Movies where the tables are turned
I find it very rewarding to watch films where the antagonists are smug, high on power, confident, only to suddenly find that the tables have been turned. The hunters have become the hunted. First we grow to hate them, then we can enjoy their humiliation and destruction.
Of course, some sub-genres are particularly prone to this, like rape-revenge, vigilante or hunted human flicks, but scenes like that occur in all types of movies and are worthy of a list.
This is what I've come up with so far, always grateful for suggestions!
Of course, some sub-genres are particularly prone to this, like rape-revenge, vigilante or hunted human flicks, but scenes like that occur in all types of movies and are worthy of a list.
This is what I've come up with so far, always grateful for suggestions!
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- DirectorRobert M. YoungStarsFarrah FawcettJames RussoAlfre WoodardA woman takes revenge on the man who invades her home and tries to rape her.
- DirectorMeir ZarchiStarsCamille KeatonEron TaborRichard PaceAn aspiring writer is repeatedly assaulted, humiliated, and left for dead by four men she systematically hunts down to seek revenge.
- DirectorSteven R. MonroeStarsSarah ButlerJeff BransonAndrew HowardA writer who is brutalized during her cabin retreat seeks revenge on her attackers, who left her for dead.
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsIvana BaqueroAriadna GilSergi LópezIn the Falangist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.
- DirectorCheol-soo JangStarsSeo Yeong-hieJi Seong-wonMin-ho HwangA woman subject to mental, physical and sexual abuse on a remote island seeks a way out.
- DirectorJee-woon KimStarsLee Byung-hunChoi Min-sikJeon Gook-hwanA secret agent exacts revenge on a serial killer through a series of captures and releases.
- DirectorAdam WingardStarsSharni VinsonJoe SwanbergAJ BowenWhen the Davison family comes under attack during their wedding anniversary getaway, the gang of mysterious killers soon learns that one of the victims harbors a secret talent for fighting back.
- DirectorNiels Arden OplevStarsMichael NyqvistNoomi RapaceEwa FrölingA journalist is aided by a young female hacker in his search for the killer of a woman who has been dead for forty years.
- DirectorTom ShanklandStarsStellan SkarsgårdMelissa GeorgeAshley WaltersA calculating killer coerces a detective to pay for his previous mistakes.
- DirectorTomas AlfredsonStarsKåre HedebrantLina LeanderssonPer RagnarOskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.
- DirectorBrian Trenchard-SmithStarsSteve RailsbackOlivia HusseyMichael CraigIn a dystopian future where deviants are held in "re-education" camps, a freedom fighter and an innocent prisoner try to survive their decadent oppressors' game of kill-or-be-killed.
- DirectorLucky McKeeStarsPollyanna McIntoshBrandon Gerald FullerLauren Ashley CarterWhen a successful country lawyer captures and attempts to "civilize" the last remaining member of a violent clan that has roamed the Northeast coast for decades, he puts the lives of his family in jeopardy.
- DirectorTrygve Allister DiesenLucky McKeeStarsBrian CoxNoel FisherKyle GallnerA reclusive man sets out for justice and redemption when three troublesome teens kill his dog for no good reason.
- DirectorLars von TrierStarsNicole KidmanPaul BettanyLauren BacallA woman on the run from the mob is reluctantly accepted in a small Colorado community in exchange for labor, but when a search visits the town she finds out that their support has a price.
- DirectorPierre MorelStarsLiam NeesonMaggie GraceFamke JanssenA retired CIA agent travels across Europe and relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been kidnapped while on a trip to Paris.
- DirectorMichael WinnerStarsCharles BronsonHope LangeVincent GardeniaA New York City architect becomes a one-man vigilante squad after his wife is murdered by street punks. In self-defense, the vengeful man kills muggers on the mean streets after dark.
- DirectorNeil JordanStarsJodie FosterTerrence HowardNaveen AndrewsStruggling to recover emotionally from a brutal assault that killed her fiancé and left her in a coma, a radio personality begins a quest for vengeance against the perpetrators that leaves a bloody trail across New York City.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsSandra PeabodyLucy GranthamDavid HessTwo teenage girls heading to a rock concert for one's birthday try to score marijuana in the city, where they are kidnapped and brutalized by a gang of psychopathic convicts.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsDustin HoffmanSusan GeorgePeter VaughanA young American and his English wife come to rural England and face increasingly vicious local harassment.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsKurt RussellZoë BellRosario DawsonTwo separate sets of voluptuous women are stalked at different times by a scarred stuntman who uses his "death proof" cars to execute his murderous plans.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsSissy SpacekPiper LaurieAmy IrvingCarrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom.
