Movies Like Hell Behind the Bars

If you liked Hell Behind the Bars (1984), a action and drama movie directed by Gianni Siragusa, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Convict (2014)
★ 6.5/10Also action and drama
Set in the dark and old Parramatta prison built by the original convicts our lead character Ray a war veteran finds himself serving 18 months for manslaughter after defending his fiance. He soon realizes that the…
2
Lockdown (2000)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
Avery (Jones) returns to college as a competitive swimmer after getting his life back on track. But his life takes another unexpected turn when he and his two friends (Bonds, Casseus) are wrongly accused of murder and…
3
In Hell (2003)
★ 6.7/10Also action and drama
A man must survive a prison where hardened criminals battle to the death for the warden's entertainment.
4
Undisputed II: Last Man Standing (2006)
★ 7.4/10Also action and drama
Heavyweight Champ George "Iceman" Chambers is sent to a Russian jail on trumped-up drug charges. In order to win his freedom he must fight against the jailhouse fighting champ Uri Boyka in a battle to the death. This…
5
Bronson (2009)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and action
A young man who was sentenced to 7 years in prison for robbing a post office ends up spending 30 years in solitary confinement. During this time, his own personality is supplanted by his alter ego, Charles Bronson.
6
Kill for Me (2013)
★ 5.9/10Also drama
Rent’s a bitch. And that is why, six months after her best friend went missing, Amanda finally gives in to getting another roommate, Hailey. The two college students turn out to have something in common, however…
7
In the Blood (2014)
★ 5.8/10Also action
When her husband goes missing during their Caribbean vacation, a woman sets off on her own to take down the men she thinks are responsible.
8
Scum (1979)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
Carlin is a new reform school inmate with a reputation as a hard case. The authorities encourage gang leader Pongo to humble Carlin, but Carlin overtakes Pongo as Daddy of the ward. The guards institute a reign of…
9
Extremities (1986)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
A woman escapes from the man who is about to rape her, but leaves her purse behind. Afraid that her attacker might come after her, she goes to the police, but with no proof of the incident, they can do nothing. In…
10
Jawbone (2017)
★ 6.1/10Also action and drama
A former youth boxing champion, Jimmy McCabe is a man in search of hope but looking in all the wrong places. When he hits rock bottom he turns to his childhood boxing club and the only family he has left: gym owner…
11
Cape Fear (1991)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
Sam Bowden is a small-town corporate attorney. Max Cady is a tattooed, cigar-smoking, Bible-quoting, psychotic rapist. What do they have in common? 14 years ago, Sam was a public defender assigned to Max Cady's rape…
12
Made in Britain (1983)
★ 7/10Also drama
16-year-old skinhead Trevor has no regard for authority, and would rather spend his time stealing cars than sitting in the detention centre to which he is sent. Social worker Harry Parker tries his best, but Trevor is…
13
Never Back Down: Revolt (2021)
★ 6.3/10Also action
An amateur fighter is lured by a trafficking syndicate specializing in elite underground fighting where her brutal captor forces her to fight or face certain death.
14
Walking Tall: Lone Justice (2007)
★ 5.8/10Also action and drama
In Dallas, witnesses against a drug-lord are murdered in a safe-house.The testimony of FBI agents becomes the only chance to keep him in prison. They are lodged in another safe-house, but the place is invaded and the…
15
American Me (1992)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
During his 18 years in Folsom Prison, street-gang leader Santana rules over all the drug-and-murder activities behind bars. Upon his release, Santana goes back to his old neighborhood, intending to lead a peaceful…
16
A Good Woman Is Hard to Find (2019)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
The recently widowed mother of two, Sarah, is desperate to know who murdered her husband in front of her young son, rendering him mute. Coerced into helping a low-life drug dealer stash narcotics stolen from the local…
17
Straw Dogs (2011)
★ 5.9/10Also drama
A young couple moves to a quaint southern town. Soon their perfect getaway turns out to become a living hell when dark secrets and lethal passions spiral out of control.
18
Midnight Express (1978)
★ 7.4/10Also drama
Billy Hayes is caught attempting to smuggle drugs out of a country. The 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…
19
Until Death (2007)
★ 6/10Also action
Anthony Stowe is a dirty cop who is hooked on heroin—and everyone hates him. After a serious accident, he is placed into an induced coma, but emerges from it a better person who wants to put things right.
20
Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
Young teen girl Xiu Xiu is sent away to a remote corner of the Sichuan steppes for manual labor in 1975 (sending young people to there was a part of Cultural Revolution in China). A year later, she agrees to go to even…