Most revenge movies are satisfying because of their simplicity. They'll feature a hero who's wronged near the start of the story who then spends the rest of the movie fighting back, trying to achieve justice for whatever happened to them. They're often violent movies, but much of the violence is delivered upon people who are shown to deserve it, making the act of revenge satisfying for the hero to do, and for the audience to watch.
The following 10 movies all deal with revenge, but take a slightly more complex approach to the subject. In these films, revenge takes an enormous toll on the hero at best, or leads to their demise at worst. The central act of vengeance is often completed, but it isn't shown to bring satisfaction or fix anything, making them all films that depict a darker side of revenge.
The following list contains spoilers for the films discussed.
'Oldboy' (2003)
Oldboy begins with an intriguing premise. In the prologue, a man is kidnapped and imprisoned in a single room for 15 years, and he doesn't know why. The main plot kicks off when he's suddenly released, and he spends the rest of the film trying to track down who was behind his imprisonment, unafraid to get violent in the process.
His vengeance ends up being a response to another man's revenge against him, for a fatal rumor the main character spread when the two were in high school. Essentially, it's a film where the protagonist and antagonist both want to seek revenge. The antagonist achieves it by psychologically impacting the protagonist in a way that he'll never recover from, with the antagonist taking his own life once his plan succeeds. One lies dead, and one will be forever shaken. It's a film that presents a complete cycle of vengeance, with no truly optimistic conclusion for either side.
'Blue Ruin' (2013)
Blue Ruin is essentially about one violent act that leads to another violent act which then leads to further violence. It's a chaotic narrative where one man's vengeance on another for killing his parents makes him a target for the first murderer's family, who then seek vengeance against the protagonist.
It's tragic in the sense that no characters seem to know when to quit, and the way the violence continuously cycles ensures Blue Ruin has a high bodycount. Few characters come out unscathed, with a messy Mexican Standoff at the film's end showing that when revenge gets violent, numerous fatalities are all but inevitable.
'The Northman' (2022)
The Northman is based on a legend that ended up inspiring William Shakespeare's Hamlet; one of his bloodiest and most famous tragedies. It's unsurprising then that The Northman is a film that ends up with most of its cast dead by the end of the film, and leaves the audience with a lingering question about whether it was all worth it.
Sure, the death of Amleth's father is avenged, and the villainous uncle who did the deed lies dead. But Amleth also had to kill his mother, who ended up being on the uncle's side in the end, and he himself dies in the film's climax, leaving the love of his life to raise a pair of twins on her own. He could have made a clean break to be with her and their kids... yet he made the fatal decision to seek vengeance instead.
'Harakiri' (1962)
In Harakiri, the idea of the samurai being a respectable, noble group of people during Japan's Edo period is brutally deconstructed. The film deals with one man whose life - and family - are destroyed through the actions of a samurai clan, with his tragic tale being told in flashbacks throughout much of the movie.
As he nears the end of his story, it becomes clear to the samurai (and audience) that the man is seeking revenge, and is willing to die if it means telling the samurai how much he despises them, and taking down as many as he can before they can kill him. Things get violent, and the protagonist does a good deal of damage... yet he ultimately dies. The samurai clan may be wounded, but they're far from destroyed, living on and being able to further exploit or hurt more people in the future.
'Wild Tales' (2014)
Wild Tales is an anthology film with a different set of characters in each separate story, though each deals with similar themes. Most are darkly comedic and very violent, and deal with ideas of revenge and retribution, often for petty reasons (it's arguably funnier that way).
The outcome does differ for each story, admittedly, but when viewed together, the ultimate message of Wild Tales doesn't feel like one that's pro-revenge. Things consistently spiral out of control for the various characters who are seeking retribution against those who wronged them, with the results often being as funny as they are bleak and disturbing.
'Only God Forgives' (2013)
In Only God Forgives, an American man commits a horrifying crime in Bangkok, and is killed in retaliation by a local cop/vigilante, Chang. The man's brother (Ryan Gosling) and mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) want to seek vengeance for that act of vengeance, and that's when things get messy.
It's hard to call the characters played by Gosling and Scott Thomas heroic, but they are ultimately the "protagonists" of the film. They're shown to be out of their league, and aren't successful in avenging their dead family member, with the mother dying and the brother having his hands cut off. Admittedly, Chang seems okay, though, given the film ends with him casually singing karaoke.
'The Revenant' (2015)
The Revenant is a tense and violent film that ends up being both a revenge and survival movie. It's about a man named Hugh Glass who's left for dead in the snowy wilderness by his fellow hunters, who also murder his son, giving Glass a reason to stay alive: so he can one day get justice against those who ruined his life.
It's a film that does allow the protagonist to kill the people he always wanted to, but it takes a tremendous cost on his mental and physical well-being. The last we see of him, he's alive, sure... but he's also still stuck in the harsh wilderness by himself, and heavily wounded to boot, meaning his continued survival is far from a sure thing.
'Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance' (2002)
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance was directed by Park Chan-wook, who was also responsible for directing Oldboy. The two share some similarities, being a part of the filmmaker's Vengeance Trilogy, with each taking a pessimistic view of revenge that's far more complicated than your average movie that deals with the subject.
Arguably, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance takes an even bleaker and more violent look at vengeance than Oldboy did. While the protagonist of Oldboy was left irreparably damaged by the events of the film, he did still survive. In Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, just about every character who gets wrapped up in the film's violent story ends up dead, making it a great example of a revenge movie where no one ends up winning.
'Avengers: Infinity War' (2018)
Avengers: Infinity War might not start as a revenge movie, but it becomes one for many of its characters. After years of watching over the events of the MCU from the shadows, Thanos emerges as a force to be reckoned with in Infinity War, essentially becoming the film's main character, as we watch him on his mission to eradicate half of all life for the universe. Shockingly, he even succeeds.
In the process, he humiliates and harms (and occasionally kills) just about all the heroes we've come to care for. Characters like Thor and Star-Lord in particular become consumed by a need to get revenge against Thanos for what he's done, but in their haste, they end up helping him succeed, showing the brutal consequences of prioritizing revenge over reason.
'I Saw the Devil' (2010)
In I Saw the Devil, a man vows revenge against a serial killer for the murder of his wife. It's a set-up that's common to revenge movies, but this one goes one step further, because for I Saw the Devil's main character, simply killing the murderer won't do.
His revenge goes further, as he wants to torment the serial killer, and make him suffer before he dies, and it's that prolonged battle between the two that's shown throughout the film. While the main character is successful, he's left broken and distraught by what he's become: a man who's just as ruthless and violent as the killer who he swore to destroy.