Best movies like Gangsterland
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Ronald, an eight year-old biracial boy, sees his life turning upside down after witnessing the brutal murder of his mother by his father. Often moved from one foster home to the next, Ronald is recruited by a street gang where he dwells in a life of crime and violence. As he waits for his father to be released to avenge his mother, he realizes that he doesn't have to follow his father's footsteps or the path chosen for him. Against all odds, he takes control of his own destiny. His awakening to new humane values enables him to change change course despite the obvious risk of losing the only family he has ever known.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 96
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, captivating, psychological, tense, rough, suspenseful
Best tv shows and movies like Gangsterland (2010):
Similar in 88%
Bumrush (2011)
Plot Summary:
En 2011, une série d'opérations policières allait déstabiliser le milieu criminel de Montréal qui était alors dominé par les motards et la mafia italienne. Suite au vacuum provoqué par les rafles, tous les signes indiquaient l'imminence d'une nouvelle guerre de territoires qui mettrait en scène de nouveaux joueurs : les gangs de rue.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 168
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration:
Plot tags: tense, psychological, suspense, suspenseful
Similar in 78%
East End Hustle (1976)
Plot Summary:
Group of prostitutes who rely on each other to revolt against their sinister pimps. Their bid for freedom turns much more dangerous than they ever imagined.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 153
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: independent film, erotic, rough, sexy, serious, realistic, suspenseful, sexual, cult film
Similar in 79%
Unthinkable (2007)
Plot Summary:
Overdomineering female police detective Jamie McDowell still tries to run her 19-year old only son Peter's life although he is a builder who lives alone. She strongly opposes his engagement to Kelly Shaw, who he doesn't know very long, and forces him to bring her to diner, where Jamie and mother Susan Shaw repeat that mistake. After Kelly provoked her ex-fiancé Ray Rankin in a bar 'to test Peter's love' again, they part in anger. That evening the mothers, who went out together, find Kelly burnt to death in Susan's house; an expert clearly concludes arson. To her horror, Jamie quickly finds the evidence seems to point at one logical suspect: her son Peter.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 256
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, tense
Similar in 83%
Sous X (2015)
Plot Summary:
Jean-Jacques spent 9 years in prison for robbery. When he comes out, he finds the neighborhood where he grew up but things have changed ... The country is in crisis, the young people are holding the business and his old friends are urging him to resume his activities ... It may be for Jean-Jacques the time to ask the right questions.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 45
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 76%
Clubbed (2008)
Plot Summary:
An underworld drama set in the early 1980s, about a lonely factory worker whose life is transformed when he becomes a nightclub doorman.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: psychological, rough, bleak, serious, indie film, realistic
Similar in 76%
Pusher II (2004)
Plot Summary:
Tony (Mads Mikkelsen) is released from prison - again. This time he has his mind set on changing his broken down life, but that is easier said than done.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: Denmark, UK
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, neo noir, surprise ending, psychological, thought provoking, brutal, breathtaking, mumblecore
Similar in 88%
Two Coyotes (2001)
Plot Summary:
A drug runner takes over a lucrative drug business only to find his new found empire crumble when a deal goes bad.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 64
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, crime drama, surprise ending, independent film
Similar in 75%
Between the Canals (2011)
Plot Summary:
Three small time criminals from Dublin's North Inner City each aspire to be somebody in a fast changing society.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 271
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Ireland
Duration: 74 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, psychological, tense, captivating, rough
Similar in 84%
All in the Game (2011)
Plot Summary:
When East Baltimore drug King Pin, Ontario Banks (Nelson Irizarry) decides he wants total control of the entire city-wide drug trade, he enlists the help of his closest friends, Lucky (Micaiah Jones), Vince (Chris Clanton) and Littles (Kelvin Page), and his crew to take it all, one body at a time. Even if it means one of his own people. A war will rage in between Ontario, and Italian Drug cartel leader Michael Caprisci (Mike McMullin) on who will hold the crown.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 47
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller, War
Country: USA
Duration: 75 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, captivating, realistic, crime drama, rough, bleak, suspenseful
Similar in 79%
Now or Never (2014)
Plot Summary:
As a mother, in principle, you do not rob banks. But these days, it can be a solution for the future of your home, and not to give up on your dreams. Playing the thieves can quickly become dangerous and bad encounters can turn into a love story.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 313
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: realistic, captivating, psychological, tense, serious, suspenseful, gloomy
Similar in 86%
B.U.S.T.E.D (1998)
Plot Summary:
Everybody Loves Sunshine (released in the United States as B.U.S.T.E.D.), is a 1999 British independent film written and directed by Andrew Goth, and starring Rachel Shelley, David Bowie and Goldie. In the Pepperhill Estate of Manchester, an ongoing battle rages between Triad gangs and street gangs. Gang leaders Ray (Andrew Goth) and Terry (Goldie), who are cousins and lifelong friends, always trusting and relying on each other, have been in prison. Ray doesn't want to be a gangsters anymore, having also fallen for Clare (Rachel Shelley). But Terry, driven by an obsession beyond friendship, is determined to make sure that Ray never leaves the gang. During their time in prison, the Triads have grown stronger and more daring, eventually killing a member ofTerry and Ray's gang. Revenge is called for and the gang turns to them for direction. Bernie (David Bowie) is the aging gangster who struggles to keep the peace.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 749
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: crime drama, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, independent film
Similar in 88%
Shooters (2002)
Plot Summary:
Gilly comes out of prison after serving a six year stretch and decides that he will now turn his life around and go straight. But when he returns to his South London home and visits his old colleague J, in hope of obtaining his share of the proceeds from the job that landed him inside, J soon talks him into getting involved in one last scam.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, Netherlands, USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: rough, tense, serious, suspenseful, realistic
Similar in 87%
Mexican Gangster (2008)
Plot Summary:
Johnny Sun is a Mexican American with a white mother and Mexican dad. He witnesses his parents murder and gets his revenge years later, leading to a hard life as a gangster in drugs and smuggling. He tries to keep his borther from the life and finds himself fending for his own life.
