Best movies like The Substitute
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
After he did some jobs for CIA, ex-marine John Shale is visiting his high school love Jane. She's now a teacher in Columbus High School in Miami. Soon after his arriving Jane has her knee cap broken while jogging. After that, John decides to go undercover as her substitute in high school. Very soon he finds out that gang named Kings of Destruction is terrorizing the school.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: rough, suspenseful, harsh, intense, serious, exciting, cult classic, hood, crime drama, independent film
Best tv shows and movies like The Substitute (1996):
Similar in 84%
The Substitute 2: School's Out (1998)
Plot Summary:
When teacher Randall Thomasson is killed during a carjacking, an unexpected visitor shows up at his funeral - his estranged brother, Karl Thomasson (Treat Williams). An ex-Green Beret turned mercenary. Karl signs on as a new substitute teacher in order to investigate Randall's murder.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: hood, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, independent film, surprise ending
Similar in 84%
My Name Is Modesty: A Modesty Blaise Adventure (2004)
Plot Summary:
Modesty, raised by a casino owner after being abandoned by her parents, has become skilled in the ways of fighting and now acts as the casino owner's bodyguard. When she's unable to prevent the owner's murder at the hands of an old foe, Modesty is hell-bent on seeking revenge. --- An adaptation of the Modesty Blaise novels and comic strip by Peter O'Donnell.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 78 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, stylized, independent film, realistic, psychotronic, surprise ending
Similar in 88%
The Substitute 3: Winner Takes All (1999)
Plot Summary:
At a college visit to a war buddy's professor daughter, mercenary Treat Williams finds her brutally beaten. He then poses as a teacher to teach a lesson to the football jocks responsible.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: christian film, serious, realistic, suspenseful, fast
Similar in 88%
Stone Cold (1991)
Plot Summary:
Joe Huff (Brian Bosworth) is a tough, loner cop with a flair for infiltrating dangerous biker gangs. The FBI blackmail Joe into an undercover operation that entails infiltrating "The Brotherhood" - a powerful Mississippi biker gang linked in the murder of government officials as well as dealing drugs with the mafia.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: rough, bleak, serious, suspenseful, retro, neo noir, hood, realistic, fast, surprise ending
Similar in 82%
Class of 1984 (1982)
Plot Summary:
Andy is a new teacher at a inner city high school that is like nothing he has ever seen before. There is metal detectors at the front door and everything is basically run by a tough kid named Peter Stegman. Soon, Andy and Stegman become enemies and Stegman will stop at nothing to protect his turf and drug dealing business.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, disturbing, cult classic, psychotronic, entertaining, slasher, controversial, detective, crime drama, action thriller
Similar in 82%
The Principal (1987)
Plot Summary:
Burglary. Drugs. Assault. Rape. The students at Brandel High are more than new Principal Rick Latimer bargained for. Gangs fight to control the school using knives - even guns - when they have to. When Latimer and the head of security try to clean up the school and stop the narcotics trade, they run up against a teenage mafia. A violent confrontation on the campus leads to a deadly showdown with the drug dealer's gang, and one last chance for Latimer to save his career... and his life.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: feel good, hood, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, exciting, inspirational, sexy, unusual plot structure
Similar in 80%
Never Die Alone (2004)
Plot Summary:
A drug kingpin's return home touches off a turf war.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: hood, tense, rough, serious, suspenseful, neo noir, crime drama, realistic, surprise ending, ambiguous ending
Similar in 76%
The Substitute: Failure Is Not an Option (2001)
Plot Summary:
A former mercenary joins a military academy as a teacher. He soon discovers a neo-Nazi group, code-named Werewolves, formed among the cadets. He also quickly finds that they have military leadership among the officers at the Academy.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, suspenseful, serious, realistic, fast
Similar in 90%
Detention (2003)
Plot Summary:
A heroic high school teacher leads a band of students trapped in school by violent drug-runners.
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspense, exciting, suspenseful, fast
Similar in 90%
Savage Streets (1984)
Plot Summary:
A teenage vigilante seeks revenge on a group of violent thugs who raped her handicapped sister and murdered her best friend.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: slasher, cult classic, psychotronic, sexy, disturbing, controversial, action thriller, rough, serious, realistic
Similar in 78%
Malone (1987)
Plot Summary:
Erstwhile C.I.A. assassin Richard Malone hopes for a tranquil retirement in the placid Pacific Northwest, but what he gets is a rumble with a right-wing extremist plotting a secret revolution. Adapted from the novel "Shotgun," by William Wingate.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: rough, realistic, suspenseful, serious, cult classic, neo noir, perverse, visually stunning, surprise ending, psychotronic
Similar in 83%
Rapid Fire (1992)
Plot Summary:
College student Jake Lo is pursued by smugglers, mobsters and crooked federal agents after he witnesses a murder by a Mafia kingpin.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: exciting, intense, serious, suspenseful, cult classic, suspense, crime drama, rough, realistic, fast
Similar in 89%
Seeking Justice (2011)
Plot Summary:
After his wife is assaulted, a husband enlists the services of a vigilante group to help him settle the score.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 48000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, suspense, intense, tense, enigmatic, serious, rough, realistic, thought provoking, captivating
Similar in 75%
Miami Vice (1984)
Plot Summary:
The story of the Miami Police Department's vice squad and its efforts to end drug trafficking and prostitution, centered on the unlikely partnership of Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs - who first meet when Tubbs is undercover in a drug cartel.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 48 min
Plot tags: detective, serious, exciting, stylized, realistic, retro, anthology, anime, action adventure, neo noir
Similar in 89%
Exterminator 2 (1984)
Plot Summary:
The flamethrower-wielding vigilante John Eastland returns to rid New York of a drug lord and his gang.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: slasher, cult classic, grim, independent film, rough, serious, realistic, fast, surprise ending, neo noir
