We all have that dark voice in us. That little spark that says punch the guy who called you a bitch right in his throat. Go scratch your name into his car. Get revenge. That, my friends, is why we enjoy movies about others seeking vengeance so much. We can sit down, watch the violent release and never have to worry about feeling guilty. The pompous directors in pure denial want to call them thrillers. Hell, they would prefer if we called them thrillers, and not revenge films, but we know what they are. Hell, strippers want to be called erotic dancers, but we all know it’s not going to happen. Strippers are strippers, and revenge films are revenge films.
And that’s just how we likes ’em. Suddenly, the revenge genre is big news in Hollywood, and those of us who love a good revenge tale are in hog heaven. In the last two years along we’ve have flicks like “Death Sentence” with Kevin Bacon, “Straightheads” with Julianne Moore, and “The Brave One” with Jodie Foster. So, in honor of this sudden resurgence, we wanted to pay respect to our absolute favorite revenge films. Be aware, we excluded some utter classics, but we felt these deserved a spot in the top ten in the end. Let the blood flow.
“Thriller” or “They Called Her One Eye” is a film that doesn’t just inspire our beautiful avenging angel Frigga to seek revenge, but it’s so brutal you’ll want revenge on someone, too. Frigga is a woman that’s had a horrible life, that’s for sure. As a young girl she was molested and raped by a pervert on the way home, and grew up quite traumatized and mute from the experience. Bringing down her guard one day, she meets a suave man who wines and dines her. And then she’s properly drugged. She’s also torn from her family, and forced into prostitution by the gent, who makes an example after she rebels, and cuts her eye out. We’re forced for a good time to watch Frigga suffer through her capture, as she’s forced into prostitution, engages in all sorts of devious sexual acts, and Vibenius seems almost obsessed with Christina Lindberg’s body, which is not surprising.
Lindberg was utterly gorgeous and stunning, with a curvaceous body, simple face, and ability to win the audience over without a bit of dialogue. There’s hardcore sex very much in the area of an average sexploitation film as she endures punishment and sick desires from each of her clients, and Frigga slowly develops an addiction to heroin. Sick of the lifestyle after viewing the vicious murder of a friend, she trains herself in every form of self defense she can. She learns to stunt drive, she becomes a marksman, learns martial arts, and even learns survival from soldiers. This inspires her to seek pure sweet vengeance on her tormentors, and she makes every one pay as she hunts them down in their haunts and destroys each individual, eventually leading her to her original tormentor, which inspires a vicious finale that provides Frigga with the closure she desperately needs. The character is broken, beaten and a mere shell in the end, but at least she can be this in peace.
Meir Zarchi’s “I Spit on Your Grave” or as it’s alternately called “Day of the Woman,” is an excruciating film to sit through. It’s so excruciating in fact that audiences for it are still split to this day. Many love it for its unflinching brutality and sheer vengeance wreaked by its female protagonist Jennifer, while others view it as nothing more than a sadistic montage of rape and misogyny that Zarchi presumably revels in. I love it, for its ability to still inspire pure vitriol years after this film lost its appeal to mainstream audiences. For those of us who do love this, “I Spit on Your Grave” is a flawed, but utterly powerful account of a woman who is ravaged, victimized, beaten, and violently gang raped without anyone to help her, and she can only rely on the exhaustion of her tormentors which allows her to gather her bearings and seek revenge on them one by one.
Camille Keaton is a gorgeous woman. Slim and slender with so much sexual appeal to her, Jennifer returns again rebuilt, and hell bent on making her rapists pay. She slowly appeals to the sexual desires of her assailants and gathers them for vicious murders one by one, up until the finale involving a motor boat and a head. But quite obviously the most memorable and painful moment in the history of cinema involves Jennifer seducing the leader of the pack, engaging in masturbation with him in a bathtub, and then proceeding in castrating him without his notice. That is until he sees the blood flowing, and the scene just becomes much more painful with every second. “I Spit on Your Grave” is still a powerful and effective revenge film, and one that still angers many. And it’s also a hell of a revenge flick.
