The 25 best revenge films of all time

The original 1962 "Cape Fear," an adaptation of the 1957 novel "The Executioners," stars Robert Mitchum as a convicted rapist and lunatic who seeks vengeance on the lawyer (Gregory Peck) who he believes got him a worse sentence than he felt he deserved (obviously not). In 1991, Martin Scorsese directed his version with Robert De Niro in the Mitchum role and Nick Nolte in Peck's, with Juliette Lewis in a standout role as Nolte's daughter, who comes under the thrall of De Niro's psychopath. Both versions bring some unique enough to have equal mention on our list.

"Point Blank," John Boorman's no holds barred take on revenge, stars Lee Marvin as Walker, a man who finds himself double-crossed by his actual partner in crime, Reese (John Vernon). It wasn't enough that Reese shoots Walker, he also takes their heist money and his wife to boot. Walker, naturally, comes for revenge, but instead of  who shoots him down on Alcatraz, steals his money, and makes off with his wife, too. When Walker makes his way back, he not only has his eyes set on Reese, he's looking to take down his entire crime ring in the exchange.

In 1971, Michael Caine was at the apex of his career as a man with a gun, and of his films, the most memorable was revenge fable "Get Carter," a tale about a man who is obsessed with bloody payback after his brother is murdered. Caine smolders on screen in the cliched "Man on a Mission" role, but at the end of the day, it's still Michael Caine, and his line delivery alone makes this film, as well as the rest of his '70s exploits, worth the watch. 

They say every man is one bad day away from showing off his worst tendencies, and in Sam Peckinpah's ultra-violent "Straw Dogs," Dustin Hoffman is the man in question, pushed to the edge as an American on holiday with his wife (Susan George) who, after a run in with some locals, has his home invaded and his wife brutalized. What comes after, however, is what audiences remember as the revenge plays out via  boiling oil, fire irons and bear traps. Hoffman's turn as a good man gone broken plays out with almost sadistic glee.

The original and still best. Although audiences were more than familiar with Charles Bronson for his westerns, director Michael Winner looked to Bronson to star as Paul Kersey, a pacifist architect who, when his wife is murdered and daughter attacked, becomes a vigilante killer of his own. When released in 1974, audiences couldn't get enough of "Death Wish," despite protests from critics and media, which is all the more interested in how violence and revenge were perceived in the '70s compared to today, when a "Death Wish" remake barely makes a blip in the discussion.

Brian DePalma's adaptation of Stephen King's "Carrie" could be one of the more memorable revenge movies of all-time, if not most unique. Carrie (Sissy Spacek) is a young, shy 17-year-old girl who lives in an oppressive Christian home, with a fanatical mother, and oh by the way, she discovers she has telekinesis. That's right, Carrie is a mutant. Instead of Professor X spiriting Carrie away from her woes, she is subjected to extreme humiliation at her high school prom, and in revenge, wreaks havoc on both friends, haters and family and gets pushed too far at her high school prom. Note to self: pig's blood, John Travolta and telekinesis never, ever mix.

The best Clint Eastwood westerns (non-Spaghetti Division) are rooted firmly in the pursuit of revenge, but other than "Unforgiven," "The Outlaw Josey Wales" stands as his best, if not one of the more complicated films in terms of story. Wales is a Confederate soldier (a poor farmer who owned no slaves, because, come on) who lost his wife and child to Union soldiers led by Capt. "Redlegs" Terrill (Bill McKinney). When the war ends, Wales watches his fellow surrendering soldiers get slaughtered by Terrill, leading him on a path of revenge that ends up gaining him an entirely new family, one he has to defend the old fashioned way. 

Rape-revenge films are not the best of the genre, but Meir Zarchi's "I Spit on Your Grave" might be the notorious of its kind. The film centers around a young aspiring writer (Camille Keaton) who, after being savagely gang-raped and left for dead, goes on a campaign of revenge against the four men, in some of the more gruesome ways you may not want to see. That said, "I Spit On Your Grave," despite its violence, is probably one of my most cathartic female revenge tales you'll likely ever find.

