Vigilante films: there’s something hugely satisfying about watching normal, everyday people taking justice into their own hands. While these films have been around since the dawn of film (the highly controversialBirth of a Nationis - technically speaking - a vigilante film), the genre really exploded to the forefront of film culture in the 70s and 80s with the growing popularity of bleak, excessively violent exploitation films.
There are a number of films that could easily be on this list - the originalDeath Wish, Scorsese’sTaxi Driver,The Boondock Saints, and evenThe Dark Knight(really any Batman movie would fit the bill). But you’ve probably seen all of those before. So here’s ten classic vigilante films you probably haven’t seen that you should definitely check out.
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10The Bride Wore Black
François Truffaut is an icon in French cinema, considered by many to be one of the founding fathers of theFrench New Wave. The critic-turned-director made a number of critically-acclaimed films throughout his 25-year career, but one that’s often overlooked isThe Bride Wore Black.
The film is incredibly straight-forward: Julie Koehler’s husband is assassinated on her wedding day, and she sets out to kill the five men responsible. It’s a nice twist on the genre, which is dominated by stories of lonely, angry men with a chip on their shoulder. Although Truffaut - the harsh critic that he is - expressed his disappointment with how the film turned out,The Bride Wore Blackhas aged like fine wine, and is worth seeking out for those who want something a little different and more stylish from the genre.
9Law Abiding Citizen
Law Abiding Citizenwas heavily maligned by critics when it first came to theaters in 2009, but has since grown a passionate fan base. The film starsGerard Butleras Clarence Darby, a mild-mannered engineer (who we later learn is not so mild-mannered) who seeks revenge against those who killed his wife and daughter in a home invasion. But Darby doesn’t stop there, as he begins to target members of the corrupt Philadelphia justice system as well.
Law Abiding Citizenis an action-packed vigilante movie with a questionable moral compass (something that many movies in this genre have in common). It has a few too many logic-pushing twists, but that doesn’t necessarily take away from the fun.
Controversial directorAbel Ferrara exploded onto the film scenewith his hugely divisiveMs. 45, whichfollows Thana, a mute seamstress who loses her sanity after she is sexually assaulted twice in the same night. Thana becomes an avenging angel of sorts, prowling the streets of Manhattan after dark with her trusted .45 pistol, and blowing away any man that tries to take advantage of her.
Inspired by films includingTaxi DriverandThriller: A Cruel Picture, Ms. 45was initially detested upon release, but has garnered a huge cult following in the years since. It was shot on a shoe-string budget of $62,000, giving the film a grimy, gritty tone that really bolsters the atmosphere. This is an exploitation film through-and-through, and like most films on this list, is a love-it-or-hate-it type of movie. But if you’re a fan of the genre and haven’t seen it yet, moveMs. 45to the top of your watch list.
7Death Wish 3
InDeath Wish 3,Charles Bronson’s infamous Paul Kerseycharacter is recruited by the chief of police to wage war against a gang of street punks who have turned New York City into a wasteland of crime and violence.
Gone is the gritty and grounded atmosphere of the original; this Cannon-produced exploitation flick feels like a mix ofMad MaxandEscape from New York, brimming with comically excessive action (made even funnier by 64-year-old Bronson’s checked-out, one note performance). While the firstDeath Wishfilm could just as easily be on this list, the third film in the franchise is gloriously cheesy, action-packed, and a hell of a lot more fun.
6Harry Brown
Michael Cane stars as the titularHarry Brown, an ex-serviceman living in a gang-infested public housing community in London. When his long-time friend is killed by the aforementioned violent youths, and the police refuse to press charges, Brown decides to take matters into his own hands.
Harry Brownis a unique take on the vigilante genre, given that Michael Caine is going on 80 in the film. While not lacking in the action department,Harry Brownis much more character-driven and somber - a far cry from the typically over-the-top violence found in these movies.
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5Hobo With a Shotgun
Hobo with a Shotgunis a gruesome, incredibly over-the-top throwback to the sleazy exploitation films that defined the vigilante genre in the 70s, and definitely deserves your attention.