Jim Hemphill’s indie horror film is by far one of the best revenge films of the millennium for the simple fact that it homages many classic films without making it obvious. Not to mention he rarely directly references a film, even though the allusions are there. The character Michelle is tortured and tormented merely for… well, being herself. Physically, she’s a specimen that inspires hate and envy from the females of an elite group of high schoolers she attempts to befriend. She’s statuesque, blond, bosomy, and utterly sexy without even trying, and mentally she’s an utterly intelligent and meek girl who wants nothing more than to be accepted. And she pays for it by being drugged and gang raped during a party, and then completely humiliated by the girls of the group who find no sympathy in her incident. The rape here is difficult to sit through as star Hennessy pulls off her rape with utter conviction.
She screams for help, is sadly muffled and even jolts and bursts with a scream upon her attacker Aaron penetrating the virginal victim with merciless eagerness. To add insult to injury, her mother displays no sympathy to her plight, and no one will believe her story when she begs for help. So she takes on another form as a sex siren dressed in her now infamous sexual lure and lollipop that becomes a magnet for her targets in no time. She soon seduces and entices all the men of the group, and succeeds in inflicting some rather painful and gruesome forms of payback; some of which includes bitten off members, and sodomy with assorted objects. Which all leads to a bloody finale where she picks off the rest of the group one by one at a Halloween party donning a Jason mask, and makes her last stand in a blood soaked rage leading to one of the most tragic endings to one of the more tragic characters in the revenge genre who sadly doesn’t win out in the end.
Sure, upon first glance, you wouldn’t call this a revenge film. In fact, it’s rarely if ever called a revenge film, nor is it categorized as one. It’s not stylish, or action packed, or even frightening. But it is disturbing, and is definitely violent. Many wrote this off as mere Oscar bait, but director Field bases his film on a slow deliberately paced thriller that begins as a relationship that starts on the wrong foot and ends in bloodshed. “In the Bedroom” is an excellent little mounting gem that displays the wrath of mourning parents in the face of defeat. While it’s not Kevin Bacon gun slinging, it does reveal the lengths some folks will go to to ensure retribution to the spirit of their loved ones. Matt and Ruth Fowler, local working class folks for their New England town are embroiled in their son’s newest relationship with a young single mom.
Their son Frank, a young man with a lot of potential, engages in an affair with Natalie, who is recently divorced with her abusive husband. The problem is Natalie’s ex Richard is very much apart of her life, especially with Frank around, and he finds himself constantly intimidated by the older man who feels threatened by Frank. But after a confrontation, Frank is violently murdered by Richard and sure enough is out on bail. The path is set as to add insult to injury, Richard constantly comes across them in town, and Matt and Ruth decide to do something about it, leading to an awfully grim and unsettling finale in which Matt takes matters into his own hands ending the life of Richard and finally settling their anger and loathing towards their son’s fate. The tone, set with the rather humdrum reaction by the couple in the closing scene, makes this a rather morbid picture of a chain of events that lead to a vicious payback from a once mild mannered couple, the likes of which not seen since “Last House on the Left.”
The benefits of “Carrie” is not that it’s one of Brian DePalma’s absolute best films, but we also get to see many sadistic bastards murdered in a haze of firey rage that they so rightfully deserve. Sure, lives are lost, innocent and inept, but Carrie White gets her revenge, and folks who were once bullied cheered and hoped that someday this would be their own retribution. All the while Stephen King gives us more of a reason to fear the quiet ones pushed much too far. Carrie White is a girl who means no harm and yet is always tortured. In the rather shocking opening shot, we witness an angelic Carrie taking a shower which dissolves into blood dripping down her inner thigh. She’s horrified to discover it’s her first period, and she’s punished for it by the girls in her locker room who throw tampons at her and torment her.
