Movies like The Escapist
If you like "The Escapist" you are looking for tense, harsh and rough movies about / with prison, prison escape, brutality, escape, tragedy, flashback and loneliness themes of Crime, Drama and Thriller genre shot in UK or Ireland.
Find your next favorite and similar movies in two steps:
1. Identify all themes of interest from this film (block below).
2. Look for them in the presented list.
The Escapist (2008)
18K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, Ireland
Duration: 102 min.
Story:
Frank Perry is an institutionalized convict twelve years into a life sentence without parole. When his estranged daughter falls ill, he is determined to make peace with her before it's too late. He develops an ingenious escape plan, and recruits a dysfunctional band of escapists - misfits with a mutual dislike for one other but united by their desire to escape their hell hole of an existence.
Style:
tense, harsh, rough, suspenseful, psychological thriller, atmospheric, realistic, surprise ending, sincere, mind bending ...
Plot:
prison, prison escape, brutality, escape, tragedy, flashback, loneliness, existentialism, prison life, going straight, twists and turns, terminal illness, plot twist, tunnel, redemption, jail, prison break, prison rape, drug dealer, dominoes, fistfight, chapel, lgbt, gang, caper ...
Time:
2000s, y2k, contemporary
Place:
london, england, europe
Movie in categories
Most similar movies to The Escapist
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out rough, realistic, serious and suspenseful films with plots about prison, murder, confined, criminal heroes, gang, gangster and prison life mostly in Drama, Crime and Thriller genres. Some movies like The Escapist: Ghosted (2011), McVicar (1980), The Escape (2001), Cell 211 (2009), Bad Boys (1983). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
686
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 107 min.
Story:
‘GHOSTED’ tells a story of survival inside a British Prison. Jack a model prisoner, has kept his head down and done his time. After his wife confirms that she is leaving him, on the anniversary of their son’s death, the only thing that keeps ...
Style:
suspenseful, rough, serious, bleak, realistic ...
Plot:
prison, survival, haunted by the past, danger, confined, criminal heroes, twists and turns, prison life, prison fight, prison rape, supernatural, strong violent content ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
europe, england
Similarity:
95%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 112 min.
Story:
John McVicar was a London Bad Boy. he graduated to armed bank robbery and was Britain's "Public Enemy No. 1". He was captured and put into a high security prison. Will even the highest security prison be able to hold him? This is the ...
Style:
realistic, serious, rough, independent film
Plot:
prison, prison escape, jail, prison life, criminal, angry, imprisonment, football hooligan, skinhead, shipwreck, gang, tough heroes ...
Time:
year 1980, 60s
Place:
england, europe, london
Similarity:
94%
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 88 min.
Story:
Denis Hopkins, a pilot, lives with his pregnant wife Valerie and has a comfortable lifestyle. When a gang of criminals led by the sadistic Ricky Barnes breaks into his home, he offers whatever the criminals want to protect his wife and unborn child, ...
Style:
suspenseful, realistic, serious, tense, rough
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
prison, tough heroes, manhunt, violence spree, gang, criminal heroes, haunted by the past, murder, heroes, revenge, fugitives, prison escape ...
Similarity:
87%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Spain, Argentina
Duration: 117 min.
Story:
In the summer of 1928, several inmates from the National Penitentiary in Buenos Aires managed to escape. The film narrates the fate of each of these runaways in search of their destiny - tough men with their own ethical codes and ready to do ...
Style:
serious, suspenseful, rough, captivating, realistic
Plot:
fugitives, prison life, couple relations, prison, criminal heroes, on the run, starting over, couples, society, chases and races, prison break, escape ...
Time:
1920s
Place:
latin america, argentina
Similarity:
81%
Movie in collections
74K
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Spain, France
Duration: 113 min.
Story:
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.
Style:
tense, psychological, clever, intense, tricky ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
prison, survival, prison life, hostage, convict, prison guard, confined, prison escape, manipulation, danger, criminal heroes, rebelliousness ...
