who poses as a prisoner in a desperate attempt to survive the ordeal.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 70000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Spain, France
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, tense, psychological, intense, tricky, rough, bleak, clever, dramatic, realistic
Similar in 80%
Bundy and the Green River Killer (2019)
Plot Summary:
A police detective consults with incarcerated serial killer Ted Bundy to help him catch The Green River Killer. Based on terrifying true life elements which inspired Silence of the Lambs. In 1984, police in Washington State are investigating a spate of serial murders committed by a mysterious man known as The Green River Killer. With no leads to go on, the detective in charge of the case consults with psychologists in an attempt to get inside the mind of the killer. But when that doesn't produce a positive result and the killings continue, the detective realizes that the only way to understand what makes a serial killer tick is to meet one. So he visits the imprisoned Ted Bundy, one of the most notorious serial killers in American history.
IMDB Rating: 3.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: psychological thriller, psychological, atmospheric, clever, suspense, tense, enigmatic, captivating, suspenseful
Similar in 81%
The Longest Night (2022)
Plot Summary:
Armed forces surround a psychiatric prison in order to abduct an incarcerated serial killer — but aren't prepared for the battle that ensues.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Spain
Duration: 268 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 75%
Brawl in Cell Block 99 (2017)
Plot Summary:
After working as a drug courier and getting into a brutal shootout with police, a former boxer finds himself at the mercy of his enemies as they force him to instigate violent acts that turn the prison he resides in into a battleground.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 73000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 132 min
Plot tags: suspense, disturbing, tense, rough, psychological, exciting, serious, realistic, suspenseful, crime thriller
Similar in 83%
Lock Up (1989)
Plot Summary:
Frank Leone is nearing the end of his prison term for a relatively minor crime. Just before he is paroled, however, Warden Drumgoole takes charge. Drumgoole was assigned to a hell-hole prison after his administration was publicly humiliated by Leone, and has now arrived on the scene to ensure that Leone never sees the light of day.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 46000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: suspense, intense, realistic, rough, serious, suspenseful, exciting, brutal, clever, cult classic
Similar in 84%
Escape Plan (2013)
Plot Summary:
Ray Breslin is the world's foremost authority on structural security. After analyzing every high security prison and learning a vast array of survival skills so he can design escape-proof prisons, his skills are put to the test. He's framed and incarcerated in a master prison he designed himself. He needs to escape and find the person who put him behind bars.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 254000
Genere: Action, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, exciting, suspense, twist ending, clever, entertaining, intense, serious, action packed, brutal
Similar in 75%
The Last Castle (2001)
Plot Summary:
A Court Martialed general rallies together 1200 inmates to rise against the system that put him away.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 84000
Genere: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 131 min
Plot tags: intense, exciting, tense, rough, inspirational, clever, sincere, depressing, spiritual, serious
Similar in 86%
Blame (2021)
Plot Summary:
While on vacation in rural Wisconsin, five friends seek refuge in a lone building after their vehicle crashes in a vicious snowstorm. With no cell service, the group splits up to find help but when they reunite, one of them is found dead.
IMDB Rating: 3.7
IMDB Votes: 574
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: captivating, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 82%
Midnight Express (1978)
Plot Summary:
Billy Hayes is caught attempting to smuggle drugs out of Turkey. The Turkish courts decide to make an example of him, sentencing him to more than 30 years in prison. Hayes has two opportunities for release: the appeals made by his lawyer, his family, and the American government, or the "Midnight Express".
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 87000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: disturbing, realistic, suspense, depressing, psychological, serious, tense, controversial, grim, bleak
Similar in 79%
Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
Plot Summary:
Escape from Alcatraz tells the story of the only three men ever to escape from the infamous maximum security prison at Alcatraz. In 29 years, the seemingly impenetrable federal penitentiary, which housed Al Capone and "Birdman" Robert Stroud, was only broken once - by three men never heard of again.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 145000
Genere: Action, Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: suspense, atmospheric, suspenseful, realistic, exciting, motivational, inspirational, neo noir, non fiction, crime drama
Similar in 83%
The Informer (2019)
Plot Summary:
In New York, former convict Pete Koslow, related to the Polish mafia, must deal with both Klimek the General, his ruthless boss, and the twisted ambitions of two federal agents, as he tries to survive and protect the lives of his loved ones….
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 41000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, Canada, USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: suspense, suspenseful, psychological, rough, thought provoking, entertaining, crime drama, cult classic, thrilling, surprise ending