Best movies like Myra: The Making of a Monster

A hard-nosed detective deliberately commits a crime to get thrown in prison, allowing him the chance to seek vengeance on a criminal serving a life sentence for brutally murdering his wife.

After serving prison time for a self-defense killing, Sailor Ripley reunites with girlfriend Lula Fortune. Lula's mother, Marietta, desperate to keep them apart, hires a hitman to kill Sailor. But he finds a whole new set of troubles when he and Bobby Peru, an old buddy who's also out to get Sailor, try to rob a store. When Sailor lands in jail yet again, the young lovers appear further than ever from the shared life they covet.

The Earnshaws are Yorkshire farmers during the early 19th Century. One day, Mr. Earnshaw returns from a trip to the city, bringing with him a ragged little boy called Heathcliff. Earnshaw's son, Hindley, resents the child, but Heathcliff becomes companion and soulmate to Hindley's sister, Catherine. After her parents die, Cathy and Heathcliff grow up wild and free on the Moors and despite the continued enmity between Hindley and Heathcliff they're happy-- until Cathy meets Edgar Linton, the son of a wealthy neighbor. Written by Marg Baskin

When Chance (Brian Presley) returns home after five years in jail, he is determined to escape his past, start a new life and make peace with his father, (Ed Harris, Golden Globe® winner), who is the head of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang and serving a life sentence for murder. Upon his release, his dreams of a crime-free future begin to disintegrate when he is forced to assume his best friend's outrageous debt to a local mobster. Despite being thrust back into a world of organized fighting, drug dealing and ties to corrupt police agents, Chance falls in love with Pearl (Academy Award® nominee Taraji P. Henson) and the prospect of living a normal life seems almost within reach. But will he be able to escape the crimes of his father and his past?

After serving time in prison for attempted murder of the man who caused his wife's death, hard-luck loser Lonnie comes home to find that all of his belongings have been sold and his two boys have been given to strangers to raise. He sets out across the country to find them and possibly to find himself.

Raymond Saxx Jr., a powerful record producer, wakes from a drug-induced blackout to find himself locked up and classified "K-11." Plunged into a nightmarish world ruled by a transsexual diva named Mousey, Raymond is truly a fish out of water. Complicating matters are a troubled young transgender named Butterfly, a predatory child molester and the ruthless Sheriff's Deputy, Lt. Johnson. Ray's struggle to contact the outside world and regain his freedom seems impossible, but he must learn to navigate this new power structure if he is ever going survive and be in control of his life again.

British documentarian Nick Broomfield creates a follow-up piece to his 1992 documentary of the serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a highway prostitute who was convicted of killing six men in Florida between 1989 and 1990. Interviewing an increasingly mentally unstable Wuornos, Broomfield captures the distorted mind of a murderer whom the state of Florida deems of sound mind -- and therefore fit to execute. Throughout the film, Broomfield includes footage of his testimony at Wuornos' trial.

An African American male is imprisoned and placed in solitary confinement after being found guilty of murdering his wife, as he's haunted by internal demons and his dead wife, and pushed to the breaking point by an abusive female guard.

A supernatural tale set on death row in a Southern prison, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the cell block's head guard, Paul Edgecomb, recognizes Coffey's miraculous gift, he tries desperately to help stave off the condemned man's execution.

A jealous barber's assistant becomes enraged by the attentions the manicurist he's obsessed with and a repeat customer pay to one another.

South Africa, 1978. Tim Jenkin and Stephen Lee, two white political activists from the African National Congress imprisoned by the apartheid regime, put a plan in motion to escape from the infamous Pretoria Prison.

Johnny Flanagan did not have the privileges of a good education or wealthy background but the streets developed his natural talent to be a great fighter. His enormous potential to reach the top is born out of a string of spectacular successes. All of which is brought to a halt when he develops a physical relationship with his manager's wife, the beautiful but manipulative Lorna. His naive temperament is no match for her callous, dispassionate scheming and he unwittingly becomes a pawn in Lorna's ultimate plan... .to murder her husband.

North Africa, World War II. British soldiers on the brink of collapse push beyond endurance to struggle up a brutal incline. It's not a military objective. It's The Hill, a manmade instrument of torture, a tower of sand seared by a white-hot sun. And the troops' tormentors are not the enemy, but their own comrades-at-arms.

A German U-Boat commander and 600 prisoners plan a daring escape from a PoW camp in Scotland.

Six female prisoners are given a weekend furlough to prepare them for their upcoming parole. While out, they all have miscellaneous sexual experiences, some good, some bad. One returns to her pimp even though he beats her, one overcomes her frigidity, one gets gang raped, two join in a threesome, and one goes back to her criminal lover shortly before the police show up.

Island of Java, 1942, during World War II. British Major Jack Celliers arrives at a Japanese prison camp, run by the strict Captain Yonoi. Colonel John Lawrence, who has a profound knowledge of Japanese culture, and Sergeant Hara, brutal and simpleton, will witness the struggle of wills between two men from very different backgrounds who are tragically destined to clash.

