Best movies like Terror in the Family

A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like Terror in the Family Starring Hilary Swank, Joanna Kerns, Dan Lauria, Adam Hendershott, and more. If you liked Terror in the Family then you may also like: When Andrew Came Home, Joe the King, Bastard Out of Carolina, Before and After, The Party Never Stops: Diary of a Binge Drinker and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.

Fifteen-year-old Deena Marten wants the same freedom every teenager craves. But when she can't have her way, her rebellious temperament erupts in violence. Her parents, Cynthia and Todd, fear her new boyfriend, Garret, 17, is the cause. Distraught, Stephanie turns to alcohol, and Todd escapes in his work. They're unaware their Boy Scout son Adam, 13, sips from a vodka bottle hidden in his bedroom. And the problems in this dysfunctional family continue to worsen.

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When Andrew Came Home

A mother searches for five years to find her kidnapped son in this fact-based drama. Unexpectedly the boy is found, but the reunion is not as she hoped. She now has to deal with five years of abuse that the boy suffered at the hands of his kidnappers.

Joe the King

A destitute 14-year-old struggles to keep his life together despite harsh abuse at his mother's hands, harsher abuse at his father's, and a growing separation from his slightly older brother.

Bastard Out of Carolina

A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.

Before and After

Two parents deal with the effects when their son is accused of murdering his girlfriend.

The Party Never Stops: Diary of a Binge Drinker

A promising track star, 18 year old Jesse Brenner struggles with binge drinking during her freshman year of college.

Reviving Ophelia

No one listens when a teenager suspects that her cousin is in an abusive relationship.

Escaping Dad

A woman goes on the run with her children to escape an abusive husband, who is the District Attorney. He puts out an Amber Alert for them.

She's Too Young

A mother/daughter relationship is thrown off balance when the mother discovers that her "good girl" daughter is part of a group who are engaging in sexual activities with multiple partners that results in an outbreak of sexually transmitted diseases.

Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story

Based on a true story. Liz Murray is a young girl who is taken care of by her loving, but drug-addicted parents. Liz becomes homeless at 15 and after a tragedy comes upon her, she begins her work to finish high school.

Mom at Sixteen

Pregnant sixteen year old Jacey's well-meaning mother forces her to keep the birth a secret and decides to raise the baby as her own.

Fifteen and Pregnant

Based on a true story, 15 year old Tina Spangler discovers she is pregnant. Her choices are abortion, adoption, or a lonely, exhausting life as a single parent. Abandoned by her boyfriend, she turns to her mother. Tina discovers although it has torn her world apart, her pregnancy could re-unite her shattered family and help her find her true purpose in life.

Invisible Child

A nanny is hired by a troubled mother and finds herself fighting to hold together the entire family when she realizes the woman has an imaginary daughter.

Sins of the Mother

Shay is a young African-American college student whom is forced to take a year off from school to return to her hometown where she struggles with her anger and insecurity when she's forced to confront her alcoholic mother, Nona, whom is currently in AA and a churchgoer, over her entire childhood of abuse and neglect which Shay is both unwilling and unable to let go of.

6.7 / 10 2004 Drama Romance
suggested by: PolarPolarBear

Dandelion

In a small town of rolling fields and endless skies, isolated 16 year old Mason lives in a world where families exist in fragmented silence and love seems to have gone missing. Then Mason meets Danny, a sensitive and troubled girl, and their tender bond is soon tested after a fatal accident and a series of complications takes Mason away for something he didn't do.

The Twilight of the Golds

When Suzanne Stein has a genetic analysis done on her unborn child, she discovers that although she has a healthy baby, the child will most likely be born gay, like her brother, David. She must decide whether to keep the child, or to have an abortion. Her family enters a crisis about love and acceptance as she makes this difficult choice.

The Secret Life of Bees

Set in South Carolina in 1964, this is the tale of Lily Owens a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother. To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father, Lily flees with Rosaleen, her caregiver and only friend, to a South Carolina town that holds the secret to her mother's past.

Firstborn

Because he's the oldest, Jake has been the man of the house, since his parents divorce. When Mom starts seeing Sam, who always seems to be trying some new way to get rich quick, and declares he's the man of the house now, Jake puts up with it. Until he discovers Sam's illegal activities.