Time:
year 2009, 21st century
Place:
spain, iberian peninsula, basque country, south america, europe
Similarity:
81%
19K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 123 min.
Story:
Mick O'Brien is a young Chicago street thug torn between a life of petty crime and the love of his girlfriend. But when the heist of a local drug dealer goes tragically wrong Mick is sentenced to a brutal juvenile prison where violence is a ...
Style:
neo noir, suspense, realistic, disturbing, serious ...
Audience:
teens, kids, teen drama
Plot:
prison, vengeance, juvenile delinquent, violence, juvenile delinquency, youth, bullying, prison escape, gangster, rivalry, prison rape, brat pack ...
Time:
80s, 20th century
Place:
chicago, usa, south america, illinois, new jersey ...
Similarity:
79%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 132 min.
Story:
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.
Style:
tense, suspense, disturbing, rough, exciting ...
Plot:
prison, revenge, maximum security prison, kidnapping, prison guard, prison warden, murder, prisoner, extreme violence, violence, boxer, police shootout ...
Time:
year 2017, 2010s
Similarity:
77%
843
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 115 min.
Story:
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 ...
Style:
tense, realistic, psychological, serious, rough ...
Plot:
prison rape, men's rights, lgbt, zoo, lgbtq, gay, animal life, couples, family relations, genie, prison, parents and children ...
Time:
80s
Place:
montreal, canada, quebec
Similarity:
76%
Movie in collections
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 109 min.
Story:
Ching is a prisoner in a Honk Kong jail that has a large population of Mainland Chinese prisoners. Ching escapes to see his young son, who he has been put in an orphanage. He surrenders himself to authorities, but the vengeful chief of security, ...
Style:
exciting, realistic, serious, rough, suspenseful
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
prison, heroic bloodshed, jail, triad, violent content, partner, friends, tough heroes, rivalry, unlikely partners, chases and races, vengeance ...
Time:
20th century, 90s
Place:
hong kong
Similarity:
75%
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min.
Story:
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 ...
Style:
atmospheric, suspense, suspenseful, exciting, realistic ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
prison, prison escape, alcatraz, escape, prison life, freedom, jail, island, prison warden, harassment, prison guard, convict ...
Time:
year 1960, 20th century, year 1979, year 1961, year 1962 ...
Place:
san francisco, bay area, usa, canada
Similarity:
73%
Genre: Thriller, Crime, Drama
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 117 min.
Story:
Après quinze ans passés derrière les barreaux, Bruno, qui prône la révolution prolétarienne, s'évade. Ce dernier veut continuer la lutte, faire sortir ses camarades de prison, libérer les masses du joug capitaliste. Tous ses anciens ...
Style:
serious, realistic, rough, suspenseful, art house ...
Plot:
betrayal, drug dealing, police investigation, on the run, terrorism, confined, manhunt, crime boss, prison, terrorist, manhood, anti fascism ...
Time:
year 2002
Similarity:
72%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
The film is a semi-biographical story based on the experiences of former prison guard Ronnie Thompson who spent seven years working in some of the UK's most dangerous prisons. Based on Thompson's book of the same name, the project stars ...
Style:
rough, disturbing, serious, tense, realistic ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
prison life, prison, violence spree, fish out of water, life is a bitch, downfall, corrupt officer, haunted by the past, misfit, confined, law enforcement, estrangement ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
england, britain, europe, united kingdom
Similarity:
72%
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min.
Story:
The movie covers the events which occurred in between the downfall of The Company and the finale of the series. It details the arrest and incarceration of Sara Tancredi, the final escape plan which Michael devises for Sara. It also reveals the ...
Style:
suspenseful, suspense, intense, exciting, realistic ...
Audience:
boys' night, teens, girls' night
Plot:
prison, happy ending, fugitives, escape, woman in danger, self sacrifice, twists and turns, prison escape, relationships, freedom, resilience, murder mystery ...
Time:
2000s, 21st century
Place:
florida, canada, israel, new jersey
Similarity:
72%
207K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 105 min.
