The 33 best revenge movies to watch this weekend
These characters don't get mad...they get even.
A Band Apart/Miramax/Kobal/Shutterstock; David Lee/Lionsgate; Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures
Uma Thurman in 'Kill Bill — Vol. 1'; Keanu Reeves in 'John Wick'; Anya Taylor-Joy in 'The Menu'Even if you advocate taking the high road in real life, sometimes nothing satisfies quite like a merciless revenge movie.
Revenge has stood as an everlasting motif in cinema, heightening many storylines with climactic moments where wrongdoers face their well-deserved comeuppance (a scenario we often crave in real life). Yet, while many films lean heavily on explicit violence and gore to illustrate the desire — Kill Bill has entered the chat — retribution has been a ubiquitous thread that traverses myriad genres, from psychological thriller (Promising Young Woman) to teen comedy (Do Revenge) and so on.
While some revenge flicks may offer lackluster endings, others provide that addicting, vicarious thrill. That's why we've compiled a list of some of our all-time favorite tales of sweet vengeance because everyone — from jilted high school students to enslaved Roman generals — has felt the urge to take justice into their own hands.
Here are EW's picks of the 33 best revenge movies.
9 to 5 (1980)
Dolly Parton had her first film role (and was nominated for an Oscar for having written the movie's theme song of the same name) in Colin Higgins' classic workplace comedy. She stars alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as a trio of office workers who plot revenge against their sexist, egotistical boss. —Mary Sollosi
Where to watch 9 to 5: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
The Brave One (2007)
Neil Jordan's New York City thriller The Brave One stars Jodie Foster as a woman who survived an attack that resulted in her fiancé's death. Reeling from the incident, she acquires an illegal firearm and becomes a vigilante, making headlines as she picks off one criminal after another until she finds the men responsible for her loved one's murder. —M.S.
Where to watch The Brave One: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
Cape Fear (1962)
J. Lee Thompson's 1962 adaptation of James R. Webb's novel The Executioners stars Robert Mitchum as a convicted rapist who, upon being released from prison, seeks vengeance on the lawyer (Gregory Peck) whom he blames for his having received such a harsh sentence. Martin Scorsese remade the thriller in 1991, with Robert De Niro in the Mitchum role and Nick Nolte in Peck's, and featuring both of the original actors in small parts. —M.S.
Where to watch Cape Fear: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)
Buena Vista Pictures/courtesy Everett
Jim Caviezel in 'The Count of Monte Cristo'Alexandre Dumas' classic novel has been adapted for the big screen multiple times, but Kevin Reynolds' 2002 swashbuckler stands out the most. Jim Caviezel stars as Edmond Dantès, a trusting young man whose best friend, Fernand (Guy Pearce), falsely frames him for treason. In one of the greatest revenge stories of all time, Edmond escapes from prison, collects an enormous fortune, and gets his sweet vengeance on the traitorous Fernand and his accomplices. —M.S.
Where to watch The Count of Monte Cristo: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
The Crow (1994)
Sadly, Brandon Lee (Bruce Lee's son) died at age 28 following an accident on the set of Alex Proyas' The Crow, based on the comic by James O'Barr. Lee stars in the film as a rocker who is resurrected by a mystical crow, and then gets his ghostly revenge on the gang who murdered him and his fiancée a year earlier. (Three decades after the original, Rupert Sanders directed a reboot of The Crow, starring Bill Skarsg?rd and FKA Twigs.) —M.S.
Death Wish (1974)
Michael Winner kicked off the Death Wish film series (of which he directed the first three movies) with this 1974 actioner, based on Brian Garfield's 1972 novel. Charles Bronson stars as Paul Kersey, a pacifist architect who transforms into a ruthless vigilante when his wife is murdered and his daughter is raped in a home invasion. —M.S.
