Movies Like Scared Straight! Another Story

If you liked Scared Straight! Another Story (1980), a crime and drama movie directed by Richard Michaels, 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
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…
2
Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy (2011)
★ 6/10Also crime and drama
Based on the events surrounding the murder of British student Meredith Kercher. Hayden Panettiere (Heroes) and Marcia Gay Harden (Academy Award winner for Pollock) star in the Lifetime Original Movie Amanda Knox…
3
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Reunited and It Feels So Deadly (2020)
★ 7.3/10Also crime and tv movie
Aurora's high school reunion turns deadly when a body is found in the hotel pool. Aurora and her Real Murders Club help investigate which classmate was most likely to kill.
4
Convict (2014)
★ 6.5/10Also crime 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…
5
Ray Donovan: The Movie (2022)
★ 6.8/10Also crime and drama
A showdown decades in the making brings the Donovan family legacy full circle. As the events that made Ray who he is today finally come to light, the Donovans find themselves drawn back to Boston to face the past. Each…
6
Inside Man (2023)
★ 6.2/10Also crime and drama
Based on true events. A disgraced police detective seeking redemption goes undercover to expose a violent crime syndicate. But as he sinks deeper into the mob, the price for absolution may be higher than he can afford.
7
Black Site (2022)
★ 6/10Also crime 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…
8
Brute Force (1947)
★ 7.3/10Also crime and drama
Timeworn Joe Collins and his fellow inmates live under the heavy thumb of the sadistic, power-tripping guard Captain Munsey. Only Collins' dreams of escape keep him going, but how can he possibly bust out of Munsey's…
9
Riddled with Deceit: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (2020)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and crime
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.
10
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…
11
Gotti (1996)
★ 6.6/10Also crime and drama
John Gotti, the head of a small New York mafia crew breaks a few of the old family rules. He rises to become the head of the Gambino family and the most well-known mafia boss in America. Life is good, but suspicion…
12
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: How to Con A Con (2021)
★ 7.2/10Also crime and tv movie
When Aida Teagarden's real estate client is found murdered, her sleuthing daughter Aurora sets out with her fiancé Nick and the Real Murders Club to solve the murder.
13
Past Malice: An Emma Fielding Mystery (2018)
★ 6.5/10Also crime and drama
Archaeologist Emma Fielding is hired to consult on the acquisition of a castle-like estate that local legend states is cursed. But she finds herself in the middle of a murder case after discovering the body of the…
14
King Ivory (2025)
★ 7/10Also crime and drama
Based on extensive research involving law enforcement and gang members, a never-before-seen, authentic look inside the underworld of fentanyl trafficking from gangs inside the Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester…
15
Hierarchy (2025)
★ 6/10Also crime 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.
16
Barron's Cove (2025)
★ 7.1/10Also crime and 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…
17
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)
★ 7/10Also drama and crime
A chronicle of the crimes of Ted Bundy, from the perspective of his longtime girlfriend, Elizabeth Kloepfer, who refused to believe the truth about him for years.
18
A Bone to Pick: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2015)
★ 6.9/10Also crime and drama
A librarian with a sharp mind for murder, Aurora Teagarden is known around her small town as a master sleuth. When her friend Jane unexpectedly dies and leaves Aurora everything in her will, she also leaves a troubling…
19
The Enforcer (2022)
★ 7/10Also crime and drama
A noir thriller set in Miami, the film follows an enforcer who discovers his femme fatale boss has branched out into cyber sex trafficking, putting a young runaway he’s befriended at risk. He sacrifices everything to…
20
Miss Marple: The Murder at the Vicarage (1986)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and crime
Faced with two false confessions and numerous suspects after a despised civil magistrate is found shot in the local vicarage, Detective Inspector Slack reluctantly accepts help from Miss Marple.