Movies where the tables are turned
by magek | created - 17 Aug 2013 | updated - 04 Jun 2022 | PublicI 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!
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1. Extremities (1986)
R | 89 min | Drama, Thriller
A woman takes revenge on the man who invades her home and tries to rape her.
Director: Robert M. Young | Stars: Farrah Fawcett, James Russo, Alfre Woodard, Diana Scarwid
Votes: 4,291 | Gross: $13.42M
2. I Spit on Your Grave (1978)
R | 101 min | Horror, Thriller
An aspiring writer is repeatedly assaulted, humiliated, and left for dead by four men she systematically hunts down to seek revenge.
Director: Meir Zarchi | Stars: Camille Keaton, Eron Tabor, Richard Pace, Anthony Nichols
Votes: 31,160
3. I Spit on Your Grave (2010)
R | 108 min | Horror, Thriller
A writer who is brutalized during her cabin retreat seeks revenge on her attackers, who left her for dead.
Director: Steven R. Monroe | Stars: Sarah Butler, Jeff Branson, Andrew Howard, Daniel Franzese
Votes: 93,044 | Gross: $0.09M
4. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
R | 118 min | Drama, Fantasy, War
In the Falangist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.
Director: Guillermo del Toro | Stars: Ivana Baquero, Ariadna Gil, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú
Votes: 702,485 | Gross: $37.63M
5. Bedevilled (2010)
Not Rated | 115 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A woman subject to mental, physical and sexual abuse on a remote island seeks a way out.
Director: Cheol-soo Jang | Stars: Seo Yeong-hie, Ji Seong-won, Min-ho Hwang, Min Je
Votes: 17,020
6. I Saw the Devil (2010)
Not Rated | 144 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A secret agent exacts revenge on a serial killer through a series of captures and releases.
Director: Jee-woon Kim | Stars: Lee Byung-hun, Choi Min-sik, Jeon Gook-hwan, Chun Ho-jin
Votes: 146,009 | Gross: $0.13M
7. You're Next (2011)
R | 95 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
When 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.
Director: Adam Wingard | Stars: Sharni Vinson, Joe Swanberg, AJ Bowen, Nicholas Tucci
Votes: 109,339 | Gross: $18.47M
8. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)
R | 152 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A journalist is aided by a young female hacker in his search for the killer of a woman who has been dead for forty years.
Director: Niels Arden Oplev | Stars: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Ewa Fröling, Lena Endre
Votes: 223,252 | Gross: $10.10M
9. The Killing Gene (2007)
R | 104 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A calculating killer coerces a detective to pay for his previous mistakes.
Director: Tom Shankland | Stars: Stellan Skarsgård, Melissa George, Ashley Walters, Tom Hardy
Votes: 9,332
10. Let the Right One In (2008)
R | 114 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Oskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.
Director: Tomas Alfredson | Stars: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl
Votes: 226,648 | Gross: $2.12M
11. Turkey Shoot (1982)
R | 80 min | Action, Drama, Horror
In 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.
Director: Brian Trenchard-Smith | Stars: Steve Railsback, Olivia Hussey, Michael Craig, Carmen Duncan
Votes: 4,256
12. The Woman (I) (2011)
R | 101 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
When 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.
Director: Lucky McKee | Stars: Pollyanna McIntosh, Brandon Gerald Fuller, Lauren Ashley Carter, Chris Krzykowski
Votes: 25,823
13. Red (2008)
R | 93 min | Drama, Thriller
A reclusive man sets out for justice and redemption when three troublesome teens kill his dog for no good reason.
Directors: Trygve Allister Diesen, Lucky McKee | Stars: Brian Cox, Noel Fisher, Kyle Gallner, Shiloh Fernandez
Votes: 12,696 | Gross: $0.00M
14. Dogville (2003)
R | 178 min | Crime, Drama
A 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.
Director: Lars von Trier | Stars: Nicole Kidman, Paul Bettany, Lauren Bacall, Harriet Andersson
Votes: 158,541 | Gross: $1.53M
15. Taken (I) (2008)
PG-13 | 90 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A 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.
Director: Pierre Morel | Stars: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Leland Orser
Votes: 633,984 | Gross: $145.00M
16. Death Wish (1974)
R | 93 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A 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.
Director: Michael Winner | Stars: Charles Bronson, Hope Lange, Vincent Gardenia, Steven Keats
Votes: 43,990 | Gross: $22.00M
17. The Brave One (2007)
R | 122 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Struggling 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.
Director: Neil Jordan | Stars: Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard, Naveen Andrews, Nicky Katt
Votes: 63,467 | Gross: $36.79M
18. The Last House on the Left (1972)
R | 84 min | Crime, Horror, Thriller
Two 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.
Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Sandra Peabody, Lucy Grantham, David Hess, Fred J. Lincoln
Votes: 40,242 | Gross: $3.10M
19. Straw Dogs (1971)
R | 113 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A young American and his English wife come to rural England and face increasingly vicious local harassment.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Susan George, Peter Vaughan, T.P. McKenna
Votes: 64,453
20. Death Proof (2007)
R | 127 min | Action, Thriller
Two 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.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Kurt Russell, Zoë Bell, Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito
Votes: 313,535
21. Carrie (1976)
R | 98 min | Horror, Mystery
Carrie 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.
Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, John Travolta
Votes: 206,438 | Gross: $33.80M
22. The Final (I) (2010)
R | 93 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
An 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.