Where to watch Death Wish: PlutoTV
Do Revenge (2022)
In Jennifer Kaytin Robinson's teen Strangers on a Train-esque comedy, Riverdale's Camila Mendes and Stranger Things' Maya Hawke star as an unlikely team who form a pact to "do revenge" on each other's enemies. Mendes slips on the '90s-inspired wardrobe of Drea — a popular scholarship student who is socially exiled once her faux-feminist boyfriend (Austin Abrams) leaks her X-rated tape — while Hawke plays Eleanor, Rosehill Country Day High's new transfer student seeking vengeance on the person who outed her years prior. —James Mercadante
Where to watch Do Revenge: Netflix
Femme (2023)
Utopia
Nathan Stewart Jarrett in 'Femme'Drag superstar Jules (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) embraces his femininity on stage as his femme fatale persona, Aphrodite, and off stage as an out gay man. However, after suffering a vicious homophobic attack, Jules shrinks that aspect of himself and ultimately loses his career. But when he stumbles upon the ringleader of his assailants (George MacKay) in a gay sauna locker room months later, Jules pursues a relationship with him to get the ultimate payback. Directed by Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping, Femme is not just a revenge film but also offers a subversive and incisive exploration of topics like toxic masculinity, shame, power, and anti-queer violence. —J.M.
Where to watch Femme: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
Gladiator (2000)
Ridley Scott's Oscar-winning historical epic stars Russell Crowe as Maximus, a Roman general who is sold and enslaved following the murders of both his own family and the emperor to whom he was loyal. A talented fighter, he becomes a great gladiator and seeks revenge in the arena against the power-hungry new emperor who killed everyone he loved. —M.S.
Where to watch Gladiator: Paramount+
The Godfather (1972)
Paramount Pictures
Marlon Brando in 'The Godfather'Francis Ford Coppola's seminal crime drama chronicles the ascent of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), the youngest and brightest son of Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) — don of the Corleone crime family — from being outside the family business to taking over as don when his father dies. His evolution from a promising young war vet into a ruthless Mob boss is largely driven by his desire to get revenge on the rival mobsters responsible for the deaths of his wife and brother. —M.S.
Where to watch The Godfather: Paramount+
Hamlet (1996)
O, vengeance! William Shakespeare's great tragedy of the Prince of Denmark revolves around its conflicted hero's desire to avenge his father's murder (by Hamlet's uncle, no less). Kenneth Branagh (who also directed the 1996 adaptation in which he starred, above), Laurence Olivier, Mel Gibson, and Ethan Hawke are among the many A-listers who have portrayed "the son of a dear father murdered/Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell." —M.S.
Where to watch Hamlet: The Roku Channel
In the Bedroom (2001)
Todd Field made his directorial debut with this tense drama, which premiered at Sundance and went on to pick up five Oscar nominations. A husband and wife (Tom Wilkinson and Sissy Spacek) struggle to cope in the aftermath of the murder of their adult son — until the young man's father takes justice into his own hands. Nothing can assuage the pain of grief quite like revenge. —M.S.
Where to watch In the Bedroom: PlutoTV
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Quentin Tarantino makes the list twice — first with this bloodbath of a WWII movie, in which Mélanie Laurent plays a Parisian Jewish woman who takes her revenge on the Nazis who killed her family. The worst of them is the opportunistic Hans Landa, the role that won Christoph Waltz his first Best Supporting Actor Oscar (of two) for a performance in a Tarantino film. —M.S.
Where to watch Inglorious Basterds: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
John Tucker Must Die (2006)
Betty Thomas' high school revenge comedy stars Brittany Snow as a shy new girl at school who joins forces with a cheerleader (Ashanti), an overachiever (Arielle Kebbel), and an activist (Sophia Bush) to get even with the basketball star (Jesse Metcalfe) who cheated on all three of them. Under the guidance of her new friends, Snow's character succeeds in breaking John Tucker's heart, but destroying a man is dirty work. —M.S.
Where to watch John Tucker Must Die: Hulu
John Wick (2014)
The Keanu Reeves-starring John Wick, directed by stuntmen and first-time helmers Chad Stahelski and an uncredited David Leitch, was a surprise hit of 2014. It launched the Keanussaince and exploded into a whole franchise, with sequels in 2017, 2019, and 2023 (all helmed by Stahelski), a videogame, and a TV series at Starz. When mobsters steal John Wick's vintage car and kill the puppy that had been a gift from his wife just before her death, John will stop at nothing to get revenge. Conveniently, he is a former assassin. —M.S.
