Best movies like Top of the Heap
Last updated March 2024
Looking for movies like Top of the Heap? Contribute your expertise to direct others to films and tv series you've seen before that might interest them too. Facilitate widening the network of individuals proposing videos to each other. We welcome your involvement!
Plot Summary:
He was a violent man...trouble was--he was also a cop.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 381
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: surreal, black cinema
Best tv shows and movies like Top of the Heap (1972):
Similar in 79%
Night-Flowers (1979)
Plot Summary:
Two Vietnam vets, Tom and Nordi, live sad lives in a crumbling New Jersey town. Sharing a one room apartment, they talk about their inability to hold down real work, struggle to get noticed at the VA and fail to connect with women. This changes for Tom when he meets Marcella and they begin a relationship. However, he can't escape his past with Nordi and the co- dependent, toxic relationship soon takes a gruesome turn.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 97
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 76%
Pineapple (2008)
Plot Summary:
A Texas publishing exec who's on the wagon and in A.A., walks in on his wife in bed with another man, and in the nasty divorce that follows, he falls off the wagon and takes up Crystal. Alternating between concern for his pre-teen daughter, his enjoyment of rough sex and cocaine with Crystal.
IMDB Rating: 3.9
IMDB Votes: 227
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: erotic
Similar in 83%
The Bad Bunch (1973)
Plot Summary:
A white ex-GI goes to a black ghetto to deliver a letter from his buddy, a black soldier who died in Vietnam. When he arrives there he encounters hostility and trouble from all sides.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 234
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 82%
A Place Called Today (1972)
Plot Summary:
Racial tensions arise when a black lawyer runs for mayor of a racially divided town.
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 76
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: political, grindhouse, independent film
Similar in 76%
The Bus Is Coming (1971)
Plot Summary:
A young black soldier returns home to Los Angeles from combat in Vietnam to find out that his brother had been killed by a gang of racist cops. Angered, he joins a black nationalist group to take his revenge.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 80
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: black cinema
Similar in 90%
Bull (2019)
Plot Summary:
In a near-abandoned subdivision west of Houston, a wayward teen runs headlong into her equally willful and unforgiving neighbor, an aging bullfighter who's seen his best days in the arena; it's a collision that will change them both.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: rough, disturbing, thought provoking
Similar in 83%
The Zebra Killer (1974)
Plot Summary:
Based on the real events that shocked San Franisco in the early 70's. Mac portrays the role of The Zebra Killer, a white man who dresses in black makeup and strolls the city of San Francisco stalking, raping and killing young women. Lt. Savage hears that the Killer has killed his girlfriend. Lt. Savage goes everywhere to find and kill the maniac, along with the help of Williams and Robert.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 175
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: independent film, grindhouse
Similar in 78%
The People Next Door (1970)
Plot Summary:
Seventies attempt at exposing the drug problems of suburban youth. Typical middle-class parents Wallach and Harris are horrified to discover that daughter Winters is strung out on LSD. They fight to expose the neighborhood pusher while struggling to understand their now-alien daughter. Based on J.P. Miller's television play.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 392
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: surreal, independent film, cult film
Similar in 76%
The Student Nurses (1970)
Plot Summary:
Follows the lives of a group of young nurses in Los Angeles, including a nurse who joins a band of revolutionaries, and one who finds herself succumbing to drugs.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 529
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: erotic, psychotronic, independent film
Similar in 90%
Angel Blue (1998)
Plot Summary:
Dennis (Sam Bottoms) is a handsome, successful and well-liked civic leader who lives in his hometown with his lovely wife (Lisa Eichhorn) and their new baby. When Enrique Vasquez (Marco Rodriguez) and his striking teen daughter Angela (Yeniffer Behrens) move in next door, Dennis is only too happy to lend a hand. But when he and Angela begin an affair, Dennis's perfect life is threatened in this provocative drama.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 103
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: sensual, crying
Similar in 80%
A Smell of Honey, a Swallow of Brine (1966)
Plot Summary:
Sharon is a young office worker who sexually teases, seduces and then cries 'rape' on various men just to see them emotionally suffer for her own man-hating, twisted amusement leading to one lovestruck boyfriend being sent to prison, the financial ruin of another, and the meltdown and death of a third victim.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 238
