14 Films that Prove Revenge is a Dish Best Served Awesome
Ted Hentschke
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5) The Crow (1994):
From alphabetical evisceration to “30 hours of pain,” how the fuck could you not love The Crow? Part music video, part teenage goth fantasy, 100% awesome. From start to finish, this movie just keeps finding more and more ways to be badass. On Devil’s Night, a crow taps the grave of Eric Draven, a rock guitarist and human rights activist who was unjustly murdered in his loft apartment a year before. He’s resurrected for a limited time to take revenge on gangsters named shit like Funboy, Top Dollar, and Skank. It’s 90s as hell, but there’s no way you can watch Eric Draven play shirtless electric guitar on the roof and not wish you were that level of teenage Hot Topic cool.
4) Mad Max (1979):
In the vaguely apocalyptic future, one man named Max will take revenge on Toecutter’s motorbike gang for murdering his wife and child that definitely do not at all look like bad mannequins. Seriously, who knew this little Australian action flick would lead to the definitive action/apocalypse franchise of our generation? It’s a franchise that has just gotten more insane with time, and that’s just how we like it. But it’s George Miller’s original that stands out as a low budget masterpiece. This is a film so awesome, my dad made me watch it when I was ten to, “make sure I turned out right.” And hell, let’s not pretend that it hasn’t influenced some other great films. I’m looking at you, James Wan.
3) Blue Ruin (2013):
Let me ask you, what happens when an average guy decides to take a crack at being one of these revenge movie heroes? Blue Ruin. I’ve liked Jeremy Saulnier since my brother-in-law Jake introduced me to Murder Party years ago. Saulnier’s releases are few and far between, but I have yet to be let down by this exceptional filmmaker. Blue Ruin is an everyman’s revenge film, and each death is just made that much more visceral for it. This isn’t an action hero doing the unbelievable. This is a man pushing himself to his limits because he has nothing else to live for.
2) I Saw the Devil (2010):
Tell me, what would you do if your fiance was murdered by a psychopath? Would you hunt him down and kill him? Maybe torture him for a while, until he begged for forgiveness? Murder his loved ones, destroying him in the same way he destroyed you? It’s all a sick and twisted fantasy, but I Saw the Devil takes it a step further. After the latter murders the love of his life, Kim Soo-Hyun installs a tracking device into the body of Jang Kyung-Chul. Following him across the country, he proceeds to slowly dismember Kyung-Chul whenever he acts on his murderous impulses. Kyung-Chul’s crimes make it so that you can never really feel bad for him, but you also feel dirty rooting for the good guy. The result is a truly disturbing film that should not be missed.
1) Oldboy (2003):
There’s no possible way that Oldboy would not be at the top of this list. This is easily the best of Park Chan-Wook’s The Vengeance Trilogy (not that the other two films aren’t great contenders). I am going to go on record saying that this is the greatest revenge story ever told. After being imprisoned by an unknown captor for 15 years, Oh Dae-Su is released without explanation. With no life or purpose other than to exact revenge on his tormentor, he sets out to find whomever was responsible. But Oldboy has a pivotal twist. Despite all of his rage, this isn’t just Oh Dea-Su’s tale of revenge. If you haven’t seen it, do. It’s good enough that I refuse to spoil it.
So there you go! What do you think of my list of Top 14 Films that Prove Revenge is a Dish Best Served Awesome? Did I miss your favorite tale of tantalizing vengeance? Did you think any of my films sucked major donkey balls? Check out the trailer, and let me know soon if you think My Father Die should make the list! It’s available January 20th in select theaters and On Demand, and I highly recommend checking it out. Looking forward to reading your comments below, and as always, if you’re going to take vengeance, please at least get away with it.
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