Sir James Forbes arrives in a remote Cornish village to identify a mysterious plague afflicting the population. Local squire Charles, a disciple of Haitian witchcraft, is using the voodoo magic to resurrect the dead to work in his decrepit and unsafe tin mines that are shunned by the local population. But his magic relies on human sacrifice and he unleashes his army of the undead on the unsuspecting village with horrific consequences.

Elijah has been bounced from group home to group home throughout his turbulent young life. What has sustained him is his art. After a promised scholarship is taken away, Elijah ends up in a fight that result in the death of another boy. Now, sentenced to a minimum of fifteen years, the young man must find a way to keep his soul alive behind bars or turn into a hardened bitter criminal.

Upon his return from serving a ten-year sentence in prison, reformed gang leader, S. Lance Ingram, struggles to adapt to a changed Harlem. Unable to use the technological skills he acquired in jail, Lance is forced to accept a position delivering meals for a local food bank. It is here that he befriends Ms. Maddy, 75, a past beauty with a irreverent and hardened shell to whom he delivers dinners. Through her, Lance finds hope, relearning the joys of life and living despite the outwardly bedeviled society in which they find themselves.

Trying to put himself back together after serving prison time for robbery, Paul takes a job as a parks employee in a small Connecticut town. His co-worker, Murph, a generation older than Paul, is dealing with his own issues, chiefly the the impending death of his very ill gay son. After the men have a run-in with local snob Frederickson, Murph's age and experience starts to temper Paul's fiery nature, as the younger man begins to embrace his new life.

This film is based on the actual events that took place in 1971 when Stanford professor Dr. Philip Zimbardo created what became one of the most shocking and famous social experiments of all time.

Vito gets out of jail after serving ten years and tries to find out who killed his younger brother.

An abused 15 year old is charged with a murder that carries the death penalty in this fact-based story.

A former mob enforcer who is released from prison after serving 22 years for a crime he didn't commit sets out on a path for revenge against the people who wronged him.

Wes Anderson (Fred MacMurray) is caught cattle rustling and promptly jailed. The public is outraged, but, since Wes always worked at night, they don't know what he looks like. Still, they break into the prison and lynch a hobo they think is Wes, while the actual culprit sneaks off to see his old flame, Rela (Barbara Stanwyck), who has recently taken up with his straitlaced brother, Tom (William Ching). But Tom is envious of his outlaw brother, and he decides to join Wes in a life of crime.

In 2039, jails have been turned into online portals where the public gets to choose what prisoners eat, wear, watch and who they fight. So successful is Panopticon TV, it is about to be rolled out to a whole town, providing subscribers even more choice.

In the year of 2008, war and sickness have overtaken the planet. The deranged government declares single women a threat to the human race. Singles women are imprisoned. The corrupt warden is determined to keep the prisoners locked up.

When a petty criminal escapes from jail, she lays low by posing as a babysitter for two semmingly precious children. But when she decides to sell them for a quick profit, she gets more than she bargained for. A wildy clever family comedy in the tradition of "Home Alone" and "Mrs. Doubtfire".

Now serving a life sentence for murder, James "Animal" Allen returns to fighting for cash in order to help his troubled son on the outside. However, with his newfound fame as a fighter, Animal uncovers a jailhouse conspiracy that threatens to cause racial tensions to explode.

The film is a semi-biographical story based on the experiences of former prison guard Ronnie Thompson who spent seven years working in some of the UK's most dangerous prisons. Based on Thompson's book of the same name, the project stars James D'Arcy (Master & Commander), Noel Clarke (Kidulthood), Frank Harper (The Football Factory), Jamie Foreman (Layer Cake), Andrew Shim (This Is England) and Kate Magowan (Stardust). The story revolves around former soldier Sam Norwood who takes a job as a prison officer when he returns from Iraq and becomes exposed to the underworld of prison culture - including corrupt guards and drug trafficking.

A portrait of Lord Longford, a tireless British campaigner whose controversial beliefs often resulted in furious political debate and personal conflict.

After her son dies in a hit-and-run accident, a woman forms an unusual friendship with a convicted killer awaiting execution.

Somewhere in the middle of the English countryside a former judge and a group of former prison warders, including his lover, run their own prison for young women who have not been held properly to account for their crimes. Here they mete out their own form of justice and ensure that the girls never return to their old ways.

The true story of Jimmy Boyle, who was reputed to be Scotland's most violent man.

After she leaves her cheating husband, Susan Reed embarks on a cross-country road trip where she falls victim to a series of mishaps that land her behind bars in the redneck Macon County Jail. Once inside, she's subjected to endless acts of brutality from the guards and inmates alike. Things go from bad to worse when she's forced to defend herself against a rapist with tragic results. No longer truly "innocent," when the opportunity arises Susan flees with fellow prisoner Coley.

