Top 10 Best Revenge Movies
When one actually thinks about it, "justice" is little more than a palatable legal form of "revenge," and revenge movies play off that fine line between the two to give people a thrill rides. We are taught that "two wrongs don't make a right," but when an evildoer walks free while a victim is helpless, viewers cheer when the victim strikes back at the perpetrator. Revenge films reflect our innate desire for justice when it seems to be out of our reach through legal channels. From thrillers to comedies, here are ten of the finest vengeance films from the 1940s to the present.
1. The Lady Eve (1941)
A smart romantic comedy by Preston Sturges, The Lady Eve stars Barbara Stanwyck as a woman who seeks revenge on a wealthy man (Henry Fonda) who initially rejects her because of class differences. She reinvents herself as a high-society lady, lures him back in, and then reveals her true identity in a climactic scene that marries humor with revenge perfectly.
2. Cape Fear (1962)
In this taut thriller, Robert Mitchum stars as Max Cady, an ex-con bent on tormenting the lawyer (Gregory Peck) who sent him up. Cady's unrelenting quest for revenge comes to a bloody climax, making Cape Fear a staple of the revenge film. The Martin Scorsese '91 remake made it even more iconic, thanks in part to the cold menace of Robert De Niro.
3. Tales of Terror (1962)
Roger Corman's anthology horror film features the "Black Cat" segment, which is directed from Edgar Allan Poe's stories. In a grotesque revenge action, Montresor Herringbone buries his wife and her lover behind a wall and then terrorized by the fruit of his brutality. What savagely awaits him is the very outcome of his remorseless cruelty and perfectly personifies Poe's themes of guilt and retribution in this atmospheric tale.
4. Point Blank (1967)
Star of this very hard-boiled crime thriller is the man betrayed and left to die by his partner and his wife: Lee Marvin. He manages to survive and sets out on a remorseless vengeance quest. The film noir aesthetic, and the existential undertones which Lee Marvin imbues to Walker make Point Blank one of the most unforgettable revenge sagas.
5. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
Sergio Leone's epic western casts Charles Bronson as the mysterious harmonica-spurning gunfighter out for vengeance against the ruthless railroad tycoon, with great photography and intricate plot, Once Upon a Time in the West is, indeed, one of the most famoust revenge movies shot in the Wild West.
6. Straw Dogs (1971)
Dustin Hoffman stars in Sam Peckinpah's sensational thriller as a milquetoast husband driven to extreme violence when local thugs terrorize himself and wife. His controlled desire for revenge builds toward an explosive and bloody payoff, showing just how far someone can go when his life is turned on its head.
7. Revenge! (1971)
This British thriller tells of a couple who imprisons the man they believe killed their daughter. Tense and unsettling, Revenge! explores how grief can actually transform into blind vengeance, and the victims become villains themselves. Its cold atmosphere lingers long after the credits roll.
8. The Last House on the Left (1972)
A brutal directorial debut by Wes Craven is a film about two girls kidnapped and killed by a gang of thugs, murderers who mistake the home of one of the victim's parents for shelter. So, when the parents have time to realize what has happened, they take a very savage form of retribution-a cornerstone in revenge horror, The Last House on the Left.
9. The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
Clint Eastwood oversees and performs in this Western as a man whose family is slain by Union troops during the Civil War. Refusing to surrender even after the war is over, Josey Wales embarks on a relentless journey to avenge his loved ones in this gritty and emotional revenge tale.
10. Rolling Thunder (1977)
William Devane plays a Vietnam War veteran, who comes back home to find that the robbers murder his family. Devoid of any justice at the hands of the law, he joins hands with his war friend and starts hunting down the killers, culminating in a violent, cathartic showdown. Rolling Thunder is a pulsating ride into revenge as survival technique.
Indeed, these ten films reveal that although revenge may be brutal and tragic, it is one of cinema's most powerful genres, stories of justice and redemption with twists that are either cerebral or horror-drenched. If you are a fan of this type of genre or even just love high-stakes thrills, these ten films are your perfect sit.