Ranking the 50 greatest revenge movies of all time

Confucius famously advocated caution in advance of a quest for revenge, suggesting that “those about to embark on a mission of vengeance should first dig two graves.” Although the desire for payback can be overwhelming, it’s important to remember that the results of such an endeavor could be drastically different than anticipated.

For years, filmmakers have been captivated by the theme of revenge and have used it to power their stories. These action-packed and often violent films have become timeless classics. (Take a look at some of the best action flicks ever made.) Many of the characters in these movies are motivated by a thirst for retribution, whereas some find themselves the subject of vengeance. These tales investigate the intricate motifs of righteousness and ethics, pondering whether obtaining revenge is ever genuinely advantageous.

The idea of gaining vengeance isn’t confined to any one society, as it is a part of the human experience that’s present and has been for ages all over the world. This selection of films comes from places and periods all over, showing a variety of thoughts on revenge. Some of these movies have complex, deep stories, while others have an easier-to-follow tale of people trying to obtain justice. It is fascinating that some of these movies weren’t well-received by viewers initially, but have since become widely acclaimed as some of the most extraordinary films of all time, earning the nickname of “films that audiences hate, but critics adore.”

1. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
   IMDb user rating: 8.5 (314,446 reviews)
   Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 95% (65,906 votes)
   Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (65 votes)
   Directed by: Sergio Leone
   Starring: Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards
2. The Princess Bride (1987)
   IMDb user rating: 8.1 (408,278 reviews)
   Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (527,843 votes)
   Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97% (78 votes)
   Directed by: Rob Reiner
   Starring: Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Robin Wright, Chris Sarandon
3. Memento (2000)
   IMDb user rating: 8.4 (1.2 million reviews)
   Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (381,352 votes)
   Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (181 votes)
   Directed by: Christopher Nolan
   Starring: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, Mark Boone Junior
4. Unforgiven (1992)
   IMDb user rating: 8.2 (391,927 reviews)
   Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93% (122,861 votes)
   Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (106 votes)
   Directed by: Clint Eastwood
5. The Handmaiden (2016)
   IMDb user rating: 8.1 (119,636 reviews)
   Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (11,003 votes)
   Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (220 votes)
   Directed by: Chan-wook Park
   Starring: Kim Min-hee, Jung-woo Ha, Cho Jin-woong, Moon So-ri
6. Let the Right One In (2008)
   IMDb user rating: 7.9 (207,187 reviews)
   Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (61,434 votes)
   Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 98% (191 votes)
   Directed by: Tomas Alfredson
   Starring: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl
7. The Great Silence (1968)
   IMDb user rating: 7.7 (14,208 reviews)
   Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (6,777 votes)
   Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (13 votes)
   Directed by: Sergio Corbucci
   Starring: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Klaus Kinski, Frank Wolff, Vonetta McGee
8. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
   IMDb user rating: 8 (85,564 reviews)
   Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (24,773 votes)
   Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (77 votes)
   Directed by: Charles Laughton
   Starring: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, James Gleason
9. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
   IMDb user rating: 8.1 (899,312 reviews)
   Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 86% (128,673 votes)
   Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97% (426 votes)
   Directed by: George Miller
   Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Zoë Kravitz
10. Django Unchained (2012)
    IMDb user rating: 8.4 (1.4 million reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (429,752 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 87% (291 votes)
    Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
    Starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington
11. Lady Snowblood (1973)
    IMDb user rating: 7.7 (12,787 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (12,426 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (7 votes)
    Directed by: Toshiya Fujita
    Starring: Meiko Kaji, Toshio Kurosawa, Masaaki Daimon, Miyoko Akaza
12. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
    IMDb user rating: 8.3 (1.3 million reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88% (776,325 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 89% (332 votes)
    Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
    Starring: Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Eli Roth, Mélanie Laurent
13. The Virgin Spring (1960)
    IMDb user rating: 8.1 (27,149 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 92% (8,303 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 87% (23 votes)
    Directed by: Ingmar Bergman