Story:
When a seemingly straight-forward drug deal goes awry, XXXX has to break his die-hard rules and turn up the heat, not only to outwit the old regime and come out on top, but to save his own skin...
Style:
neo noir, intense, tense, rough, suspenseful ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
organized crime, violence, sex, drug dealing, twists and turns, gangster, chase, murder, drug, british gangster, drug lord, caper ...
Time:
year 2004, 70s, 90s, 60s, 20th century
Place:
london, england, britain, amsterdam, netherlands ...
Similarity:
70%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 87 min.
Story:
An examination of the malevolent London underworld with it's despicable criminal underground. Ray (Mick Rossi) just finished an eight year prison sentence after getting set up. Now he is back on the streets to settle the score.
Style:
tense, serious, rough, suspenseful, realistic ...
Plot:
murder, criminal underworld, prison, criminal, gangster, crime gone awry, dishonesty, released from prison, corrupt cop, police detective, police investigation, betrayal ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
london, europe, england, los angeles, britain
Similarity:
69%
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
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 ...
Style:
suspense, suspenseful, emotional, breathtaking, surprise ending ...
Plot:
hospital, chase, escape, father son relationship, leukemia, terminal illness, criminal, psychopath, police officer, villain played by lead actor, child in peril, boy ...
Time:
90s
Place:
san francisco, usa
Similarity:
69%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, Germany, Ireland
Duration: 103 min.
Story:
An old gangster is advised that Freddie Mays would leave jail after thirty years in prison. His mood changes and he recalls when he was a young punk, who joined Freddie Mays' gang, a man he both envied and ultimately betrayed.
Style:
intense, tense, rough, suspenseful, bleak ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
rise and fall, gangster, violence, organized crime, gang, torture, revenge, psychopath, mafia, betrayal, violent, brutality ...
Time:
year 2000, future, 60s, 20th century, 80s ...
Place:
london, england, europe
Similarity:
69%
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 121 min.
Story:
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 ...
Style:
disturbing, suspense, realistic, depressing, psychological ...
Plot:
prison, brutality, torture, injustice, lawyer, escape, prison life, prison escape, drug, drug smuggling, court, violent ...
Time:
70s, 20th century, year 1970, year 1978, year 1975 ...
Place:
turkey, brooklyn new york city, greece, istanbul turkey, europe ...
Similarity:
69%
Movie in collections
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
Ching and Yiu and problems they face with Mickey, a fellow inmate and "Assassin", a prison guard. Yiu is sentenced to three years for manslaughter. In a fight for his father, he pushed a man and was run over by a bus. Ching was sent to ...
Style:
serious, realistic, suspenseful, rough
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
prison, heroic bloodshed, prison escape, street crime, chinese mafia, prison break, favoritism, gangster, escape, survival, tough law enforcer, law enforcement ...
Time:
80s
Place:
hong kong, asia
Similarity:
68%
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Australia, UK, Canada
Duration: 108 min.
Story:
Locked up for a minor crime, 19 year old JR quickly learns the harsh realities of prison life. Protection, if you can get it, is paramount. JR soon finds himself under the watchful eye of Australia's most notorious criminal, Brendan Lynch, but ...
Style:
stylized, exciting, suspenseful, noir, neo noir ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
prison, heist, love story, murder, betrayal, gunfight, abuse, mafia, criminal heroes, teaching the ways of the world, gangster, escapades ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
australia, melbourne
Similarity:
68%
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min.
Story:
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 ...
Style:
tense, suspense, intense, psychological, disturbing ...
Audience:
boys' night, teens, girls' night
Plot:
prison, police corruption, vengeance, gang, survival, frame up, lone hero, gunfight, mistaken identity, drug dealing, criminal heroes, tough law enforcer ...
Time:
80s, year 1989
Place:
california, new jersey, san francisco
Similarity:
67%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: India
Duration: 115 min.