When Redwood Federal Penitentiary closes, there are going to be several hundred prisoners looking for a new home. Several of the most dangerous, all killers, will be transported by train to Santa Ana, a new high tech prison for the worst of the worst. Included in this transfer are: -Ian Kelly, explosions expert who has set off terrorist bombings worldwide. -Lorenzo "Enzo" Martini, a mafia kingpin who enjoyed nationwide fame before finally being put away. -Karl "The Killer" Miller, a serial killer with absolutely no conscience and an unquenchable thirst for blood. -Tommy "Zimm" Zimmer, a man who's serving life for killing his wife and her lover. -Luke Sinclair, who's finishing up the last nine months of a fifteen-year sentence for killing the man who murdered his wife. When the prisoners, under heavy security, board the last car of the train, it quickly becomes clear that an escape plan has been hatched

A group of prisoners, led by an armed robber and a gangster, attempt to escape from the infamous Alcatraz Island.

An innocent, pregnant prison inmate (Shirley Knight) becomes the bad warden's (Andrew Duggan) personal favorite.

SERVING LIFE documents an extraordinary hospice program where hardened criminals care for dying fellow inmates. Narrated and executive produced by Academy Award®-winner Forest Whitaker, the film takes viewers inside Louisiana's maximum security prison at Angola, where the average sentence is more than 90 years.

Small-time jewel thief Leo Martin is deserted by his partners-in-crime, club owner Gus Loman and driver Hatchett, when the robbery they are committing goes wrong. After serving his prison sentence, Leo emerges with an intricate plan for revenge. Leo implicates Loman, as well as his amoral boss, Gregory Lang, for murder -- but Inspector Rogers suspects Leo.

If you're arrested in New York City and can't make bail, you'll be sent to Rikers Island -- a mammoth holding facility for 17,000 men and women awaiting trial. TV journalist Jon Alpert spent ten months filming there, coming away with a graphic and unblinking portrait of life inside America's largest jail complex, including a moving look at the human faces behind the statistics.

Giorgio's Lobster Farm has been a tradition in Brooklyn for over 65 years. Manned by an eccentric crew and serving the best seafood in the state

A disturbing docu-drama re-telling the story of the horrific case of Beverley Allitt, a children's nurse, accused in 1991 of killing four children in her care and harming nine others over a short period of just 59 days. The judge gave her a sentence of 30 years imprisonment, one of the longest sentences given to a woman in this country - exceeded only by those of Rosemary West and Myra Hindley. In the role of Allitt herself, giving an excellently controlled performance, is former "EastEnders" actress Charlie Brooks.

From its beginning during the Reagan years through current times, the War on Drugs has left many victims stranded in the prison system. PRISONERS OF THE WAR ON DRUGS reveals life behind bars in the nation’s prisons. Each prisoner has his or her own story, but for most, the story is predictably similar; they have been criminalized for drugs or drug related offenses, locked up with easy access to substances, and given little opportunity for rehabilitation. This film provides an inside look at the prison system, its prisoners and a war on drugs we do not seem to be winning.

The extraordinary story of how the two most notorious women in British crime, the unscrupulous and brutal serial killers, Rose West and Myra Hindley, became friends and lovers in HM Prison Durham.

Ian Brady and Myra Hindley's horrific child killing spree shocked the nation and they have been front page news ever since. Ian Brady fantasized about committing the perfect murder.

Amanda Knox served four years in an Italian prison for the murder of her British flatmate Meredith Kercher in Perugia in 2007, always insisting on her innocence. In 2011, she was acquitted on the basis of DNA evidence but prosecutors successfully appealed and her acquittal was struck down. In 2014 she was again found guilty in absentia after a retrial and sentenced to 28 years and six months in jail. The saga came to and end when Italy's highest court overturned the convictions of Ms Knox and her former boyfriend, Italian student Raffaele Sollecito in March 2015. Known burglar Rudy Guede was arrested a short time later following the discovery of his bloodstained fingerprints on Kercher's possessions. He was later found guilty of murder in a fast-track trial and is currently (as of 2019) serving a 16-year prison sentence.

As 2015 marks a half a century since the Moors murderer was sentenced to life imprisonment, this documentary examines Ian Brady's 50 years in jail. Among the contributors are prison officers, detectives, relatives of victims, pen pals and inmates who served time with him. They reveal how Brady has shown a psychopathic lack of connection with his crimes. Arrested and charged in 1965, he’s never been considered for parole, nor has he asked to be freed.

The Moors murders were carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965, in and around Manchester, England. The victims were five children aged between 10 and 17. This documentary is an investigation into a collection of photographs owned by murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley that police claimed may have led to the identification of the sites of their victims' graves.

A group of young delinquents well on the road to careers in crime, are given a shock course in prison life. Brought face to face with hardened criminals many serving life sentences for rape and murder, they are suddenly confronted with the harsh realities of a top-security U.S. Penitentiary.