Director: Joey Stewart | Stars: Marc Donato, Jascha Washington, Whitney Hoy, Justin Arnold
Votes: 11,988
23. Gaslight (1944)
Passed | 114 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Ten 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.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten, May Whitty
Votes: 33,822
24. New Town Killers (2008)
Not Rated | 100 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Alice 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.
Director: Richard Jobson | Stars: James Anthony Pearson, Dougray Scott, Alastair Mackenzie, Charles Mnene
Votes: 1,857
25. Storm Warning (2007)
R | 86 min | Horror, Thriller
A 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.
Director: Jamie Blanks | Stars: Nadia Farès, Robert Taylor, David Lyons, Mathew Wilkinson
Votes: 7,516
26. Confessions (2010)
Not Rated | 106 min | Drama, Thriller
A 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.
Director: Tetsuya Nakashima | Stars: Takako Matsu, Yoshino Kimura, Masaki Okada, Yukito Nishii
Votes: 42,022
27. Dead Man's Shoes (2004)
Not Rated | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A disaffected soldier returns to his hometown to get even with the thugs who brutalized his mentally-challenged brother years ago.
Director: Shane Meadows | Stars: Paddy Considine, Gary Stretch, Toby Kebbell, Stuart Wolfenden
Votes: 58,318 | Gross: $0.01M
28. Death Sentence (2007)
R | 105 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Nick 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.
Director: James Wan | Stars: Kevin Bacon, John Goodman, Kelly Preston, Garrett Hedlund
Votes: 74,805 | Gross: $9.53M
29. Matewan (1987)
PG-13 | 135 min | Drama, History
A labor union organizer comes to an embattled mining community brutally and violently dominated and harassed by the mining company.
Director: John Sayles | Stars: Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell, Will Oldham
Votes: 8,904 | Gross: $1.68M
30. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
R | 142 min | Drama
Over the course of several years, two convicts form a friendship, seeking consolation and, eventually, redemption through basic compassion.
Director: Frank Darabont | Stars: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler
Votes: 2,885,171 | Gross: $28.34M
31. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (2003)
Unrated | 74 min | Documentary
In April 2002, an Irish film crew is making a documentary about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, when a coup from the opposition is made.
Directors: Kim Bartley, Donnacha O'Briain | Stars: Hugo Chávez, Pedro Carmona, Jesse Helms, Colin Powell
Votes: 2,624
32. Seven Samurai (1954)
Not Rated | 207 min | Action, Drama
Farmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima, Yukiko Shimazaki
Votes: 366,451 | Gross: $0.27M
33. Z (1969)
M/PG | 127 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The 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.
Director: Costa-Gavras | Stars: Yves Montand, Irene Papas, Jean-Louis Trintignant, François Périer
Votes: 31,321 | Gross: $0.08M
34. Boy Wonder (2010)
R | 93 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A 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.
Director: Michael Morrissey | Stars: Caleb Steinmeyer, Zulay Henao, Bill Sage, Daniel Stewart Sherman
Votes: 9,500
35. The Big Heat (1953)
Passed | 89 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Thriller
Tough cop Dave Bannion takes on a politically powerful crime syndicate.
Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Jocelyn Brando, Alexander Scourby
Votes: 29,135
36. No One Lives (2012)
R | 86 min | Horror, Thriller
A gang of ruthless highway killers kidnap a wealthy couple traveling cross country only to shockingly discover that things are not what they seem.
Director: Ryûhei Kitamura | Stars: Luke Evans, Gary Grubbs, Adelaide Clemens, Derek Magyar
Votes: 24,257 | Gross: $0.07M
37. Black Rock (2012)
R | 83 min | Horror, Thriller
Three 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.
Director: Katie Aselton | Stars: Katie Aselton, Lake Bell, Kate Bosworth, Will Bouvier
Votes: 9,868
38. Tormented (I) (2009)
R | 91 min | Comedy, Horror, Mystery
A bullied teenager comes back from the dead to take revenge on his classmates.
Director: Jon Wright | Stars: Alex Pettyfer, April Pearson, Dimitri Leonidas, Calvin Dean
Votes: 6,541
39. Breakdown (I) (1997)
R | 93 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A man searches for his missing wife after his car breaks down in the middle of the desert.
Director: Jonathan Mostow | Stars: Kurt Russell, J.T. Walsh, Kathleen Quinlan, M.C. Gainey
Votes: 61,597 | Gross: $50.13M
40. A Touch of Sin (2013)
Not Rated | 130 min | Crime, Drama
Four independent stories set in modern China about random acts of violence.
Director: Zhangke Jia | Stars: Wu Jiang, Baoqiang Wang, Tao Zhao, Lanshan Luo
Votes: 12,868 | Gross: $0.09M
41. The Seasoning House (2012)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
Sold 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.
Director: Paul Hyett | Stars: Rosie Day, Sean Pertwee, Kevin Howarth, Anna Walton
Votes: 11,015
42. The Dark Valley (2014)
Not Rated | 115 min | Action, Drama, Western
Through 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.
Director: Andreas Prochaska | Stars: Sam Riley, Tobias Moretti, Paula Beer, Thomas Schubert
Votes: 14,296
43. The House by the Lake (1976)
R | 87 min | Horror, Thriller
A 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. ... See full summary »
Director: William Fruet | Stars: Brenda Vaccaro, Don Stroud, Chuck Shamata, Richard Ayres
Votes: 1,388
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