Carrie is a girl who is raised by a religious fanatic of a mother, and really seeks understanding which she gets in the form of her gym teacher who just wants the best for her, and her acquaintance Sue, who seeks to become Carrie’s guardian when suspicion of a plan by the local elite group of snobs arises. As prom night emerges, Carrie is purposely asked out by Sue’s boyfriend in an attempt to give her confidence, and is elected prom queen which sets the stage for Carrie’s last bout of bloody payback to her tauntors as she’s doused with pig’s blood which sets off her mental functions of powerful telekinesis. In one of the most brilliant sequences ever made, Carrie’s emotional responses shut down as she wreaks havoc on the prom goers inflicting painful and bloody deaths, and then brings down her primary harassers Chris and Billy in a violent ball of flames as they attempt to kill her. Though Carrie is one of the many tragic figures of the Revenge genre, she finally struck back at her demons through her power, and scored one for those punished for simply existing.
Brian K. Pittman: Word to the wise, if you dislike watching someone slowly being tortured then keep walking. That’s what this film delivers in spades and it’s why it tops my list. The world is a dark place filled with horrible people, among that number are a little class known pedophiles. Mostly male, they often prey on girls who are too naive to see what they’re walking right into. So I ask you, what happens if one decided to strike back? This film is full of just that, one girl striking back for all the girls that never got the chance to. But I’ll stop here, because if I gave anything away I’m afraid I’d find it to be torture for my own conscience.
Richard is back from war, and he has a chip on his shoulder. His mentally disabled brother has been tormented by a gang of criminals for as long as he can remember. And Richard is about to face them down. What makes Richard such a threat to this large group of men are his advantages. He has no fear, no aversion to violence thus no mercy, and he’s much more skilled in combat than they are. Thus he’s about to stare each and every one of them down and let them know that his little brother’s troubles are about to be fixed, even if he has to murder a few folks to get the message out to them. Richard takes on his methods learned in the military as he first sizes up his opponents, then faces down their leader in probably the most fantastic sequence of the film, then proceeds in breaking their mentality down through manipulation, humiliation and intimidation, and then proceeds to wreak his bloody havoc before they can even realize it.
Paddy Considine is a pure force of psychotic nature as he implements every single bit of rage within him and uses it in the character of Richard a man who isn’t your stylized pretty boy anti-hero. He is instead a shell shocked and traumatized tragicharacter who decides to expel the rest of his sanity in making sure he goes through with the promise made to his brother about confronting the folks who tormented him, thus leaving the audience to question his own sanity and moral breaking points. With this, director Meadows places our character Richard on a constant testy ground where he simply can’t come to terms with his own sins and gradually grows more and more violent while avenging his brother and realizes it’s not all black and white. And by the time he’s come to that realization, he’s already lost his personal battle, even if he’s defended his brother’s honor.
Brian K. Pittman: Imagine, if you will, that one night while you were out drinking with a friend you passed out. Then, you open your eyes to find a strange room, one you cannot leave. You have only a television, a bed, a bathroom and you’re given meals through a small door. Imagine being alone for 15 years of your life with only what’s in that room for company. And suddenly, one day you’re free. What would you do? Would you be happy for finally being set loose? Not the man in our story, no. He wants answers. He wants revenge for losing the life he once had. Not only does this film have excellent writing but the fight scenes are truly a splendor to behold. We’re given a tale of a man who has nothing left but his own quest for revenge, and he won’t soon give that up. The ending floored me not only with it’s twist but with it’s violent nature. A must-see for any fan of revenge movies.
Payback is a bitch, and many times karma will and does catch up with you. Sure, life isn’t always like that, but sometimes if we’re lucky, the bad guys get caught, the bad guys get hurt, and the bad guys pay. Take Jeff for example, a man who is basically a wolf on the internet lingering in chat rooms, talking it up with preteen girls, and inevitably he comes across an easy mark. Upon entering his local coffee shop he comes across a young cute girl named Hayley. She’s obnoxious, kind of shallow, is very passionate about her thoughts, and even manages to seduce him with her innocent flirting she deems just playful. Eventually they make it back to his house where the flirting and drinking ensue, and suddenly Jeff wakes up strapped to a chair. Hayley is not a piece of jailbait waiting to get popped, no, she’s actually a lot older than she looks and is an utterly intelligent and sadistic bitch who is going to make the next self-reflective day of Jeff’s life very miserable.
