Top 20 Greatest Revenge Kills In Movies
#20: I Like the Way You Die
Top 10 Revenge Kills In Movies
“Django Unchained” (2012) Freed by bounty hunter Dr. Schultz, Django is determined to find and rescue his enslaved wife, Broomhilda. However, first, he gets vengeance on the slavers who separated them. Together with Schultz, he confronts the Brittle Brothers on a plantation, right as Big John is tormenting a Black woman. A flashback shows us how they did the same to poor Broomhilda. So when Django throws Big John back at him, along with a bullet, you can’t help but cheer. He’s not done, whipping and unloading his gun into Lil Raj, before Schultz finishes off the last brother.
#19: Castle Hits the Saints
“The Punisher” (2004) Frank Castle’s vengeance is always brutal. After mafia boss Howard Saint kills his family, Frank manipulates Saint into killing those closest to him. Once that’s done, he begins the final phase of his revenge. And it is an absolute bloodbath. The climax sees Frank attack Saint’s club, ruthlessly murdering his men and son in the process. When he catches up to Saint, he reveals how he manipulated him before tying him to a car and sending it into a parking lot with an absurd amount of explosives. Overkill, yes, but stylish all the same.
#18: Amsterdam Kills the Butcher
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“Gangs of New York” (2002) When it comes to a good revenge plot, it’s all about the timing. Eternally traumatized by the murder of his father, Irish immigrant Amsterdam waits for his day to take vengeance on gang leader Bill the Butcher. Versing himself in the arts of combat and persuasion, Amsterdam earns a position as Bill’s right hand man. However, his assassination attempt is foiled when his identity becomes exposed. Ultimately though, the two have their moment of reckoning in a brutal knife fight, where Amsterdam takes his long-awaited victory stab.
#17: Death by Microwave
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“The Last House on the Left” (2009) This kill is as creative as it is satisfying. During a storm, John and Emma Collingwood give shelter to a group who, unknown to the Collingwoods, just assaulted and tried to kill their daughter. Once they figure it out, violence is inevitable. In the climax, main villain Krug is knocked unconscious and John and Emma take their daughter to the hospital. But John returns to the house to get revenge. Paralyzed from the neck down, Krug is powerless as John places his head inside a microwave. You can guess what happens next. It ain’t pretty …
#16: Puffer Fish Paralysis
“Law Abiding Citizen” (2009) After Clarence Darby murders Clyde Shelton wife and daughter, he serves only a few years behind bars. So Clyde decides to deliver his own form of judgment on an operating table. He paralyzes his victim with puffer fish venom, straps him down, and … well, we can’t really go into the details, but whatever you’re imagining … it’s probably worse. Clyde seems to relish the terror and pain he causes. It’s a gruesome, horrific scene, but for that same reason, it’s a memorable one.
#15: Harmonica’s Hunt
“Once Upon a Time in the West” (1968) The revenge tale in this Spaghetti Western is unique in that the motive is only revealed at the end. Hired by a railroad tycoon to intimidate a family off their land, gunman Frank murders them instead. Frank eventually enacts his own schemes, but they’re disrupted by the enigmatic Harmonica. As the two prepare to duel, a flashback reveals Harmonica’s motivation. When Harmonica was a boy, Frank hanged his older brother and forced Harmonica to hold him up. His nickname comes from the harmonica that Frank placed in his mouth. We were already rooting for Harmonica, but with this fact revealed, Frank’s demise is all the more gratifying.
#14: Theater Fire
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“Inglourious Basterds” (2009) During World War II, Shosanna’s family is killed by SS Officer Hans "The Jew Hunter" Landa. While she doesn’t get to kill Hans, she does manage to get revenge on the entire Nazi leadership. When her theater is chosen to premiere a Nazi propaganda film, she devises a simple but effective plan to lock them in and burn them alive. The cherry on top is the special message that she’s spliced into the footage, telling them that a Jew is about to kill them. It makes her revenge all the sweeter. After all the trauma she’s endured, we can’t blame her for a little theatricality!
#13: Strapped In
“The Crow” (1994) A year after Eric Draven and his fiancee are murdered, Eric is resurrected and seeks revenge. Each kill is unique and deserving for what the men did to the couple. But it’s the death of gang leader T-Bird that’s the most satisfying. After kidnapping him at gunpoint, Eric straps T-Bird into his car and loads it with explosives. The moment when T-Bird realizes his kidnapper’s identity makes the scene especially delectable. As the car careens off a pier, it erupts in a shower of sparks and flames. Eric leaves behind his insignia, capping off the coolest execution in the movie.
#12: Blood Is Thicker Than Water
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“Road to Perdition” (2002) Michael Sullivan, a loving father who works as a hitman, sees his two lives collide when his son witnesses one of his kills. Connor, his boss’ unstable son, decides to take matters into his own hands by killing Michael’s wife as well as his other son. Michael avenges the murders of his loved ones by hunting down Connor in his hotel. The music and tracking shot add to the tension as Michael pulls the trigger in the bathroom. We don’t realize that it’s Connor who’s been shot until the door closes and we see his body reflected in the mirror, making the kill that much more satisfying.
#11: Mrs. Lovett’s Last Dance
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“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (2007) In a convoluted scheme to make Sweeney Todd favor her, Mrs. Lovett convinces him that his wife, Lucy, had killed herself. The truth soon stares Sweeney in the eyes after he cuts the throat of the wife he hadn’t recognized until it was too late. Stricken with grief at the realization that this was all an act of pure jealousy, he fakes his forgiveness to Mrs. Lovett in return for an opportunity to cast her into a furnace.