Where to watch John Wick: Tubi
Kill Bill (2003–2004)
Quentin Tarantino's two-part revenge extravaganza, a tribute to exploitation cinema as loving as it is bloody, stars Uma Thurman as the Bride, a jumpsuit-clad murderess hell-bent on vengeance after a team of deadly assassins — of which she used to be a part — tried to kill her and her unborn child on her wedding day. —M.S.
Where to watch Kill Bill: Netflix
Memento (2000)
Christopher Nolan got his breakthrough with his second feature, 2000's trippy revenge thriller Memento. Guy Pearce stars as Leonard, a man trying to avenge his wife's death by tracking down her killer. His lack of short-term memory, for which he compensates with tattoos and photographs, informs the film's nonlinear narrative structure. Alternating between the beginning of the story (shown chronologically) and the latter half (presented in reverse), the two narrative threads meet at the end, filling in each other's gaps and solving the final mystery. —M.S.
Where to watch Memento: Amazon Prime Video
The Menu (2022)
Revenge is a dish best served cold in Mark Mylod's horror comedy. Skewering class disparities in food consumption and the restaurant industry, The Menu takes place during a single night at Hawthorn — a remote, upscale eatery run by Michelin-star chef Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) and his subservient crew of cooks. Invited by Julian himself, a group of elite guests sit down for a carefully curated 10-course meal that grows increasingly grotesque and alarming, only to realize too late that they're not there to enjoy fine dining but to get their just desserts. —J.M.
Where to watch The Menu: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
Moby Dick (1956)
Herman Melville's 19th-century masterpiece has been adapted for the screen many times, most notably in 1956 by director John Huston, from a screenplay by Huston and Ray Bradbury. Gregory Peck stars as Captain Ahab, a sea captain consumed by his obsession with hunting down the white whale, Moby Dick, who destroyed his ship and tore off his leg, forcing Ahab to walk — in a cruel bit of irony — on a whalebone prosthesis. —M.S.
Where to watch Moby Dick: Tubi
Munich (2005)
Steven Spielberg's Munich, based on George Jonas' aptly-titled nonfiction book Vengeance, tells the true story of the Israeli government's secret revenge mission following the Munich Massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics, in which 11 Israeli athletes were killed by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September. Eric Bana stars as Avner — the leader of the mission — in the film, which received five Oscar nominations. —M.S.
Where to watch Munich: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
The Northman (2022)
Based on the Norse folk tale that inspired Shakespeare's Hamlet and later The Lion King), Robert Eggers' historical epic chronicles the brutal revenge tale of Viking warrior Prince Amleth (Alexander Skarsg?rd). As a child, Amleth is traumatized after witnessing his uncle Fj?lnir (Claes Bang) savagely murder his father (Ethan Hawke) and abduct his mother (Nicole Kidman). Decades later, the now-Herculean and venomous Amleth is reminded of his vow to rescue his mother and exact retribution on his uncle. —J.M.
Where to watch The Northman: Starz
Oldboy (2003)
Park Chan-wook's Oldboy is the second — and most famous — installment in the filmmaker's Vengeance Trilogy. It follows a man (Choi Min-sik) who has been imprisoned in a small room for 15 years, only to be released with no explanation of where he was, who put him there, and why he was made to suffer. Who wouldn't want revenge after that? Spike Lee remade the beloved Korean film in 2013, with Josh Brolin in the lead role. —M.S.
Where to watch Oldboy: Netflix
Point Blank (1967)
Lee Marvin stars in John Boorman's moody noir, based on the 1963 Richard Stark novel The Hunter, which was later adapted for the screen again as Brian Helgeland's Payback (1999). Marvin plays Walker, a man seeking revenge on his best friend (John Vernon) who betrayed him and left him for dead after they stole a large amount of money together. —M.S.
Where to watch Point Blank: Tubi
The Princess Bride (1987)
Don't be turned off from Rob Reiner's The Princess Bride just because it's based on a "kissing book." It's got fencing, fighting, torture, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, and some highly satisfying revenge. Never forget: "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." —M.S.
