Best movies like Midnight Cabaret
Last updated March 2024
Looking for movies similar to Midnight Cabaret? Contribute your expertise to navigate others to movies and tv shows you've watched previously that might interest them as well. Facilitate widening the network of individuals introducing videos to each other. We value your involvement!
Plot Summary:
Meet Adam, a geeky college senior who only wants to feel accepted. An encounter with Jason, his bully from high school, triggers a painful and disturbing past: an abusive, alcoholic father; his mother who committed suicide; and Todd, his older brother who's up for parole. Inspired by the goth drag queen Eve who performs at Midnight Cabaret, Adam decides to change overnight from geek to chic. He then is befriended by a few troublemakers who introduce him to a wild lifestyle of drugs and crime, sending him into a downward spiral and an unexpected journey in finding who he truly is.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 26
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 78 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, bleak, gothic, independent film, gloomy
Best tv shows and movies like Midnight Cabaret (2012):
Similar in 84%
Absolute Hundred (2001)
Plot Summary:
Igor Gordic was an Olympic Champion in shooting, but now he is a junky without money and in debts to mafia. Sasa is his younger brother and he is getting ready for the next World Championship. Since he's not getting enough terms to practice indoors, he's decided to go out and find himself a target to practice on.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, bleak, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 82%
In the Flesh (1998)
Plot Summary:
A police detective (Ed Corbin) assigned to work a gay bar on an undercover drug operation gets hooked up with a gay student hustler (Dane Ritter). After the student witnesses a murder, the cop provides him an alibi and invites him to stay at his apartment. There a homosexual relationship develops.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 602
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: sexy, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, gloomy, sexual, detective
Similar in 82%
End of Love (2008)
Plot Summary:
Stuck in a Christian 'rehabilitation' camp, Ming recalls his double life, a whirlwind of sex and drugs as a rent boy, and a sedate, romantic life with the older and more conservative Yen. Secrets and lies haunt their relationship, as Ming's mother confronts her son's sexuality in a most extreme fashion and Yen tries to get Ming to give up hustling.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 321
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, sexy, erotic, gloomy, sexual, hot
Similar in 81%
White Night (2012)
Plot Summary:
Flight attendant Won-Gyu (Won Tae-Hee) left Korea 2 years ago with painful memories and now comes back. Won-Gyu meets Tae-Joon (Lee Yi-Kyung), who is a quick service delivery man and has a special night with him.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 415
Genere: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 75 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, sincere, disturbing, bleak, contemplative, crying, queer cinema
Similar in 90%
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 87%
Shadowboxer (2005)
Plot Summary:
Mikey and Rose are professional assassins. They are also lovers, and once upon a time Rose also knew Mikey's father. During an elaborate hit job for a malicious gangster, Rose fails to kill the main target, the gangster's pregnant girlfriend. Instead, she delivers her baby and convinces Mikey to help her protect them both. As Rose weakens from cancer, Mikey becomes breadwinner for this unusual family. But tranquility will not last.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, bleak, realistic, neo noir, noir, anamorphic, gloomy
Similar in 84%
Cartel War (2010)
Plot Summary:
Led by a detective hell-bent on revenge, a team of undercover cops in Los Angeles attempt to bring down a powerful drug mob from the inside. Operating outside the law, they put everything on the line to clean up the streets and exact payback on the king pin who devastated their families. Based on the true story of Mexico's most powerful drug lord, Cartel War is an action-packed journey into an all-too-real violent underworld.
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 238
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, captivating, crime drama, independent film
Similar in 78%
Coast Mafia (2014)
Plot Summary:
Shin, a good family friend and business partner of the DeLeon family, assumes his role as head of the Coast Mafia.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 11
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration:
Plot tags: exciting, serious, realistic, suspenseful, detective
Similar in 78%
Rivals (2008)
Plot Summary:
The story of two rival brothers, one a pimp and the other a cop, and how the former manages to be the family favourite.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 980
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: serious, tense, rough, neo noir, emotional, realistic
Similar in 84%
The Dark Side of Love (2012)
Plot Summary:
Two brothers on different life paths, a gay waiter with a crush on an eligible bachelor and a drug addict in a twisted dependent relationships with his girlfriend, reunite to mourn the death of their mother.
