Revenge films make up a genre of their own, in addition to horror films, thrillers or romantic comedies. They reveal a wide range of emotions, such as the painfully human desire for revenge and a character’s extreme and at times obsessive efforts to achieve it.
Exit forgiveness and redemption: enter the plotting of a man or woman who, feeling despised, finds a way to spit his vengeful and sometimes deadly venom. The best revenge films are sometimes influenced by the desire to bring others down or to maintain a strong sense of revenge, by buying a fancy outfit or beating a competing team… in short, by gaining the upper hand over those who underestimated you. Yes, it’s unhealthy, but savoring your revenge is a sweet balm to the heart. Here’s our list of the best revenge films of all time. Warning: spoilers.
Sabrina (1945)
Heartbroken Sabring (Audrey Hepburn) takes a trip to Paris when her unrequited love for David Larrabee (William Holden) ends in a marriage proposal to another woman. Complete with a new outlook on life (and a chic new haircut), she returns from Paris to court her former suitor, but ends up falling in love with his older brother, Linus (Humphrey Bogart). Talk about an upgrade.
Carrie (1976)
Here’s a message to bullies everywhere: don’t mess with Sissy Spacek. Raised by an extremely religious mother, Carrie (Sissy Spacek) soon realizes she has telekinetic gifts. Shy and lonely, she endures the taunts of her classmates until the prom. To everyone’s surprise, she wins the title of prom queen, until a bucket spilled on her filled with pig’s blood provokes her fury by stimulating her horrible power.
9 to 5 (1980)
The title of both an iconic Dolly Parton song and this classic revenge film, 9 to 5, follows Parton, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda as a trio of secretaries who overthrow the workplace tyranny of their sexist, bigoted boss (Dabney Coleman).
Princess Bride (1987)
In this great fairy tale lies a dark revenge plot where fencing master Inigo Montoya, young and mustachioed Mandy Patinkin, seeks revenge on a six-fingered Count for the murder of his father.
Heathers (1989)
If you spent your high school years waiting for the mean, popular girls to finally get what they deserve, you will surely love this film. Winona Ryder plays an intelligent and savvy teenager, on the fringes of the “Heather” clique (yes, they all have that first name), who teams up with a mysterious rebel (Christian Slater) to take revenge on her classmates.
Pretty Woman (1990)
Vivian (Julia Roberts), a prostitute with a heart of gold, plays the role of a chic socialite while shopping on Rodeo Drive. With her thigh-high boots and her men’s jacket, she is the victim of the humiliation of two saleswomen who judge her. Undeterred, she returns with an armful of shopping bags, ready to shop in front of their stunned faces.
Sleeping with the Enemy (1991)
Following her Pretty Woman performance in the 90s, Julia Roberts delivered the dark performance of this chilling psychothriller. The star plays Laura, a woman who fakes her own death to escape her abusive and unhinged husband, Martin (Patrick Bergin). Spoiler: while Laura rebuilds her life under the name Sara and attempts to lead a new life in complete freedom in Iowa, Martin realizes the issue and wants revenge at all costs.
Braveheart (1995)
Mel Gibson directed and starred in the historical drama, which tells the true story of William Wallace, a 13th-century warrior who led the Scots in the First War of Scottish Independence against King Edward I of England after troops invaded his village and executed his wife Murron (Catherine McCormack).
First Wives Club (1996)
If you’ve never seen Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton, and Bette Midler lip-sync along to “You Don’t Own Me” by Lesley Gore, you have a treat in store. In this timeless movie, the three stars join together to get revenge on their respective ex-husbands, discovering in the process that they’re much stronger together than they ever were apart.
Bring It On (2000)
Isis (Gabrielle Union), captain of the Clovers cheerleaders, gets her revenge on Torrance (Kirsten Dunst), captain of the rival school, when she learns that the Torros stole their routine. Justice is served in the form of toe spikes and backflips during the National Cheerleading Championship dance competition.
Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
The Rat Pack remake is certainly an excuse to see see George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon work on screen. But it’s also the first installment in Steven Soderbergh’s franchise, driven by Danny Ocean’s (Clooney) vengeful spirit toward casino king Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), who stole Clooney’s girlfriend (played by Julia Roberts).
Kill Bill: Vols. 1 & 2 (2003 and 2004)
It took two films, a knife fight with Vivica A. Fox, a confrontation with Chiaki Kuriyama, a duel with Lucy Liu and a fight with Daryl Hannah, for Beatrix, aka The Bride (played by Uma Thurman) to come to Butt of Bill.
John Tucker Must Die (2006)
While this romantic comedy may not make the Top 100 Best Films of All Time, in terms of revenge movies, nobody can ignore this one. In this film, three exes rejected by the high school hottie team up with a newbie to make their former suiter pay the price for cheating on them.
Taken (2008)
The first part of the Taken trilogy, one of the ultimate revenge thrillers, sees Mills (Liam Neeson), a divorced ex-CIA agent, arrive in France to track down his daughter’s kidnapper, with this intensity and this authority of which only Liam Neeson has the secret.
Gone Girl (2014)
When Amy (Rosamund Pike) finds out that her husband, Nick (Ben Affleck), is cheating on her with one of his young students, she plots the perfect revenge, as long as it is tedious. All this with the goal of ending up with the man she loves, whether he wants it or not.
Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
Chu (Constance Wu), an economics professor at New York University, falls in love with Nick Young (Henry Golding). It’s only when she flies to Singapore to visit his family that she finds out he’s basically royalty, complete with butlers, luxury cars, diamonds and… a disapproving mother, to say at the least, Eleanor (Michelle Yeoh). Chu stands firm until her integrity (and humble roots) are called into question.
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