Where to watch The Princess Bride: Disney+
Promising Young Woman (2020)
One of the biggest breakouts of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival was the stylish, provocative debut feature from Killing Eve showrunner and The Crown actress Emerald Fennell. Pitch-black and candy-pink in equal measure, the daring feminist indie stars Carey Mulligan as Cassie, a med school dropout who spends her weekends fake-drunkenly luring in "good" guys who would take advantage of her and then lucidly confronting them. Having adopted her crusade following the suicide of her best friend, the story of whose rape nobody believed, Cassie will not rest until she's gotten revenge, not only on the perpetrators but the whole system that enables them — and that's a promise. —M.S.
Where to watch Promising Young Woman: Peacock
Revenge of the Nerds (1984)
Adams College's resident posse of nerds — led by Robert Carradine and Anthony Edwards — decide enough is enough when the jock-filled fraternity Alpha Beta accidentally burns down their frat house and takes over the nerds' dorm, forcing the latter group to take up residence in the gym. But the geeks shall inherit the earth: The nerds rush a rival frat and beat the Alpha Betas at their own game. —M.S.
Where to watch Revenge of the Nerds: Starz through June 30
Rocky IV (1985)
The fourth installment in the Sylvester Stallone-starring Rocky franchise — and the third consecutive one that was also directed by the star — sees the Italian Stallion taking on Russian boxer Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) to avenge the death of his best friend and former competitor Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), whom Drago killed in the ring. —M.S.
She-Devil (1989)
Roseanne Barr made her film debut in this dark comedy from director Susan Seidelman, playing frumpy housewife Ruth. When her husband leaves her for a glamorous romance novelist (Meryl Streep), Ruth sets out to get revenge on him by eliminating all the good aspects of his life — and amasses an army of sympathetic women to help her. —M.S.
Where to watch She-Devil: Tubi
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Considered by many to be the best of the Star Trek films, Nicholas Meyer's The Wrath of Khan goes back to a 1967 Star Trek episode for its villain, Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán), who hunts down the Enterprise to exact revenge on Captain Kirk (William Shatner). The second film in J.J. Abrams' reboot series, 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness, reintroduced the iconic villain, this time played by Benedict Cumberbatch. —M.S.
Where to watch Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan: Max
Straw Dogs (1971)
Sam Peckinpah's unsettling psychological thriller stars Dustin Hoffman as an American mathematician who moves with his wife to her hometown in the English countryside. When she is the victim of a heinous crime by some local men, her husband is put to the ultimate test in this disturbing rumination on violence and masculinity. Rod Lurie remade the film, with James Marsden in the lead role, in 2011. —M.S.
Where to watch Straw Dogs (2011): Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
Tim Burton's 2007 adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical stars Johnny Depp in the title role, continuing the actor and filmmaker's long history of collaboration. Sweeney Todd is a barber who slits his customer's throats (then allows them to be baked into meat pies by his downstairs neighbor, Helena Bonham Carter's Mrs. Lovett), aiming to take revenge on the corrupt judge who had him wrongly imprisoned and is responsible for the death of Todd's wife. —M.S.
Where to watch Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street: Paramount+
Thanksgiving (2023)
Pief Weyman/TriStar Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Patrick Dempsey in 'Thanksgiving'During the titular holiday in Plymouth, Mass., a frenzied crowd storms the local RightMart superstore in pursuit of Black Friday deals, resulting in the deaths of multiple shoppers. A year goes by, and a vindictive killer sets their sights on making surviving citizens pay for their greed. Cloaked in coveralls and a John Carver mask, the killer pilgrim initially seems to pick victims out of their capotain hat — brandishing sharp cutlery and cooking contraptions against them — but their vendetta ultimately carves into the RightMart store manager (Rick Hoffman), as well as his teenage daughter (Nell Verlaque) and her unruly friends. —J.M.
Where to watch Thanksgiving: Netflix
V for Vendetta (2006)
A masked Hugo Weaving and shaved-headed Natalie Portman starred in James McTeigue's V for Vendetta, based on writer Alan Moore and illustrator David Lloyd's graphic novel of the same name. Weaving plays V, a freedom fighter who terrorizes the fascist regime that rules the U.K. in the film's imagined dystopian future, and Portman is Evey, a working-class girl who joins his cause. —M.S.
Where to watch V for Vendetta: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
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