Mel Gibson made a name for himself (long before he made a name for himself) with "Mad Max," a story of a highway cop who becomes a one-man judge, jury and executioner after losing his family to a motorcycle gang. Australia had not yet fallen into a post-apocalyptic wasteland as of yet, but that doesn't keep Max from living up to the title of 'Road Warrior' as he hunts down the gang responsible and leaving each and every one of them wherever he finds them. 

Not every revenge film has to be soaked in blood, bullets and seriousness. "Nine to Five" is not only a classic tale of revenge, it's also a workplace comedy that still holds up, particularly in the #MeToo era. Dolly Parton stars with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as a trio of office workers who seek payback for their long suffering at the hands their sexist, chauvinistic boss (Dabney Coleman). The result is a ton of laughs, and a theme song that earned Parton her first Academy Award nomination for Best Song.

They say in space, no one can hear you scream, but everyone can can hear William Shatner bellow, "KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!" By far the best of the Star Trek films, "The Wrath of Khan" is the result of director Nicholas Meyer and producer Harve Bennett taking an episode of the original TV series, and turning it into a compelling cinematic tale of cat and mouse as Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán), seeks revenge on Captain Kirk for the death of his wife and fellow genetic supermen by hijacking a ship and a planet-creating weapon, all while chewing scenery as if it were made of soft Corinthian leather.

Possibly one of the more loopy revenge tales to make our list, "Darkman" capitalized on nascent interest in superhero films in the wake of Tim Burton's "Batman," but long before the genre became a staple in theaters. Raimi (who would later go on to direct three 'Spider-Man' films) subverts the genre before it even exists by making the protagonist insane and every bit as unbalanced as the villains. Liam Neeson stars as Peyton Westlake, a brilliant scientist blown up by the bad guys, but survives to gain "superpowers" while also losing his sanity. The result is amazing and demented as Peyton's attempts to seek normalcy with the girlfriend (Frances McDormand) who believes him to be dead end in psychotic episodes that are... oh, just see the movie.

Quite possibly the most underrated film on our list, this aptly titled early-’90s romantic thriller, deserves more due as a revenge thriller, as romantic subtext gives way to a true tale of revenge. Kevin Costner stars as a former U.S. Navy pilot who, while visiting a friend in Mexico (Anthony Quinn) he manages to do the absolute wrong thing and fall in lust with his friend's wife (Madeleine Stowe). From there both men are locked in a deadly dance of revenge that included torture, imprisonment and a chance at redemption that makes this film one of our most overlooked gems of revenge. 

The final western for Clint Eastwood, "Unforgiven" could easily be a bookend of revenge films with "The Outlaw Josey Wales" as the story seems to come full circle for a gunfighter (Eastwood) who is forced out of retirement in order to save his family's farm, even though the costs involved question whether or not he will be able to save his soul, much less if he even wants to. 

Director Steven Soderbergh delivers a hard-nosed revenge drama with "The Limey," about an English ex-con who flies to L.A. to get revenge in the wake of his daughter's murder. From the moment he touches down, Wilson (Terence Stamp) goes right to work, taking on Valentine (Peter Fonda) and the rest of L.A.'s criminal underbelly, as he hopes to find out just enough information to help him wipe out all his enemies.

The whole premise of "Payback" is that audiences were able to actually root for the “bad guy,” in this case Mel Gibson, which in retrospect was certainly art imitating life, but that said, the revenge plotted by Gibson as ex-marine and all around crook Porter, is more than entertaining, even if there's more than enough squeamishness to go around. One of Gibson's best to date.

