Movies Like Panic in the Schools

If you liked Panic in the Schools (1982), a adventure and drama movie directed by Dimis Dadiras, 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
Black Gold (2011)
★ 6.5/10Also adventure and drama
On the Arabian Peninsula in the 1930s, two warring leaders come face to face. The victorious Nesib, Emir of Hobeika, lays down his peace terms to rival Amar, Sultan of Salmaah. The two men agree that neither can lay…
2
Limbo (1999)
★ 6.6/10Also adventure and drama
Traumatized by a fishing boat accident many years before, Joe Gastineau has given up his hopes for a life beyond the odd jobs he takes to support himself. That quickly changes when nomadic club singer Donna de Angelo…
3
End of Sentence (2019)
★ 6.2/10Also drama and adventure
Newly widowed Frank Fogle embarks on a journey to Ireland to scatter his late wife’s ashes. His estranged son, Sean, recently released from prison, agrees to join only when his father promises that they’ll never see…
4
River Wild (2023)
★ 6.4/10Also adventure
Follows a pair of siblings who love but distrust each other as they embark on a white-water rafting trip with a small group. One of their friends from childhood turns out to be more dangerous than he appears.
5
Seized (2020)
★ 6.7/10Also adventure
Hiding out with his son Taylor on the Mexican coast, Nero hopes to put his violent Special Forces career behind him. But after Nero’s home is attacked and Taylor is abducted, the mysterious Mzamo orders Nero to…
6
I Am David (2003)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and adventure
A 12-year-old boy manages to flee a Communist concentration camp on his own, through sheer will and determination. All he has in his possession is a loaf of bread, a letter to deliver to someone in Denmark, and a…
7
Remember (2015)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person responsible for the death of his family.
8
Run (1991)
★ 6/10Also drama
When a law student accidentally kills the son of a mob boss in a fight, he finds himself relentlessly pursued by the mob and the police.
9
Triage (2009)
★ 6/10Also drama
The wife of a photojournalist sets out to discover why he came home from a recent assignment without his colleague.
10
Cave Rescue (2019)
★ 5.9/10Also adventure and drama
When a youth football team of 12 boys, aged 11-16, and their 25-year-old coach is trapped deep inside a cave in Northern Thailand, thousands of volunteers and soldiers from around the world unite in a race against time…
11
Embattled (2020)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
The eldest son of a ruthlessly tough MMA champion must fight his way out of the abusive cycle his father has continued.
12
Best of the Best 4: Without Warning (1998)
★ 5.9/10Also adventure
A group of Russian mobsters have stolen a huge supply of paper for printing U.S. currency, and are now flooding the market with conterfeit bills. When one of the mobsters decides to give herself in and hand over a data…
13
Bunraku (2010)
★ 5.8/10Also drama
In a world with no guns, a mysterious drifter, a bartender and a young samurai plot revenge against a ruthless leader and his army of thugs, headed by nine diverse and deadly assassins.
14
The Baker (2023)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
A quiet, stoic man, lives a monk-like existence in self-imposed exile. When his estranged son is killed in a drug deal gone bad, he is left to look after a granddaughter he never knew existed, and he is forced back…
15
The Principal (1987)
★ 6.4/10Also adventure and drama
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…
16
Gold (2022)
★ 6.2/10Also adventure
In the not-too-distant future, two drifters traveling through the desert stumble across the biggest gold nugget ever found and the dream of immense wealth and greed takes hold. They hatch a plan to excavate their…
17
Mexicali (2026)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
A former special forces contractor is forced out of retirement as an avocado farmer in Mexico when local gangsters try to force him and his family off their farm.
18
Only the Strong (1993)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
Former Green Beret Louis Stevens returns to his hometown of Miami after completing military service in Brazil, only to learn that his old high school has become a haven for gangs and drug dealers. After Stevens uses…
19
Stolen Girl (2025)
★ 6.4/10Also adventure
In 1993, Maureen’s six-year-old daughter Amina is snuck out of the country by her ex-husband, Karim. After years of unsuccessful attempts to find her, Maureen intersects with a professional retriever of internationally…
20
Barron's Cove (2025)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
When his young son is viciously murdered by a classmate, a grieving father with a history of violence kidnaps the child responsible, igniting a frenzied manhunt fueled by a powerful politician -- the father of the…