Story:
Three men are on death row. Jaggu (Jackie Shroff), a lawyer and a poet, is serving a sentence for murdering his wife because she was cheating on him with another man. Nagya (Nagesh Kukunoor), a man angry with the whole world, is arrested for ...
Style:
serious, contemplative, tense, touching, bleak ...
Plot:
prison, introspection, prison life, criminal heroes, hopes, redemption, family problems, twists and turns, murder, death row, prisoner, escaped prisoner ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
india
Similarity:
67%
4K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 112 min.
Story:
Good policing doesn't necessarily mean doing everything by the book. But as the business of crime in London turns to favour the Albanians and Turks, how does a "good" policeman survive?
Style:
tense, serious, realistic, rough, suspenseful ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
police corruption, murder, gang, gangster, drug dealing, danger, dishonesty, law enforcement, police investigation, human trafficking, drug, corruption ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
london, england
Similarity:
67%
Movie in collections
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
A soldier returns home to his small town and exacts a deadly revenge on the thugs who tormented his dimwitted brother while he was away.
Style:
disturbing, tense, bleak, rough, psychological ...
Plot:
revenge, vigilante, bullying, brutality, vengeance, brother brother relationship, vigilantism, gang, mental illness, forced sex, great ending, cruelty ...
Time:
year 2004, 21st century
Place:
england, britain, europe
Similarity:
67%
424
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
A tragic tale of an Asian youth's gang life in South East Los Angeles, set during the mid 80's to the early 90s.
Style:
realistic, rough, suspenseful, serious, crime drama
Plot:
juvenile delinquency, gang, best friend, youth, rivalry, urban ghetto life, tough heroes, criminal heroes, prison, murder, society, life is a bitch ...
Time:
90s, 20th century
Place:
los angeles
Similarity:
66%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, Netherlands, USA
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
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 ...
Style:
rough, suspenseful, tense, serious, realistic
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
cons and scams, going straight, life is a bitch, drug dealing, criminal heroes, criminal's revenge, addiction, law enforcement, gangster, drug abuse, dishonesty, rivalry ...
Place:
england, london
Similarity:
66%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
A young man goes to prison and a tough, older convict takes him under his wing as a mentor.
Style:
tense, realistic, bleak, cult classic, atmospheric ...
Plot:
friendship, prison, violence, gang, murder, transvestite, prison gang, marijuana, survival, prison rape, drug, mentor protege relationship ...
Time:
20th century, 90s
Place:
usa, philadelphia, pennsylvania, paris france, puerto rico ...
Similarity:
66%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min.
Story:
Framed for the murder of a record company president in 1952 Hollywood, young, aspiring singer Aggie O'Hanlon is sentenced to life in prison and tries to adjust to her life life behind bars in a hellish womens prison where she is befriended by ...
Style:
tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, bleak ...
Plot:
women in prison, prison, women's prison, female prisoner, lesbianism, wrongful conviction, lust, lesbian, female nudity, prison riot, blonde, bare breasts ...
Time:
50s, 1950s
Place:
usa
Similarity:
66%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 99 min.
Story:
Alex masterminds an ambitious plan to steal millions of untraceable cash that is stacked in the underground vaults of The London Exchange Bank, waiting for its last journey, Incineration. Lucky, Matty, Terry, Chubby, Norman and Jay make up his ...
Style:
captivating, tense, psychological, suspense, exciting ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
airport, hostage, bank, gang, isolation, chase, rivalry, cons and scams, police officer, siege, hostage situation, escapades ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
germany, london, england, europe, monaco
Similarity:
66%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min.
Story:
Johnnie Cooper served time for an armed robbery that also his father and brother participated in. When he's released from jail he's determined to live a normal life and gets work at a gas station. But soon his brother pays a visit.
Style:
independent film, tense, realistic, serious, rough ...
Plot:
professional killer, hitman, parole officer, gas station, profanity, escape, family relations, disorder, prison, cons and scams, siblings relations, car chase ...
Time:
90s, 20th century
Place:
latin america, mexico
Similarity:
66%
Related movie lists