IMDB Rating: 3.8
IMDB Votes: 154
Genere: Action
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: exciting, captivating, tense, suspense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 87%
Rockaway (2007)
Plot Summary:
Trane is a decorated war hero just shipped home to the States from Afghanistan after the brutal murder of his wife and child back in Rockaway, Queens. Upon his return, Trane encounters his old friend Dave, who describes the new forces of crime and prostitution that have moved into their neighborhood and caused the destruction of his family.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 428
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 78 min
Plot tags: rough, realistic, suspenseful, tense, serious, crime drama
Similar in 90%
Night Zoo (1987)
Plot Summary:
Marcel (Gilles Maheu) emerges from prison in hopes of a reconciliation with his dying father Albert (Roger Le Bel) in this thrilling crime drama. Raped in prison, Marcel encounters a homosexual cop involved with drug smuggling who presses him for information and sex. Marcel fights his way out of the cop's lecherous advances and is reunited with his father. The two catch up on old times on a fishing trip, and Albert reveals he has both money and cocaine stashed away for Marcel's return. Marcel and his homosexual cellmate later corner the crooked cops in a sleazy hotel to exact revenge. Julie (Lynne Adams) is Marcel's former girlfriend who works in a sex club peep show. Gay and straight scenes of rough sex permeate this film which marks the directorial debut of Jean-Claude Lauzon.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 767
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, neo noir
Similar in 78%
Five Thirteen (2013)
Plot Summary:
In this tension-packed thriller, brothers Mike and Tre set out in search of better lives, trying to leave their demons behind for good. After being released from prison for a crime he didn't commit, Mike's only care in the world is to protect his young daughter from an unforgiving ex. But the justice that awaits him on the streets is far worse than anything Mike had experienced in prison. His older brother Tre begrudgingly agrees to one last "delivery", attempting to free Mike and his new girlfriend from the grips of the criminal underworld. What transpires is a wild misadventure where multiple lives unknowingly intersect, and where decisions are made that will haunt everyone forever.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 723
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, tense, independent film
Similar in 80%
Everyday Black Man (2010)
Plot Summary:
Since closing the door to a violent past, quiet and thoughtful Moses Stanton everyday existence is running a small neighborhood store, and watching over his daughter who doesn't know he exists. When a young man, Malik, comes in claiming to be a black Muslim that is doing good for the neighborhood, Moses takes him on as a partner but soon realizes that Malik is nothing but a drug dealer seeking to destroy the neighborhood and Moses's daughter. Therefore, Moses must become the man he used to be in order to save his beloved neighborhood and his daughter. Written by Carmen Madden.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 296
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: realistic, tense, captivating, psychological, exciting, touching, serious, suspenseful, psychological thriller, psycho film
Similar in 83%
Five Star (2014)
Plot Summary:
After John’s absent father is struck by a stray bullet, Primo takes it upon himself to verse the young boy in the code of the streets—one founded on respect and upheld by fear. A member of the Bloods since the age of twelve—both in the film and in reality—the streets of Brooklyn are all Primo has ever known. While John questions whether or not to enter into this life, Primo must decide whether to leave it all behind as he vows to become a better husband and father. Set during those New York summer weeks where the stifling heat seems to encase everything, Five Star plunges into gang culture with searing intensity. Director Keith Miller observes the lives of these two men with a quiet yet pointed distance, carefully eschewing worn clichés through its unflinching focus. Distinctions between fiction and real life remain intentionally ambiguous, allowing the story of these two men to resonate beyond the streets, as they face the question of what it means to be a man.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 569
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, psychological, captivating, sexy, hood, tense, sincere, rough, bleak
Similar in 88%
Before I Self Destruct (2009)
Plot Summary:
A coming of age story about an inner-city youth raised by a hardworking single mother. When his dream of becoming a basketball player fails to materialize, he finds himself employed in a supermarket. After his mother is tragically gunned down, Clarence (played by Jackson) is consumed by revenge and takes up a life of crime in order to support his younger brother.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 79 min
Plot tags: hood, rough, serious, realistic, crime drama, independent film
Similar in 77%
The Last Hit Man (2008)
Plot Summary:
Ageing hit man, Harry, has just botched a job and is now the target. His daughter is also in the assassin trade and is now a target too. A young hit man called Billy is sent to take Harry out but they form an uneasy alliance.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 854
