Movies Like The Penalty Phase

If you liked The Penalty Phase (1986), a drama and thriller movie directed by Tony Richardson, 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
Hello (2022)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and thriller
An emotionally unavailable flight attendant meets a potential love interest and later finds out that her "perfect guy" has ulterior motives. As the clock ticks down on New Year's Eve, she must fight to keep her…
2
Seeds of Yesterday (2015)
★ 6.4/10Also tv movie and thriller
The Sheffield family reveal and go through some home truths as their middle child inherits the Foxworth mansion. The family's ghosts looming over, and more tragedies are in store as the curse lives on.
3
Infidelity in Suburbia (2017)
★ 6.2/10Also thriller and tv movie
With her husband away at work, and her son at school, Laura dreams of a home-renovation project to supplant her restless days. Elliott, her irresistibly hot private contractor, soon fulfills her more forbidden dreams.
4
Tyler Perry's Duplicity (2025)
★ 6.6/10Also thriller and drama
High-powered attorney Marley faces her most personal case yet when she is tasked with uncovering the truth behind the murder of her best friend Fela’s husband. With the help of her boyfriend – a former cop turned…
5
The Neighbor in the Window (2020)
★ 7.3/10Also thriller and drama
A suburban wife finds herself and the security of her family threatened by another seemingly friendly neighborhood mom.
6
A Sister's Secret (2018)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and thriller
Twin sisters secretly swap places on their thirtieth birthday. The harmless prank becomes a nightmare when one of them is murdered.
7
Riddled with Deceit: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (2020)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and tv movie
Former detective Jeff Jackson teams up with Dr. Zee Madieras to track down their friend's missing emerald brooch, a thief, and also... a murderer.
8
Kept Woman (2015)
★ 6.5/10Also thriller and tv movie
Jessica and her fiancé Evan have just moved from the city into their dream home on a quiet suburban street. Soon after, Jessica catches her seemingly friendly new neighbor, Simon, in a strange lie and can't let her…
9
Rogue Agent (2022)
★ 6.3/10Also thriller and drama
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.
10
The Twin (2017)
★ 5.9/10Also thriller and drama
Jocelyn's boyfriend is perfect--except for his dangerous identical twin brother, Derek, who just escaped from a mental institution. When Derek unspools a twisted plan of revenge with Jocelyn in his crosshairs, her…
11
Hierarchy (2025)
★ 6/10Also thriller and tv movie
In an undisclosed area of Texas after two adoptive brothers become entangled in criminal activity, forced to evade law enforcement and the greedy Russian mafia.
12
Desert Dawn (2025)
★ 6.3/10Also thriller and tv movie
A newly appointed small-town sheriff and his begrudging deputy get tangled up in a web of lies and corruption involving shady businessmen and the cartel while investigating the murder of a mysterious woman.
13
The Experiment (2010)
★ 6.4/10Also thriller and drama
20 men are chosen to participate in the roles of guards and prisoners in a psychological study that ultimately spirals out of control.
14
Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt (2012)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and thriller
Jesse finds himself struggling to get his job back as the Paradise police chief, and he is forced to rely on his cop intuition to sort through a maze of misleading clues and hidden meanings as he attempts to solve a…
15
Black Site (2022)
★ 6/10Also thriller and drama
A group of officers based in a labyrinthine top-secret prison must fight for their lives against Hatchet, a brilliant and infamous high-value detainee. When he escapes, his mysterious and deadly agenda has far reaching…
16
Scum (1977)
★ 7.2/10Also tv movie and 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…
17
TalhotBlond (2012)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and tv movie
Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.
18
Not Without Hope (2025)
★ 6.6/10Also thriller and drama
A group of friends' fishing boat capsizes off the coast of Mexico and they're left alone stranded at sea and struggling for survival.
19
Jesse Stone: Lost in Paradise (2015)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and tv movie
Police Chief Jesse Stone now presides over the quiet, seaside village of Paradise, Massachusetts. When the facts don't add up in a brutal Boston-area murder case, Jesse opens an investigation filled with surprises…
20
40 Acres (2025)
★ 6.6/10Also thriller and drama
Hailey Freeman and her family are the last descendants of African American farmers who settled in rural Canada after the Civil War. In a famine-decimated near future, they now struggle to safeguard their farm, as they…