After much deliberation and discussion, Hayley’s motives become pretty clear after repeated viewings. She’s not a symbolic character, she’s not an avenging angel of evil spirit, no, she’s actually a friend of the murdered girl constantly mentioned in the film. The murdered young girl that Jeff is suspected of murdering is being avenged, and Hayley and her mysterious cohort we never see, are friends of Donna Mauer, the young girl viciously murdered, and Jeff may have done it. Now Hayley is there to make him suffer, and she does it through elaborate head games, mild seduction, and yes, a castration that is a long and excruciating sequence, guaranteed. Is Jeff a victim? Is Hayley utterly insane? Is Jeff just misunderstood? No. Hayley is perhaps one of the most deceitful and clever avenging angels ever depicted on-screen, and she shows this by her constant tormenting and watching with glee as Jeff pleads for his balls.
Brian K. Pittman: I have not seen the original version of this film in many years, so I instead chose it’s remake. But do not despair for this version is by no means sub-par in quality. By far, the most classic tale of betrayal and revenge there is, this is the story of a man who loses everything he holds dear. His lover, his best friend and his way of life all taken from him in one fell swoop by the very man he trusts more than any. He’s locked away to never be released until the time of his own death, leading to him beginning to question his very sanity. Until the day he meets another prisoner as he attempts to tunnel and ends up in our sad hero’s cell. He teaches him history, languages, swordplay and many other things he feels he may need. And need he does, as he uses every one of his new skills to orchestrate his elaborate revenge upon the man who took it all from him.
How do you take a typical revenge plot, and make it seem fresh and original? If you’re Chan-Wook Park, you make it into a film about a man who has lost precious time in his life, and seeks the person who took it away from him. In actuality, while Park plays this as a simple man on a mission tale, “Oldboy” is two revenge stories in one. “Oldboy” is one in the vengeance trilogy about a drunkard name Oh Dae Su who is kidnapped one night after being taken to a local prison, and awakens in a small room. Unable to find answers to his captivity, he endures violent visions, is drugged nightly, and can do nothing more than watch television. After fifteen years he’s released, and now seeks out the man who imprisoned him, going on a journey of violence, blood shed, and torture that makes “Oldboy” my favorite of Park’s vengeance films.
After solidifying his bones to an extent thanks to sparring with the walls in cell, Oh Dae Su possesses an almost inhuman ability to withstand pain, which enables him to endure some vicious retaliating from the men he continuously spars with. Armed with a claw Hammer, Dae Su battles a whole hall filled with weapon wielding thugs, and withstands their hits and beatings, and is subdued only for a moment when stabbed in the back. The torture Dae Su takes is only minimal when confronted with the man named Lee who imprisoned him all of his lost years, when he discovers that the entire journey of imprisonment, kidnapping, and the incidental meeting of an accomplice was actually his revenge all along. Filmed with a gritty dirty atmosphere, Park’s ode to revenge in all forms and creative outlets make this one of the most original spins on the sub-genre, with an excellent performance Min-Sik Choi.
Brian K. Pittman: In recent years, I’ve grown a taste for movies about criminals and the world the exist in. I find it fascinating how intricate their world truly is. This film brings face first into their world and never once gives a chance to breathe. Now, I could explain why it is on this list in incredible detail, but I will not. You will just have to take me at my word when I say it is a masterfully told yarn of vengeance that is unlike any other. It’s a shame that more people aren’t aware of this great film.