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: captivating, suspense, exciting, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 76%
Monga (2010)
Plot Summary:
Set in the 1980s, “Monga” centers on five boys (Mosquito, Monk, Dragon, White Monkey and A-Lan) who join the "Gang of Princes" who are tired of being pushed around. As the "Gang of Princes" rise in stature, they come into conflict with other gangs jealous of their rising power.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: Taiwan
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: tense, realistic, exciting, serious, captivating, heroic, hood, rough, bleak, suspenseful
Similar in 79%
Sarkar Raj (2008)
Plot Summary:
The politically influential Shankar Nagre agrees to back a power plant scheme presented by corporate hotshot Anita Rajan; providing their enemies, which include upcoming political firebrands, an embezzling facilitator and shady businessmen with a unique opportunity to destroy the mass political clout enjoyed by him and his father (Subhash Nagre), the political icon known as "Sarkar".
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: India
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, political, political thriller
Similar in 84%
My Kingdom (2001)
Plot Summary:
A powerful dynasty, headed by a charismatic, manipulative father, falls when he decides to hand over his criminal empire to his three corrupt and power-hungry daughters. Kath runs a brothel down by the docks, Tracy owns a soccer team and Jo, a former junkie -- and prostitute -- rejects her inheritance, pitting sisters Kath and Tracy against each other.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 667
Genere: Drama, Crime
Country: Italy, UK
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, serious, suspenseful, realistic
Similar in 89%
El padrino (2004)
Plot Summary:
In the streets of East Los Angeles, Manny is a formidable drug dealer. Impressed by his extravagant lifestyle and prowess, his young son, Kilo, yearns to follow in his footsteps. Kilo resolves to learn how to prosper in the drug world, and his new life as a dealer begins. In a world where a man wants everything, he may end up with nothing.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 762
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, exciting
Similar in 88%
A Quiet Life (2010)
Plot Summary:
The story of a man who murdered thirty-two people, gained power, and then got afraid because too many people wanted to kill him. One August morning, he disappeared. For fifteen years, everyone believed him dead.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Italy, France, Germany
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, serious, psychological, realistic, suspenseful, noir, neo noir, tragic
Similar in 88%
Consignment (2007)
Plot Summary:
Consignment is the authentic and brutal story of an East Coast drug dealer forced to flee to California only to realize state lines don't erase past sins.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 99
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, independent film
Similar in 77%
Baseline (2010)
Plot Summary:
The Baseline is the centre of the East London grime club scene and the queue regularly stretches around the block. Danny works on the door - breaking up fights and managing drunk kids. However, when he rescues Terry, the club owner and local gang leader, from a hitman, Danny is suddenly plunged deep into an underworld he had tried so hard to avoid. Danny is promoted to manager, but only on the condition that he turns a blind eye to the shady goings on both on and off the dance-floor. Danny and his girlfriend Jessica dream of setting up their own club, but Danny is forced to make the ultimate sacrifice when he has to choose between loyalty, morality and his own dreams of escape.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 647
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, captivating, exciting, tense, rough, realistic
Similar in 80%
Outlaw Country (2012)
Plot Summary:
A crime thriller/family drama set against the backdrop of southern organized crime and Nashville royalty where music, love, hope and tragedy collide. Created as a pilot for a TV Series which was not taken up, this has now been aired as a TV Movie.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 715
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, suspenseful, captivating, tense, independent film, rough
Similar in 87%
Animal (2005)
Plot Summary:
His name: infamous. His reputation: ruthless. But when James "Animal"Allen is locked up in a maximum security prison, he meets a revolutionary who changes his life. Now a reformed man, James is released only to find that his own son has assumed a life of crime and violence. Can a father haunted by his past redeem his family from the very streets he created, or will he be forced to make the ultimate sacrifice?.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Action
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: psychological, rough, serious, realistic, crime drama, bleak
Similar in 87%
Stryker (2004)
Plot Summary:
The film follows a 14-year-old arsonist in Winnipeg who becomes involved in a turf war between the Indian Posse and the Asian Bomb Squad (a now defunct Filipino gang). He is known only as Stryker, a slang term for a prospective gang member.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 207
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, tense, bleak, independent film