IMDB Rating: 3.9
IMDB Votes: 178
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: psychological, realistic, sentimental, serious, captivating, touching, contemplative, gloomy, crying
Similar in 88%
Menendez: A Killing in Beverly Hills (1994)
Plot Summary:
About the 1989 murders of Carolco Entertainment chairman, Jose Menendez, and his wife, Kitty, who were killed by their sons, Lyle and Erik, in Beverly Hills, allegedly for a multimillion-dollar inheritance.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 394
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 240 min
Plot tags: bleak, serious, realistic
Similar in 77%
A Brother's Kiss (1997)
Plot Summary:
Two brothers, Lex and younger Mick, are living in Harlem. Mick is a policeman, and Lex, who spent youth years in reformatory because of injustice after he confronted the cop who tried to sodomize Mick on the street, is living with his wife Debbie trying to make ends meet and failing. One day Lex calls Mick - he has a problem.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 412
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: emotional, touching, serious, rough, bleak, erotic, independent film, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 75%
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 76%
Three (2002)
Plot Summary:
The final installment in director Lucas Belvaux's trilogy follows Pascal, a cop who sees a return to credibility in the capture of escaped convict Bruno--who in turn is harbored by Pascal's morphine-addicted wife Agnes. Pascal's already precarious ties to Agnes are strained further when he meets and falls for her fellow schoolteacher friend Cecile. With Pascal focused on Bruno and Cecile, Agnes is forced to find a fix on her own.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 926
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, realistic, contemplative, bleak, art house, thought provoking
Similar in 90%
Bullet (1996)
Plot Summary:
A tough, Jewish ex-con just released from prison crosses a powerful drug dealer and former prison rival in his return to a life of crime.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: realistic, rough, hood, disturbing, harsh, stylized, serious, cult classic, independent film, bleak
Similar in 87%
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 87%
Steel City (2006)
Plot Summary:
After a tragic accident caused by the truck of the middle-aged Carl Lee where a woman dies with a crushed stern, he is arrested and sent to the county jail. His son PJ, who works washing dishes and cleaning tables in a restaurant, feels lost, without financial support to keep his father's house, and is fired from his job and evicted from his house.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 622
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: emotional, psychological, sincere, touching, serious, realistic, independent film, gloomy
Similar in 82%
Mississippi Damned (2009)
Plot Summary:
Three poor Black kids in rural Mississippi reap the consequences of their family's cycle of abuse, addiction, and violence.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 988
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: sincere, rough, touching, emotional, informative, bleak, serious, realistic, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 75%
Untouched (2017)
Plot Summary:
Untouched is the story of a reluctant attorney's struggle with inner demons while defending a teenage girl accused of murdering her newborn. When the "Hostess City of the South" is rocked by the horrific crime, Mitchell Thomas III becomes strangely compelled to defend the firm's newest client. Mitch and the girl connect and her circumstances exhume memories that begin to consume him. While his mother (Eleanor) rallies for a quick resolution in order to save the prestigious reputation of the girl's father from tabloid embarrassment, Mitch digs deeper into the Tybee community that hides the secret to the girl's pregnancy. The more he uncovers about his client's history, the more he drinks to escape the demons from his own past. Mitch realizes that in order to save this young woman, he must face the darkest events of his past. He works against his mother and an unforgiving city to acquit the young woman and mend is his own crippling wounds.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 162
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, suspense, grindhouse, independent film, gloomy, surprise ending
Similar in 83%
Stranger Inside (2001)
Plot Summary:
A mother daughter reunion set in the harsh reality of a women's correctional facility.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 592
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: rough, thought provoking, emotional, disturbing, crime drama, independent film, bleak, serious, realistic, surprise ending
Similar in 88%
Execution of Justice (1999)
Plot Summary:
The story of an assassin who killed a mayor in the 1970's in what was known as the "Twinkie Defense".
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 274
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, controversial, surprise ending, queer cinema
Similar in 82%
Sins of the Father (2002)
Plot Summary:
In 1965 a bomb was planted in a Church in Alabama, killing four black girls. Thirty years later, Tom Cherry breaks his silence to discredit his father's alibi for the night in question.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 448
Genere: Drama, Crime
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: rough, emotional, realistic, disturbing, thought provoking, bleak, serious, captivating
Similar in 86%
Particles of Truth (2003)
Plot Summary:
Life, love, and the fear of failing... Lilli Black, battling her painful memories and the secrets surrounding her dying father, collides into the complicated and obsessive life of Morrison Wiley on the streets of New York City. This peculiar love story exposes Lilli's internal bouts and her nightmarish "bad luck". We weave in and out of eight defective lives and go for a turbulent mental ride where Lilli's reality spirals out of control and we're lead to an unforgettable climax where some fall apart and some piece themselves together.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 587
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, realistic, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 83%
Sweet Nothing (1995)
Plot Summary:
Angel celebrates the birth of his daughter by taking his first hit of crack cocaine. With the hesitant support of his wife, Monika, he joins a friend of his to deal drugs for a short time--enough time to get out of debt and buy some nice things for the family. Three years later, Angel is still dealing, and has not saved any money, instead spending it on crack. His addiction grows, straining his friendship and his family life, and he gradually loses control.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 580
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: melancholic, realistic, serious, independent film, crying, bleak, gloomy, weeping, light, road movie
Similar in 86%
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 84%
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 84%
Winner Takes All (1998)
Plot Summary:
Two rapper childhood friends turn to the quick and easy life of crime to support their needy parents. But after a foiled robbery, one of them is jailed while the other flees, changes his name, joins the military, and grows up to become a narcotics agent.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 90
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: independent film, rough, bleak, serious, realistic
Similar in 79%
Cost of a Soul (2010)
Plot Summary:
Wounded in the war, Tommy Donahue and DD Davis return home from Iraq to the slum neighborhood they grew up in. Tommy returns to his wife, Faith, whom he abandoned while she was pregnant to escape a life of crime. Tommy meets his disabled six year-old daughter, Hope, for the first time, and she begins to melt his frozen heart. While DD struggles to make an honest living, his older brother, Darnell, has risen to become the neighborhood kingpin. DD faces the pressure to save his younger brother, James, from following in Darnell’s dangerous footsteps. Tommy and DD find themselves trapped in the same slum they joined the military to escape. As they struggle for redemption, their own families become entangled in a web of crime, corruption and violence.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 214
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: realistic, tense, serious, psychological, captivating, rough, bleak, independent film
Similar in 81%
Blood Brothers (1993)
Plot Summary:
Blood Brothers- While coming of age in the inner city, Darryl Crawford, a young African-American man, witnesses a gang-related murder and is horrified to discover that his beloved older brother Sly is one of the perps. Darryl grapples with his conscience over informing on Sly -- but this fear becomes secondary when the remaining gang members close in on both brothers and threaten their lives.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 98
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: crime drama, independent film, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 85%
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