Similar in 84%
Death Wish 3 (1985)
Plot Summary:
Paul Kersey returns to New York to visit his friend Charley, who lives in one of the worst parts of New York City. But when Paul arrives at Charley's apartment, he finds Charley dying after a vicious beating by a gang led by Manny Fraker, and the police enter the apartment and find Paul standing over Charley's body. Paul is arrested for the murder, but police chief Richard S. Shriker is like Paul.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, cult classic, neo noir, hood, perverse, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, psychotronic
Similar in 90%
The Cutter (2005)
Plot Summary:
A former cop turned Los Angeles P.I. takes on a case of a missing diamond cutter that leads him on an adventure of love and villainy spanning of mob to the present day Jewelry District.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, suspense, cult classic, action packed, bleak, realistic, fast, surprise ending
Similar in 81%
A Man Apart (2003)
Plot Summary:
When Vetter's wife is killed in a botched hit organized by Diablo, he seeks revenge against those responsible. But in the process, Vetter and Hicks have to fight their way up the chain to get to Diablo but it's easier said than done when all Vetter can focus on is revenge.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 49000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: suspense, harsh, emotional, rough, serious, suspenseful, exciting, realistic, captivating, cult classic
Similar in 80%
Street Knight (1993)
Plot Summary:
A former cop returns to challenge a plot to escalate gang violence in the streets of Los Angeles.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 873
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, independent film, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, surprise ending, neo noir, detective
Similar in 89%
Original Gangstas (1996)
Plot Summary:
A violent street gang, the Rebels, rule the streets of Gary, Indiana. The Rebels shoot Marvin Bookman, a store-keeper, for giving the police information about a drive-by shooting they committed. Marvin's son, former NFL star John who created the Rebels, returns to Gary to be with his father and, with a little help from his friends, to destroy the Rebels his way.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: hood, crime drama, cult classic, independent film, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, surprise ending
Similar in 77%
Urban Justice (2007)
Plot Summary:
Seagal plays a man with a dark and violent past, who seeks revenge for the murder of his son.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: rough, suspenseful, exciting, serious, realistic, suspense, bloody, cult classic, bleak, fast
Similar in 89%
An Eye for an Eye (1981)
Plot Summary:
Sean Kane is forced to resign from the San Francisco Police Department's Narcotics Division when he goes berserk after his partner is murdered. He decides to fight alone and follows a trail of drug traffickers into unexpected high places.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: suspense, serious, exciting, cult classic, tense, neo noir, independent film, rough, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 75%
Code of Silence (1985)
Plot Summary:
A Chicago cop is caught in a middle of a gang war while his own comrades shun him because he wants to take an irresponsible cop down.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: exciting, cult classic, suspense, detective, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, neo noir, independent film
Similar in 86%
Above the Law (1988)
Plot Summary:
Seagal is Nico Toscani, an Italian immigrant, American patriot, ex-CIA agent, aikido specialist, and unorthodox Chicago policeman. He is as committed to his job as he is to his personalized brand of justice: expert and thorough bone-crushing.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 34000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: suspense, exciting, realistic, rough, serious, suspenseful, cult classic, heroic, satanic, action thriller
Similar in 82%
Maximum Force (1992)
Plot Summary:
Three renegade cops team up to take on the corrupt chief of police and a crime lords hatchet-man.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 392
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: suspense, independent film, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, surprise ending, neo noir, detective
Similar in 89%
Until Death (2007)
Plot Summary:
Van Damme plays a dirty cop who is hooked on heroin, and everyone dislikes him. Because of an accident he is put into a coma, and comes out of it a better person. He wakes up wanting to put things right.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, Bulgaria, Germany, USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspense, cult classic, action packed, realistic, suspenseful, surprise ending, neo noir, independent film
Similar in 89%
Recoil (2011)
Plot Summary:
A cop turns vigilante after his family is murdered, exacting vengeance on the killers - and then on all criminals who have slipped through the system.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, suspenseful, suspense, neo noir, crime drama, realistic, surprise ending, independent film
Similar in 81%
Marked for Death (1990)
Plot Summary:
Just retired from the Drug Enforcement Agency, John Hatcher returns to his hometown and quickly discovers that drugs have infiltrated his old neighborhood. Determined to drive the dealers out, Hatcher crosses paths with a ferocious Jamaican drug lord who vows that Hatcher and his family are now marked for death.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: suspense, exciting, serious, suspenseful, rough, realistic, grindhouse, intense, hood, cult classic
Similar in 80%
Shoot to Kill (1988)
Plot Summary:
When a cunning murderer vanishes into the rugged mountains of the Pacific Northwest, pursuing FBI agent Warren Stantin must exchange familiar city streets for unknown wilderness trails. Completely out of his element, Stantin is forced to enlist the aid of expert tracker Jonathan Knox. It's a turbulent yet vital relationship they must maintain in order to survive... and one that becomes increasingly desperate when Knox's girlfriend Sarah becomes the killer's latest hostage!.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, exciting, intense, serious, realistic, neo noir, suspense, breathtaking, cult classic, visually stunning
Similar in 86%
A Day to Die (2022)
Plot Summary:
A disgraced parole officer is indebted to a local gang leader and forced to pull off a series of dangerous drug heists within twelve hours in order to pay the $2 million dollars he owes, rescue his kidnapped pregnant wife, and settle a score with the city's corrupt police chief, who is working with the gang leader and double-crossed him years ago.
IMDB Rating: 3.5
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing, neo noir, independent film, surprise ending