Georgia Rule

Georgia Rule follows a rebellious, uncontrollable teenager who is hauled off by her dysfunctional mother to spend the summer with her grandmother. Her journey will lead all three women to revelations of buried family secrets and an understanding that - regardless what happens - the ties that bind can never be broken.

Gimme Shelter

After running away from her abusive mother, a streetwise teen seeks refuge with her father, but he rejects her when he learns that she's pregnant.

Jack the Bear

Story of the relationships between two sons and their father, who moves the family to California and becomes a tv horror show host after the death of his wife.

Thirteen

Tracy is a normal 13-year-old trying to make it in school. After befriending the most popular girl at school, Evie, Tracy's world is turned upside down when Evie introduces her to a world of sex, drugs and cash. But it isn't long before Tracy's new world and attitude finally takes a toll on her, her family, and old friends.

Parenthood

The story of the Buckman family and friends, attempting to bring up their children. They suffer/enjoy all the events that occur: estranged relatives, the 'black sheep' of the family, the eccentrics, the skeletons in the closet, and the rebellious teenagers.

6.2 / 10 2009 Drama
suggested by: user665kmryrcg8

The Greatest

Teenagers Rose and Bennett were in love, and then a car crash claimed Bennett's life. He left behind a grieving mother, father and younger brother, and Rose was left all alone. She has no family to turn to for support, so when she finds out she's pregnant, she winds up at the Brewer's door. She needs their help, and although they can't quite admit it, they each need her so they can begin to heal.

Mouth to Mouth

An aimless adolescent joins several itinerant misfits who live on the fringe of society and welcome at-risk youths into their fold.

In the Gloaming

Danny, dying of AIDS, returns home for his last months. Always close to his mother, they share moments of openness that tend to shut out Danny's father and his sister.

To Sleep with Anger

An enigmatic drifter from the South comes to visit an old acquaintance who now lives in South-Central LA.

5.7 / 10 1990 Romance Drama
suggested by: magicmaker

Stella

Barmaid Stella Claire and blueblood Stephen Dallas have very little in common -- except they've fallen in love. When their relationship fails, Stella decides to raise the child they had, Jenny, alone. But Jenny and Stella are far from the perfect mother-daughter pair.

Empire of Dirt

Like many Native families, Lena Mahikan grew up in the cycle of abuse. Her father, a residential school survivor, was an alcoholic until he killed himself when Lena was 10. Her mother, only 14 years her senior, turned to the slots. By the time Lena was 15, she was pregnant and, before giving birth, was kicked to the curb by her mom. The cycle continues and Lena is now watching helplessly as her own daughter, Peeka, spirals out of control, landing herself in the hospital following a drug overdose. As a final attempt at survival, Lena decides to return home and face her own mother and a past she’s desperate to escape.

5.1 / 10 2004 Drama
suggested by: user509fh65872i

Crutch

An autobiographical film taken from the experiences of writer-director Rob Moretti, CRUTCH is a coming-of-age tale about a young man's struggle with family problems and substance abuse. Behind a facade of suburban middle class perfection, David's home life is falling apart. As he tries to cope with the impossible situation, the troubled and impressionable teenager falls under the spell of Kenny, a georgous, thirty-something, has-been actor turned theatre coach. When Kenny's "support" escalates into seduction, David slowly decends into an abyss of drinking and drug addition from which he must escape if he is to survive. CRUTCH is a dramatic tale of the confusion of youth and the difficulties in finding oneself.

All You Need

When her parents announce their divorce, Beth begins to uncover the hidden truths behind all of the rest of her families lives. Seeing that so many people struggle with keeping things in order, she seeks to take a more active role in her own life, making important changes for a better future.

5.7 / 10 1991 Drama TV Movie
suggested by: user327uhh7tgn8

Wildflower

One day Sammy and his younger sister Ellie happen upon a cabin where Alice, a young, partially deaf girl with epilepsy is being kept by her abusive stepfather. The three soon become friends and hope to get Alice an education and help her escape from the torture she undergoes daily. However, Alice's stepfather soon finds out about the friendship Alice has struck up and punishes her brutally. This story of friendship and youth shows that everyone is human and deserves to be treated so, no matter their disability or weakness.

