An American's desperate fight for freedom unfolds in a brutal foreign prison, relentlessly bleak and suspenseful.
A full-attention watch at full speed. Emotionally it is devastating. Based on a book.
Streaming on The Roku Channel (free).
The thing to know: strong sex and nudity, more than an R usually carries. Beyond that, brutal violence and frequent strong language.
How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.
Billy Hayes is caught attempting to smuggle drugs out of a country. The courts decide to make an example of him, sentencing him to more than 30 years in prison. Hayes has two opportunities for release: the appeals made by his lawyer, his family, and the American government, or the "Midnight Express".
No. Brace yourself.
GoodFellas (1990)Dark satire · gritty · full attention · brutal violenceA Brooklyn kid's rise through the Mafia is a relentless, gritty, and darkly satirical crime epic.
Breaking Bad (2008)Dark satire · gritty · full attention · brutal violenceA chemistry teacher's bleak diagnosis ignites a darkly-comic, relentless spiral into the criminal underworld.
Requiem for a Dream (2000)Bleak · full attention · strong violence · graphic goreFour Coney Island lives spiral into a relentless, drug-fueled nightmare where hope quickly fades.
The Godfather (1972)Gritty · full attention · brutal violence · graphic goreA crime family saga unfolds with measured, gritty suspense, building an epic and melancholy atmosphere.
Ozark (2017)Gritty · full attention · brutal violence · graphic goreA financial adviser launders money for a drug boss, dragging his family into a relentless, bleak criminal enterprise.
City of God (2002)Gritty · full attention · brutal violence · graphic goreTwo young men navigate Rio's favelas, one documenting the relentless crime, the other embracing its brutal power.
Scarface (1983)Gritty · full attention · brutal violence · graphic goreA relentless, gritty crime drama follows a ruthless ascent through Miami's cocaine empire, ending bleakly.
Taxi Driver (1976)Gritty · full attention · brutal violence · graphic goreA disturbed cabbie navigates a bleak city, his measured descent into violence feeling intensely intimate.Midnight Express is on our Courtroom, Prison, True crime, 1970s and Drama on The Roku Channel lists.
Prompts we typed into CouchRot, and the lists that share its tags.
Lists with the same feel: Tearjerkers and Most violent.
Say the mood. Five picks with where they stream, right here.
Uses the TMDB API; not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Intensity, content, tone and pace tags are CouchRot's own.