    Starring: Max von Sydow, Birgitta Valberg, Gunnel Lindblom, Birgitta Pettersson
14. Oldboy (2003)
    IMDb user rating: 8.4 (525,342 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (133,530 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 81% (151 votes)
    Directed by: Chan-wook Park
    Starring: Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-Tae, Kang Hye-jeong, Kim Byeong-Ok
15. Cape Fear (1962)
    IMDb user rating: 7.7 (27,788 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 86% (17,757 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (23 votes)
    Directed by: J. Lee Thompson
    Starring: Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen, Lori Martin
16. 13 Assassins (2010)
    IMDb user rating: 7.6 (62,599 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88% (23,992 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (131 votes)
    Directed by: Takashi Miike
    Starring: Kôji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada, Yûsuke Iseya, Ikki Sawamura
17. True Grit (2010)
    IMDb user rating: 7.6 (323,355 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (158,421 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (275 votes)
    Directed by: Joen & Ethan Coen
    Starring: Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Hailee Steinfeld, Josh Brolin
18. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
    IMDb user rating: 7.7 (116,510 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (85,576 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 88% (64 votes)
    Directed by: Nicholas Meyer
    Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan
19. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
    IMDb user rating: 8 (713,748 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (841,697 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 84% (244 votes)
    Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
    Starring: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah
20. Promising Young Woman (2020)
    IMDb user rating: 7.5 (127,151 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88% (640 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90% (399 votes)
    Directed by: Emerald Fennell
    Starring: Carey Mulligan, Bo Burnham, Alison Brie, Clancy Brown
21. Gladiator (2000)
    IMDb user rating: 8.5 (1.4 million reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (34.1 million votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 77% (201 votes)
    Directed by: Ridley Scott
    Starring: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed
22. Sudden Fear (1952)
    IMDb user rating: 7.5 (5,863 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84% (1,411 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (12 votes)
    Directed by: David Miller
    Starring: Joan Crawford, Jack Palance, Gloria Grahame, Bruce Bennett
23. Drive (2011)
    IMDb user rating: 7.8 (595,195 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 79% (119,129 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (268 votes)
    Directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn
    Starring: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks
24. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
    IMDb user rating: 7.8 (440,178 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 86% (119,228 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86% (256 votes)
    Directed by: David Fincher
    Starring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgård
25. Prisoners (2013)
    IMDb user rating: 8.1 (637,815 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (108,697 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 81% (253 votes)
    Directed by: Denis Villeneuve
    Starring: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Melissa Leo
26. Upgrade (2018)
    IMDb user rating: 7.5 (171,876 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (6,048 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 88% (193 votes)
    Directed by: Leigh Whannell
    Starring: Logan Marshall-Green, Melanie Vallejo, Steve Danielsen, Abby Craden
27. The Crow (1994)
    IMDb user rating: 7.6 (173,146 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (377,367 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 83% (59 votes)
    Directed by: Alex Proyas
    Starring: Brandon Lee, Michael Wincott, Rochelle Davis, Ernie Hudson
28. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
    IMDb user rating: 8.1 (1 million reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (32.6 million votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 85% (238 votes)
    Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
    Starring: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen
29. Point Blank (1967)
    IMDb user rating: 7.3 (19,866 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84% (7,634 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (38 votes)
    Directed by: John Boorman
    Starring: Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, Keenan Wynn, Carroll O’Connor
30. In the Bedroom (2001)
    IMDb user rating: 7.4 (39,515 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (20,139 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (139 votes)
    Directed by: Todd Field
    Starring: Tom Wilkinson, Sissy Spacek, Nick Stahl, Marisa Tomei
31. I Saw the Devil (2010)
    IMDb user rating: 7.8 (114,361 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (18,403 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 81% (85 votes)
    Directed by: Jee-woon Kim
    Starring: Lee Byung-Hun, Choi Min-sik, Jeon Gооk-Hwan, Ho-jin Chun
32. Blue Ruin (2013)