Doing Time on Maple Drive

Yale scholar Matt Carter introduces his wealthy fiancée, Allison, to his family, and initially everything goes smoothly. However, it isn't long before Allison learns that Matt has lied to her about his relatives to mask their failures and dysfunctions. His brother, Tim, flunked out of school and developed a drinking problem, and Matt struggles to keep his own troubling secret from his less than tolerant parents.

5.9 / 10 2006 Drama
suggested by: sunflower

The Architect

An architect engages in conflict with an activist who lives in a dangerous complex the architect designed.

Canvas

A woman's schizophrenia affects her relationships with her husband and son.

Steel City

After a tragic accident caused by the truck of the middle-aged Carl Lee where a woman dies with a crushed stern, he is arrested and sent to the county jail. His son PJ, who works washing dishes and cleaning tables in a restaurant, feels lost, without financial support to keep his father's house, and is fired from his job and evicted from his house.

The Run of the Country

An Irish lad (Matt Keeslar) who fled from his oppressive, widowed father (Albert Finney) falls for a girl (Victoria Smurfit) from an affluent family.

Dance 'Til Dawn

It's prom night and the kids of Hoover High will be having a night they will never forget. Popular girl Shelley ditches her prom and ends up spending the night with unpopular Dan; Popular guy Kevin goes out with nerdy Angela because he heard she was easy; Patrice continues to blame her boyfriend Roger for everything that doesn't go the way she wants it to.

Levitation

Sarah Paulson stars as a pregnant teenager who searches for her biological mother, with the help of a guardian angel.

The Truth About Jane

Jane, a high school teenager, tries to deal with the discovery that she is a lesbian after developing an intense friendship with another girl who makes her discover her true sexuality, which is only the start of Jane's troubles when Jane's unaccepting mother, Janice, struggles with her surprising revelation of brought forth by her only daughter.

4.0 / 10 2003 Drama TV Movie
suggested by: user9189hou494o

A Long Way Home

Family members struggle to heal their emotional wounds after an incident of sexual abuse.

Go Toward the Light

A young couple faces the realities of life with their child who is diagnosed with AIDS.

Shattered Spirits

When his drinking problem takes control of his life, a father tries to leave the bottle behind while putting his and his family's lives back together.

My Ain Folk

When Jamie's maternal grandmother dies, he and his brother Tommy are separated - Tommy is taken off to a welfare home and Jamie goes to live with his other grandmother and uncle. His life is far from happy, filled with silence, rejection and bouts of violence.

Carry Me Home

A widow named Harriet and her two children Carrie and Brian are living in rural New York in 1947 and are still recovering from the death of Harriet's husband killed in World War II. Carrie is a tomboy and hangs around with boys and they have their own clubhouse. Carrie and her friends make mischief and taunt their mentally challenged neighbor Charlie by stealing one of his puppies. Harriet meets a man named Bernard and begin a courtship, but Carrie is furious that her mother is dating Bernard and wants it to stop. The jealousy and anger of Carrie raises to a fever pitch when Carrie and her friends destroy their neighbor Mr. Grizzle's garden and pour sugar into his tractor. Grizzle then takes Charlie's other puppies away from him and then Grizzle's barn is destroyed by fire. Carrie learns it's time for her to grow up and make amends with her mother and her neighbors for the grief and pain she caused them.

Augusta, Gone

Martha is a businesswoman and divorced mother of two children - Augusta and Jack. However, when docile Augusta becomes a teenager, feelings of anger and self-hate cause her personality to undergo a scary transformation, and Martha realizes that this is not just typical teen angst. Augusta begins doing drugs, drinking, and ends up on the streets. Her concerned mother and father reach out to an educational consultant, who advises them to send Augusta to a strict wilderness camp for troubled teens. However, even the institution's experienced and tough administrators find Augusta a difficulty to keep under control. Martha comes to realize that there is no answer to her daughter's behavior.

Wild Iris

A depressed woman battles with her mother and abuses alcohol following the suicide of her husband.

The Best Thief in the World

Izzy, the youngest son of a troubled New York family, takes a shine to breaking into people's apartments as a way to get attention.

Dangerous Child

A divorced mother faces the bitter irony of being suspected of child abuse when in fact her own teen son is taking verbal and physical swipes at her.

Something About Amelia

Counseling helps family deal with the discovery that their child was sexually abused by the closest relative.

Bridge to Silence

A woman with a hearing problem tries to get het life back together after a car accident that killed her husband.

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