A 21st century revenge fable set during the Roman Empire, Ridley Scott’s Oscar-winning epic stars Russell Crowe (in the first of two Oscar runs) as Maximus, a loyal Roman general who loses everything, including his wife and child as he's sold into slavery at the behest of the upstart Emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix). Using his leadership skills and fighting prowess, Maximus seeks his revenge, in this life and the next, leading to a final showdown that is both powerful and tragic.

Director Christopher Nolan made his debut with this modern film noir tale of revenge about a guy (Guy Pearce) without the ability to retain short-term memories who is driven by his need to avenge the death of his wife. In order to share the consciousness of the story, "Memento" is told mostly out of sequence, giving the audience as much a surprise as Leonard, who's memory issues unravel, the audience learns just as much about his past as he does, that is until the twist comes at the end to change everything.  

Everything you've ever heard about Chan-wook Park's "Oldboy" is absolutely right and infinitely entertaining. From the hallway fight scene to a gruesome tongue excision, this vengeance classic, part of Park's Vengeance Trilogy, is as engrossing as it is disturbing. The third act of "Oldboy" will likely leave new viewers absolutely in awe of what they just watched, or they'll be traumatized by what they saw.

Needlessly split into two parts, Quentin Tarantino's magnum opus "Kill Bill" is a cornucopia of action, referencing every kung-fu and grindhouse action film you can think of. In many ways, Tarantino basically threw in the kitchen sink in this tale of a woman left for dead on her wedding day by the man she once loved (David Carradine) and her former team of assassins going on a swift and unrelenting campaign of revenge upon waking from her coma. While part one is the most kinetic of the pair, part two is where the revenge gets more personal, leading up to a final showdown with Bill.

The world came to a shocking halt in 1972 as 11 Israeli athletes were murdered at the Summer Olympics in Munich. Director Steven Spielberg tells how Israel took revenge in "Munich," based on the true story of the Israeli government’s secret revenge mission to assassinate those responsible. Eric Bana stars as Avner, a man caught between duty and conscience, but who always errs on the side of justice. 

After two-and-a-half hours of relentless revenge-taking by a man (Lee Byung-hun), who seeks justice after his wife is mowed down by a sadistic bus driver (Choi Min-sik), you might be seeing the devil too. The dark and yet fulfilling twist of "I Saw the Devil" isn't that our man gets his revenge, it's that he does it over, and over, and over again. It's not enough to seek justice, for him, it's about seeking justice over time, resulting in a number of catch-and-releases that turns the killer free only to be caught and tortured again, turning events into a test of endurance for all involved... including the audience.

While Tarantino's WWII revisionist "Inglourious Basterds" may technically be a revenge film, there's more going on there that isn't just about revenge. His next film, 'Django Unchained' is about revenge on a grand stage, featuring Jaime Foxx as Django, a freed slave who teams up with a German bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) in order to find and free Django's wife (Kerry Washington), while killing as many slaveowners (Leonardo DiCaprio) and overseers as humanly possible.

Whoa. When Wilford Brimley was 50 years old, he was starring as an old geezer who finds an alien fountain of youth in "Cocoon." When Keanu Reeves turned 50, he found his own fountain... a fountain of death in "John Wick," a revenge fable set in a world of gangsters and assassins. Reeves stars as the titular Wick, a man who turned his back on his past as one of the most feared assassins ever, finding refuge in the arms of his wife and a dog she bought him, prior to her death. Wick, still in mourning, is out with his dog in his favorite car, when after being asked about selling his wife's last gift, is later assaulted and his dog murdered, setting Wick off on path of revenge soaked in blood. Double whoa.

So what in the world was it going to take to finally get Leonardo DiCaprio an Oscar? Look no further than the frontier revenge actioner "The Revenant." Not just a film about revenge, as Hugh Glass, DiCaprio, sells a performance that is equally about redemption, and resurrections, as he literally digs himself out of a snowy grave to find and kill the man (Tom Hardy) who put him and his son there. Along the way, Leo fights and kills a bear and sleeps in a dead horse for warmth. In the end, he gets his man, and he kills Tom Hardy too.