Movies Like The Cruel History of Prisoners

If you liked The Cruel History of Prisoners (1976), a thriller and crime movie directed by Shinya Yamamoto, 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
Frank and Penelope (2022)
★ 7.3/10Also thriller and horror
A tale of love and violence when a man on his emotional last legs finds a savior seductively dancing in a run-down strip club. And a life most certainly headed off a cliff suddenly becomes redirected - as everything is…
2
God Is a Bullet (2023)
★ 6.3/10Also thriller and crime
Vice detective Bob Hightower finds his ex-wife murdered and daughter kidnapped by a cult. Frustrated by the botched official investigations, he quits the force and infiltrates the cult to hunt down the leader with the…
3
Star of David: Beauty Hunting (1979)
★ 6.2/10Also horror and thriller
The life of Tatsuya, a young man of proper yet mysterious descent, whose outward respectability hides his urges for rape and torture.
4
Strange Darling (2024)
★ 6.9/10Also crime and thriller
Nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.
5
The Killer (2024)
★ 6.3/10Also thriller and crime
Zee is a feared contract killer known as "the Queen of the Dead," but when she refuses to murder a young blind woman, she finds herself hunted both by criminal colleagues and a determined police detective.
6
Maniac (1963)
★ 6.2/10Also crime and horror
When a stranger enters a quiet, country town and is seduced by a sensuous married woman he unwittingly finds himself at the centre of a storm of sexual guilt and murder.
7
Southbound (2015)
★ 5.9/10Also thriller and horror
The film contains five stories set on desolate stretches of a desert highway. Two men on the run from their past, a band on its way to a gig, a man struggling to get home, a brother in search of his long-lost sister…
8
I Spit on Your Grave (2010)
★ 6.5/10Also thriller and crime
A beautiful woman from the city, Jennifer Hills, rents an isolated cabin in the country to write her latest novel. Soon, a group of local lowlifes subject her to a nightmare of degradation, rape, and violence.
9
Wardriver (2026)
★ 7.5/10Also thriller and crime
He’s a Wardriver: a hacker who steals from banks, not people—until he’s noticed. Now the money turns violent, and the woman caught in it could save him or kill them both.
10
Dangerous Game: The Legacy Murders (2022)
★ 6/10Also thriller and horror
A family reunion at a remote mansion takes a lethal turn when they are trapped inside and forced to play a deadly survival game where only one will make it out alive.
11
Shades of Desire (2023)
★ 6.5/10Also horror and thriller
After her twin sister Aubrey goes missing, Jennifer uncovers the scandalous, secret double-life that Aubrey leads - and that has put both of them in danger.
12
Slash/Back (2022)
★ 6.4/10Also thriller and horror
In a remote Arctic community, a group of Inuit girls fight off an alien invasion, all while trying to make it to the coolest party in town.
13
Nocebo (2022)
★ 6/10Also thriller and horror
A fashion designer suffers from a mysterious illness that puzzles her doctors and frustrates her husband until help arrives in the form of a Filipino caregiver who uses traditional folk healing to reveal a horrifying…
14
Vicious (2025)
★ 6/10Also horror and thriller
When Polly receives a mysterious box, it comes with one rule: place inside something she needs, something she hates, and something she loves. If she doesn’t obey, it will consume everything—and everyone—she’s ever known.
15
Dressed to Kill (1980)
★ 6.9/10Also thriller and horror
After witnessing a mysterious woman brutally slay a homemaker, prostitute Liz Blake finds herself trapped in a dangerous situation. While the police thinks she is the murderer, the real killer is intent on silencing…
16
In Cold Light (2026)
★ 5.9/10Also thriller and crime
Fresh out of prison, Ava's attempt to reclaim her drug operation collapses when she witnesses a brutal crime, forcing her to flee into a nightmarish underworld where allies are scarce and enemies multiply by the minute.
17
The International (2009)
★ 6.3/10Also thriller and crime
An interpol agent and an attorney are determined to bring one of the world's most powerful banks to justice. Uncovering money laundering, arms trading, and conspiracy to destabilize world governments, their…
18
The System (2022)
★ 7.3/10Also crime and thriller
When a young soldier, newly returned from war, gets caught up in a drug bust, he is recruited by the authorities to go undercover in a notoriously dangerous prison in order to figure out what is really going on.
19
All the Devils Are Here (2025)
★ 6.2/10Also crime and thriller
After a heist, four criminals lay low in a remote safehouse, waiting for orders. As paranoia builds, one thing becomes clear — the real threat may not be outside, but among them.
20
The Unhealer (2021)
★ 5.8/10Also thriller and horror
A botched faith healing bestows supernatural Shaman powers on a bullied teenager. When his lifelong tormentors pull a prank that kills someone he loves, he uses his powers for revenge and goes on a bloody rampage to…