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 71 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, independent film, weird, cult film
Similar in 87%
River Made to Drown In (1997)
Plot Summary:
Allen, a struggling young artist who once survived by working in the streets, is now involved with Eva, a wealthy Los Angeles gallery owner. Quite by surprise Allen receives a visit from an old john, Thaddeus, who is dying from aids and has come to spend his last days somewhere humble ans spare. Allen reluctantly takes him in, straining his relationship with Eva, who slowly discovers the truth about their past. When Thaddeus implores Allen to find Jamie, a young hustler he had once tried to rescue, Allen returns to the streets where he must choose between what he left behind and the uncertainty that lies ahead. Written by Alie Heidema.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 383
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: crying, independent film, weeping, queer cinema
Similar in 75%
One Potato, Two Potato (1964)
Plot Summary:
Study of interracial marriage in the 1960's. A white divorcée falls in love with and marries an African-American man. When her ex-husband sues for custody of her child, arguing that a mixed household is an improper place to raise the girl, the new husband fights for his parental rights in court, fighting against a judge who represents the prejudices of the era.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 926
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: independent film, black cinema
Similar in 76%
Pressure Point (1962)
Plot Summary:
An African-American prison psychiatrist (Sidney Poitier) finds the boundaries of his professionalism sorely tested when he must counsel a disturbed inmate (Bobby Darin) with bigoted Nazi tendencies.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: mind bending, psychedelic, political, surreal, independent film, psychological, sincere, thought provoking, serious, realistic
Similar in 88%
The Messenger (1986)
Plot Summary:
When his girlfriend dies of a drug overdose, a former Green Beret decides to take vengeance on the drug gangs responsible for her death.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 217
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: USA, Italy
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 76%
Strange Weather (2016)
Plot Summary:
Years after her son's suicide, a woman longs to confront both the past and a friend of his who took his business idea.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: road movie, depressing, serious, sad, suspenseful, lyrical
Similar in 76%
Brotherly Love (2015)
Plot Summary:
West Philadelphia basketball star Sergio Taylor deals with the pressures of fame while his brother and sister have their own issues with ambition.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: serious, touching, realistic, captivating, hood, independent film, entertaining, black cinema
Similar in 82%
The Men's Club (1986)
Plot Summary:
Seven men have a group session and share their feelings on women, love, life and work.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: sentimental, independent film, touching, realistic, talky, semi serious, crying
Similar in 78%
White Lie (1991)
Plot Summary:
A black New York man returns to his southern hometown to investigate his father's lynching at the hands of a white mob.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 138
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: reflective, tension, suspense
Similar in 78%
The Black Klansman (1966)
Plot Summary:
After a black man's daughter is killed by the KKK, he seeks revenge by becoming a Klansman.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 535
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: psychotronic, political, grindhouse, black and white, entertaining, independent film, black cinema
Similar in 81%
Poor Boy's Game (2007)
Plot Summary:
Donnie Rose went to prison for beating a young man so brutally it left him handicapped for life. Nine years later, Donnie is out. He's a different man with only one place to go: back home to the same violent and racist neighborhood that created him. At the other end of town, the black community still wants revenge. The instrument of justice will be Ossie Paris, a devastatingly talented boxer who challenges Donnie to a match; a match Donnie's family and peers won't let him refuse. George Carvery has waited nine years to avenge his son's fate at the hands of Donnie. When finally they meet face to face, however, both realize they share a similar desire to overcome the past.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, rough, realistic, crying
Similar in 89%
Along the Way (2007)
Plot Summary:
A funny, gripping and powerful drama about the post graduation summer of four lifelong friends and one night that changed the course of their lives... forever. Like Crash , Saint Elmo s Fire and it s inspiration Stand By Me, Along the WAY is a haunting portrait of American Youth. A profound and poignant story about friendship, the moments that shape us and an unforgettable story that deserves it place among the best and brightest that the independent film world has to offer.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 298