Sure in many ways it’s kind of a rip off of “Lady Snowblood” and “The Bride Wore Black,” even though Tarantino insists he rightly homaged those films. But in spite of that endless argument, “Kill Bill” is a fantastic set of films with vastly different storytelling techniques. Want blood, gore, and endless carnage? Try “Volume One” on for size which is the Bride’s full wrath and her attempts to even the score. After being shot in the head with baby on the way, she awakes from a coma after many years in a hospital. She now remembers that she’s been shot (now wearing a metal plate), and her baby is dead… or so she thinks. I was prepared to just mildly enjoy “Volume One,” but Tarantino thankfully begins the film on a hook that guarantees an erratic and damn entertaining film that he succeeded in bringing. An ode to the revenge and samurai genre, “Volume One” is a stylish, colorful and blood soaked preamble to the Bride’s pure skill and the endless bodies left in the wake of her insistence on paying back the folks she trusted.
Tarantino also manages to bring a wonderful performance from Thurman, which is pretty rare in her career, while her character is both fun to watch and utterly sympathetic. Knowing she needs help, she asks for a sword from the best sword maker in history, Hattori Hanzo, and the blood pours. Want more story? Check out “Volume Two,” my preferred film of the pair, as the Bride travels across the world to stop Bill, with two of her four comrades left dead. This time though, she confronts Elle Driver, the one eyed foe who wants Beatrix Kiddo (the bride) dead, and Bill’s Brother, who manages to accomplish killing her. But the Bride returns, implementing the training from her master Pai Mei, and she confronts Bill in a bout of words, manipulation, and a bloody finisher that satisfied me more than other Tarantino fans. Sure, we could have ended this on a beheading, but Beatrix and Bill were once lovers and had a child. She couldn’t have murdered Bill viciously, either way. While Tarantino gave us a brief end due to time constraints, the low key approach is much appreciated, and David Carradine has never been cooler. Same for the revenge genre.
Brian K. Pittman: To finish of the list I gave it much thought. There were numerous excellent movies to choose from. I selected this one because it really belongs here though. Think it over in your head and you’ll know I’m correct. A group of cruel school children push a girl to her death and are never punished. They grow up living as if they never did the horrendous deed. As if her life never mattered. But one person disagreed and this is all about him giving them their comeuppance. Prom night has never been more satisfying, or more bloody.
Senseless brutal crimes often leave its survivors in a state of sheer amazement, and many people in and around the crime often find ways to grieve and make some sense of what occurred regardless of how illogical and improbable the reasons may be. Almost all the time though, vicious crimes can’t be explained, nor can they be explored in any coherent thought. For “The Crow,” a senseless crime has brought about a miraculous turn of events as the victim of a terrible ritualistic crime has returned from the grave to bring back his murderers with him into death. Because as protagonist Sarah explains: “Sometimes, just sometimes, the crow can bring that soul back to put the wrong things right.” In Brandon Lee’s final film and testament to the pure potential and charisma he was going to offer us in film, “The Crow” is the story of a simple musician named Eric Draven who is murdered and tortured alongside his wife Shelly, who is gang raped and suffered a long excruciating death.
Thrown out of his window, he returns from the dead years later with the help of a mystical guide in the form of a Crow that pulls him from his grave, and helps him become a vicious costumed murderer, hunting down those that made sure to inflict pain on him with the help of his new powers that enable him to be faster, stronger, and stealthier than the average human. Though considered an action film by many, “The Crow” is much more supernatural horror than anything, as most of the action elements are secondary to the more demonic presence Draven possesses in the guise of the avenging angel who paints his face to spark fear into the hearts of his murderers. “The Crow” is much more in the tradition of the revenge sub-genre, as he’s engaged in hunting in and around a crime ridden city.
Draven fishes through the muck and grime to stalk and slowly murder folks like Tin Tin: a knife wielding robber, and T-Bird: a pyromaniac gang leader which helps Draven to reclaim some of the humanity lost with his new role as harbinger of death, and he seals old wounds, strengthens bonds between a beat cop that stood by Shelly before her death, and even brings closure to a young stalwart named Sarah who now wanders the streets attempting to find a direction in her life. But as the search thickens, the threat becomes larger, and Eric becomes more and more of a ghost who leaves a trail of bloodshed and bodies in his path to put him and his wife’s soul at rest at last. It’s a beautiful finisher to a career that ended too soon, and it’s by far the best of the sub-genre I’ve ever seen.