    IMDb user rating: 7.1 (70,660 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 79% (19,741 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (143 votes)
    Directed by: Jeremy Saulnier
    Starring: Macon Blair, Devin Ratray, Amy Hargreaves, Kevin Kolack
33. Road to Perdition (2002)
    IMDb user rating: 7.7 (257,017 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 86% (188,984 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 81% (214 votes)
    Directed by: Sam Mendes
    Starring: Tom Hanks, Tyler Hoechlin, Rob Maxey, Liam Aiken
34. Carrie (1976)
    IMDb user rating: 7.4 (175,705 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 77% (353,181 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (67 votes)
    Directed by: Brian De Palma
    Starring: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, John Travolta
35. Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
    IMDb user rating: 7.4 (18,173 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84% (10,098 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86% (29 votes)
    Directed by: Brian De Palma
    Starring: Paul Williams, William Finley, Jessica Harper, Gerrit Graham
36. The Revenant (2015)
    IMDb user rating: 8 (741,936 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84% (105,559 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 78% (401 votes)
    Directed by: Alejandro G. Iñárritu
    Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter, Domhnall Gleeson
37. Get Carter (1971)
    IMDb user rating: 7.4 (29,450 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (17,250 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 84% (32 votes)
    Directed by: Mike Hodges
    Starring: Michael Caine, Ian Hendry, Britt Ekland, John Osborne
38. Mean Creek (2004)
    IMDb user rating: 7.2 (31,291 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 82% (32,827 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 89% (124 votes)
    Directed by: Jacob Estes
    Starring: Rory Culkin, Ryan Kelley, Scott Mechlowicz, Trevor Morgan
39. John Wick (2014)
    IMDb user rating: 7.4 (576,949 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (84,099 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86% (219 votes)
    Directed by: Chad Stahelski & David Leitch
    Starring: Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen, Willem Dafoe
40. Straw Dogs (1971)
    IMDb user rating: 7.5 (58,306 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 82% (23,027 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 83% (42 votes)
    Directed by: Sam Peckinpah
    Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Susan George, Peter Vaughan, T.P. McKenna
41. Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
    IMDb user rating: 7.3 (353,849 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (1.7 million votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86% (232 votes)
    Directed by: Tim Burton
    Starring: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall
42. The Count of Monte Cristo (1934)
    IMDb user rating: 7.4 (2,688 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 77% (4,379 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86% (7 votes)
    Directed by: Rowland V. Lee
    Starring: Robert Donat, Elissa Landi, Louis Calhern, Sidney Blackmer
43. Furious 7 (2015)
    IMDb user rating: 7.1 (374,870 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 82% (195,231 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 82% (277 votes)
    Directed by: James Wan
    Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham
44. Ruthless People (1986)
    IMDb user rating: 6.9 (27,061 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 72% (21,109 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (42 votes)
    Directed by: Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker
    Starring: Bette Midler, Danny DeVito, Judge Reinhold, Helen Slater
45. Gangs of New York (2002)
    IMDb user rating: 7.5 (420,322 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (294,464 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 73% (216 votes)
    Directed by: Martin Scorsese
    Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jim Broadbent
46. A Time to Kill (1996)
    IMDb user rating: 7.5 (140,500 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (95,242 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 68% (56 votes)
    Directed by: Joel Schumacher
    Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey
47. Dead Again (1991)
    IMDb user rating: 6.9 (27,097 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 76% (11,941 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 83% (47 votes)
    Directed by: Kenneth Branagh
    Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Andy Garcia, Lois Hall
48. Seven Psychopaths (2012)
    IMDb user rating: 7.2 (248,630 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 71% (130,170 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 83% (219 votes)
    Directed by: Martin McDonagh
    Starring: Colin Farrell, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken
49. Ms. 45 (1981)
    IMDb user rating: 6.8 (8,963 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 72% (4,516 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 85% (33 votes)
    Directed by: Abel Ferrara
    Starring: Helen McGara, Zoë Lund, Bogey, Albert Sinkys
50. Cape Fear (1991)
    IMDb user rating: 7.3 (183,201 reviews)
    Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 77% (68,903 votes)
    Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 73% (52 votes)
    Directed by: Martin Scorsese

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