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: touching, offbeat, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy, crying
Similar in 89%
Yelling to the Sky (2011)
Plot Summary:
As her family falls apart, seventeen year old Sweetness O'Hara is left to fend for herself in a neighborhood where her survival is uncertain.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 904
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: emotional, serious, captivating, realistic, independent film, crying
Similar in 77%
Mall (2014)
Plot Summary:
Malcom's done with his life. Only the noise of Crystal Meth gives him a reason to keep going - everything else it has long regardless. Equipped with a bag full of weapons and self-made bombs, he makes his way to the nearby mall to really stir things up. On his personal war campaign, he not only changes his life radically, but also the fate of other people who are in the wrong place at the same time: a teenager whose favorite pastime is smoking pot in his dreary existence, a housewife, where their best days have been left behind, a greedy businessman whose only desire is to increase his wealth and a depressed pervert.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: psychological, bleak, serious, tense, suspense, realistic, independent film, neo noir, crying, freeze frame
Similar in 75%
Golden Youth (2019)
Plot Summary:
Rose, a 16-year-old girl who was abandoned by her parents and taken in by social services, and her fiancé, 22-year-old Michel, are enjoying their first great and innocent love affair in Paris in 1979, at the height of the popularity of the Le Palace nightclub. They are part of the trendy bunch who only live for partying and exuberance. At a party one evening, they meet Lucille and Hubert, a couple of fifty-something middle-class bohemians, who will take them under their wing and turn their lives upside down.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 389
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: sexy, melancholic, disturbing, unusual plot structure
Similar in 84%
Jerome (1998)
Plot Summary:
Jerome is a day in the life of a dreamer. Wade Hampton has found himself trapped by responsibility and lack of understanding by those closest to him. As a result, Wade simply leaves his old life with the idea of fulfilling a repressed dream of becoming an artist in Jerome, Arizona, a town he knows only through a postcard given to him years earlier by a co-worker. Naturally, an action as extreme as this is not without consequences. On his way, Wade meets Jane, a road hard, enigmatic drifter who lives the life of total freedom he has longed for. As the two speed farther and farther across the scorching Arizona desert, events snowball into an unforeseen crisis forcing Wade to confront realities he never could have imagined only hours earlier.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 143
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: independent film, psychological, sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 85%
Where Is Kyra? (2017)
Plot Summary:
Pushed to the brink after losing her job, a woman struggles to survive. As the months pass and her troubles deepen, she embarks on a perilous and mysterious journey that threatens to usurp her life.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: rough, bleak, captivating, suspense, melancholic, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 85%
Eve's Bayou (1997)
Plot Summary:
The story is set in 1962 Louisiana. The big Batiste family is headed by charming doctor Louis. Though he is married to beautiful Roz, he has a weakness for attractive women patients. One day Louis is flirting with married and sexy Metty Mereaux, not knowing that he is observed by his youngest idealistic daughter Eve, who is there by accident. Eve can not forget the incident which is traumatic for her naiveté, and shares a secret with older sister Cisely. Lies start to roll.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: cult classic, independent film, southern gothic, gothic, mysterious, family saga, hood, visual, spooky, atmospheric
Similar in 83%
Moonlight (2016)
Plot Summary:
The tender, heartbreaking story of a young man’s struggle to find himself, told across three defining chapters in his life as he experiences the ecstasy, pain, and beauty of falling in love, while grappling with his own sexuality.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 326000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: serious, lgbt cinema, art house, hood, inspirational, social, sexy, touching, emotional, visually stunning
Similar in 84%
The United States of Leland (2003)
Plot Summary:
A withdrawn young man, Leland Fitzgerald is imprisoned for the murder of a mentally disabled boy, who also happened to be the brother of his girlfriend, Becky. As the community struggles to deal with the killing, Pearl Madison, a teacher at the prison, decides to write about Leland's case. Meanwhile, others affected by the murder, including Becky and her sister, Julie, must contend with their own problems.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: depressing, meditative, psychological, bleak, emotional, rough, serious, realistic, touching, melancholic