Rutgar Hauer plays the titular transient, who arrives in the city of Hope Town looking to start a new life. But Hope Town - or as the locals call it, Scum Town - is overrun with crime, presided over by the sadistic crime lord Drake and his equally-evil sons Ivan and Slick. With corrupt law-enforcement actively participating in these hellish crimes, the Hobo realizes he’ll have to clean up the city if he ever wants to see his dreams of a quaint life ever come to fruition. And that’s where the shotgun comes in.
Jason Eisner’sHobo with a Shotgun-which appropriately started as a faux trailerin Tarantino and Rodriguez’s double-featureGrindhouse -is gleefully over-the-top and ultra-violent. But truthfully, it’s one of the few modern films to replicate that cheap and sleazy feel that distinguished the vigilante genre in the 1970s. If you can stomach the blood, the trip to Hope Town is one worth taking.
Quentin Tarantino has heralded Pam Grier as one of America’s first woman action stars, and one of his favorite movies isCoffy, which featuresGrier in her first major leading role. The famous blaxploitation film follows Grier’s aforementioned Coffy, a nurse who seeks violent retribution against an inner-city drug kingpin and his pushers after they get her sister hooked on heroin.
Coffy is one of the most notable entries in the blaxploitation genre, and heralded Pam Grier as a major force to be reckoned with. Grier would go on to have a very prolific career, and would followCoffywith its more well-known, unofficial sequelFoxy Brown. Grier’s performance in these two movies specifically led toTarantino casting her as the lead inJackie Brown, which was his own take on the blaxploitation genre.
3Rolling Thunder
Paul Schrader - the writer ofTaxi Driver, perhaps the most well-known and influential movie of the vigilante genre - followed up his classic with the lesser-known but equally polarizingRolling Thunder.
The Joe Flynn-directed movie features a lot of similar themes asTaxi Driver; it follows Major Charlies Rane, a Vietnam veteran returning home after spending seven years in a prisoner of war camp. But his already-fragile psyche officially cracks when a band of outlaws breaks into his house and kill his wife and son, as well as mangle his hand. With the help of his newly-minted hook hand and a sawed-off shotgun, Rane goes on a one-man mission to seek vengeance against those responsible.
It’s a harrowing and a tough sit -much like many of Schrader’s films- but features some truly great performances, especially from William Devane as Rane and Tommy Lee Jones.
One of the inspirations behind theStar Warsseries, Akira Kurosawa’sYojimbois not only a classic samurai film, but also an incredible vigilante film.
Yojimbofollows Kuwabatake Sanjuro, a ronin wandering the Japanese countryside in the waning years of the Edo period. He eventually finds himself in a town overrun by two warring criminal families, with the town’s innocent denizens caught in the crossfire. When Kuwabatake realizes that no one is interested in stopping the violence, he makes it his mission to pit the criminal enterprises against each other and rid the town of their presence once and for all.
Kurosawa is considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time- and that’s not at all an exaggeration. Every one of his films can justifiably be heralded as a classic, andYojimbois no exception. It’s stylish, thrilling, and a lot of fun.
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1Colt 38 Special Squad
Quelli della Calibro 38 -akaColt 38 Special Squad-is a 1976 Italian vigilante film that follows a police commissioner who organizes a covert group of rogue officers - each armed with an unregistered .38 Colt revolver - to take down a merciless crime boss and his ring of violent goons in 1970s Turin, Italy. It features cheesy acting, explosive action scenes with some pretty jaw-dropping stunts
Colt 38is part of a subgenre of Italian crime cinema known as “Poliziotteschi,” which combines the grit of French New Wave crime movies with the over-the-top spectacle of American action movies. The genre spawned in the 60s but really exploded in the 70s, during the“Years of Lead,”a period in Italian history marred by social turmoil and political violence. These films were very much a reflection of that turmoil, and hold an interesting and influential place in global cinema.