- DirectorJoey StewartStarsMarc DonatoJascha WashingtonWhitney HoyAn awkward student with a deadly vendetta leads a group of outcasts who plot to avenge the years of humiliation they faced by the popular students at Hohn High School.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsCharles BoyerIngrid BergmanJoseph CottenTen years after her aunt was murdered in their London home, a woman returns from Italy in the 1880s to resume residence with her new husband. His obsessive interest in the home rises from a secret that may require driving his wife insane.
- DirectorRichard JobsonStarsJames Anthony PearsonDougray ScottAlastair MackenzieAlice owes the wrong kind of people GBP12000. Her brother Sean's concerned. So when he's offered 12000 by a rich man for a 12 hour game of "hide and seek", he accepts it.
- DirectorJamie BlanksStarsNadia FarèsRobert TaylorDavid LyonsA yuppie couple lost in a thick, brush-filled marsh seek refuge at an isolated farmhouse only to discover they've jumped out of the frying pan into the fire.
- DirectorTetsuya NakashimaStarsTakako MatsuYoshino KimuraMasaki OkadaA psychological thriller of a grieving mother turned cold-blooded avenger with a twisty master plan to pay back those who were responsible for her daughter's death.
- DirectorShane MeadowsStarsPaddy ConsidineGary StretchToby KebbellA disaffected soldier returns to his hometown to get even with the thugs who brutalized his mentally-challenged brother years ago.
- DirectorJames WanStarsKevin BaconJohn GoodmanKelly PrestonNick Hume is a mild-mannered executive with a perfect life, until one gruesome night he witnesses something that changes him forever. Transformed by grief, Hume eventually comes to the disturbing conclusion that no length is too great when protecting his family.
- DirectorJohn SaylesStarsChris CooperJames Earl JonesMary McDonnellA labor union organizer comes to an embattled mining community brutally and violently dominated and harassed by the mining company.
- DirectorFrank DarabontStarsTim RobbinsMorgan FreemanBob GuntonOver the course of several years, two convicts form a friendship, seeking consolation and, eventually, redemption through basic compassion.
- DirectorKim BartleyDonnacha O'BriainStarsHugo ChávezPedro CarmonaJesse HelmsIn April 2002, an Irish film crew is making a documentary about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, when a coup from the opposition is made.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTakashi ShimuraKeiko TsushimaFarmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.
- DirectorCosta-GavrasStarsYves MontandIrene PapasJean-Louis TrintignantThe public murder of a prominent politician and doctor amid a violent demonstration is covered up by military and government officials. A tenacious magistrate is determined not to let them get away with it.
- DirectorMichael MorrisseyStarsCaleb SteinmeyerZulay HenaoBill SageA traumatized boy grows into a shy, determined teenager who patrols the mean streets of New York City, helping those in need and dishing out severe punishment to remorseless thugs.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsGlenn FordGloria GrahameJocelyn BrandoTough cop Dave Bannion takes on a politically powerful crime syndicate.
- DirectorRyûhei KitamuraStarsLuke EvansGary GrubbsAdelaide ClemensA gang of ruthless highway killers kidnap a wealthy couple traveling cross country only to shockingly discover that things are not what they seem.
- DirectorKatie AseltonStarsKatie AseltonLake BellKate BosworthThree childhood friends set aside their personal issues and reunite for a girls' weekend on a remote island off the coast of Maine. One wrong move turns their weekend getaway into a deadly fight for survival.
- DirectorJon WrightStarsAlex PettyferApril PearsonDimitri LeonidasA bullied teenager comes back from the dead to take revenge on his classmates.
- DirectorJonathan MostowStarsKurt RussellJ.T. WalshKathleen QuinlanA man searches for his missing wife after his car breaks down in the middle of the desert.
- DirectorZhangke JiaStarsWu JiangBaoqiang WangTao ZhaoFour independent stories set in modern China about random acts of violence.
- DirectorPaul HyettStarsRosie DaySean PertweeKevin HowarthSold at a brothel deep in the woods to work as a caretaker, a hapless deaf girl must summon the courage to fight for her life.
- DirectorAndreas ProchaskaStarsSam RileyTobias MorettiPaula BeerThrough a hidden path, a lone rider reaches a little town high up in the Alps. Nobody knows where the stranger comes from, nor what he wants there. But everyone knows that they don't want him to stay.
- DirectorWilliam FruetStarsBrenda VaccaroDon StroudChuck ShamataA rich playboy has a large house in the Ontario countryside. One weekend he invites his girlfriend, a fashion model, but on his way to the house he drives past a gang of crazed young men. The men find out where the house is and terrorize the couple.