#10: Man’s Best Friend
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“John Wick” (2014) Audiences can watch people getting murdered in movies all day long. But the moment a dog is harmed … well, that’s a different story, damn it! What makes matters worse in “John Wick” is that the dog in question was a gift from his late wife. After gangster Iosef breaks into John’s home and kills the poor pooch, the former assassin leaves retirement to get payback. He has to fight his way through dozens of henchmen before he finally catches up with Iosef. When they come face to face, John doesn’t even let him finish a sentence, getting his revenge with cool efficiency. And that’s why they call him Baba Yaga!
#9: Time to Meet God
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“Sicario” (2015) Vengeance isn’t the driving force behind the plot of this action thriller. But it is the main motivation behind its most dangerous character. Alejandro was once a prosecutor before his wife and child were murdered by Fausto Alarcón, a cartel drug lord. His new life as an assassin eventually leads him to retribution. In a movie that’s comprised of tense moments, the scene in which Alejandro gets revenge is one of the tensest. Alarcón thinks Alejandro is just there for him. But instead, Alejandro kills his family and lets Alarcón sit with that awful feeling before shooting him too. It’s a chilling scene that isn’t soon forgotten.
#8: I’m Here to Kill You
Top 20 Best Revenge Movies of All Time
“Unforgiven” (1992) Will and Ned are retired outlaws, trying to walk the straight and narrow. However, after Will is tempted to pursue a bounty, he convinces Ned to join him. The bounty is on two cowboys who disfigured a sex worker. Since local sheriff Little Bill let them go free, the woman’s peers raised the bounty themselves. After hearing that the sheriff has caught and killed Ned, Will shows up at the town’s saloon to take revenge. While he’s outnumbered, he’s not outgunned. Against all odds, he takes down Little Bill and his deputies.
#7: A Very Particular Set of Skills
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“Taken” (2009) When his daughter is kidnapped, former CIA officer Bryan Mills gives the perpetrators a now often quoted warning. As it turns out, they really should have listened. With his impressive skillset, Bryan is able to track down and capture Marko, the mob boss who sarcastically wished him good luck. Marko soon learns how far Bryan will go to rescue his child. Bryan straps him to a chair, puts metal rods through his legs, and electrocutes him for information. Once he has it, he flips the switch again, and leaves Marko to die. A particularly unpleasant way to go.
#6: Bloodbath at the Prom
“Carrie” (1976) Prom is supposed to be a fun rite of passage. But Carrie’s high school tormentors turn it into a nightmare. When Carrie is elected Prom Queen, she thinks that her classmates finally like her. Instead, it’s all a trick, setup so that her bullies can drop a bucket of pig’s blood on her. In one of the most iconic scenes committed to film, Carrie snaps - unleashing her telekinetic abilities. What ensues is a bloodbath, as Carrie traps and murders nearly all her peers. She also gets revenge on her tormentors when she causes their car to crash.
#5: Maximus Kills Commodus
“Gladiator” (2000) In real life, the Roman emperor Commodus was assassinated by his wrestling partner, Narcissus, in his bath. But Ridley Scott’s version of events is much more satisfying. After Commodus kills Maximus’ wife and son, Maximus is enslaved and becomes a gladiator. However, he becomes so popular that Commodus decides to fight him in the Colosseum. To help even the odds, Commodus stabs Maximus before the battle. However, Maximus still manages to disarm him. When Commodus pulls out a hidden knife, he’s thwarted again. At least Maximus was able to use his last moments to get revenge.
#4: Move the Coin
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“X-Men: First Class” (2011) Being a hero feels great, but it doesn’t come close to the feeling of giving that special someone their just desserts. In 1944, Nazi officer Klaus Schmidt torments Erik Lehnsherr in Auswitchz, killing his mother. Years later, Erik is on a quest for vengeance. Together with Xavier, he’s able to subdue Schmidt, who now calls himself Sebastian Shaw. With the villain immobilized, the X-Men have won. However, Erik still wants revenge. Disregarding Xavier’s pleas, Erik uses his magnetic powers to slowly force a coin through Sebastian’s skull, re-enacting the hellish test he was put through as a boy.
#3: Becoming Wrath
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“Seven” (1995) Revenge isn’t always sweet. When serial killer John Doe is in custody, he baits the two detectives on his case into taking him to a secret location. Once they get there, they receive a box … containing the head of Detective David Mills’ wife. While the serial killer goes into grotesque detail about how he committed the evil deed, the detective wrestles with one of the hardest decisions of his life. Should he show restraint, or commit murder himself, completing John Doe’s lists of seven deadly sins? Overcome with anguish, Mills can’t help himself.
#2: Hello, My Name Is Inigo Montoya
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“The Princess Bride” (1987) If the moment ever presented itself, do you have an awesome line ready? Talented swordsman Inigo Montoya dreamed of the day he’d be granted the opportunity to face off against his father’s killer, the six-fingered Count Rugen. When the final battle commences, Inigo recites his rehearsed line over and over, reminding himself as to why he must win. After turning the tide of the fight in a miraculous comeback, Inigo finishes Count Rugen with a last lunge.
#1: Killing Bill
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“Kill Bill: Volume 2” (2004) This revenge kill is right there in the movie title! After her former boss kills her husband and shoots her, The Bride devises a hit list of everyone responsible. Following an extended journey that includes slicing the top of O-Ren Ishii’s head clean off, stabbing Vernita Green with a throwing knife, and snatching the eye out of Elle Driver’s head, The Bride finally makes her way to her main target. After a quick sit-down and chat, The Bride greets Bill with the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique, giving her ex-lover approximately one minute to say goodbye.
