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Movies like Death Wish

Key Features:
Vigilante, Urban crime, Revenge, Moral ambiguity, Loss of innocence, Social commentary, Justice, Violence-high, Transformation, Urban setting, Man vs. Society
Tone:
serious, gritty, dramatic
Target Audience:
Action enthusiasts, Crime drama fans, Viewers interested in social commentary, Fans of morally complex narratives
Emotional Arc:
Loss → Vengeance

Death Wish

1974-07-24
Death Wish Poster - Find Similar Movies

After his wife is murdered by street punks, a pacifistic New York City architect becomes a one-man vigilante squad, prowling the streets for would-be muggers after dark.

Genres
Crime, Drama, Action
Cast
Charles Bronson, Hope Lange, Vincent Gardenia, Steven Keats, William Redfield, Stuart Margolin, Stephen Elliott, Kathleen Tolan, Jack Wallace, Fred J. Scollay
Crew
Michael Winner, Wendell Mayes, Gerald Wilson, Michael Winner
Rating
6.9(900 votes)
Death WishDeath Wish
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Death Wish 3
6.2

Architect/vigilante Paul Kersey arrives back in New York City and is forcibly recruited by a crooked police chief to fight street crime caused by a large gang terrorizing the neighborhoods.



Death Wish II
6.247

Paul Kersey is again a vigilante trying to find five punks who murdered his housekeeper and daughter in Los Angeles.



Death Wish
6.204

A mild-mannered father is transformed into a killing machine after his family is torn apart by a violent act.



Death Wish V: The Face of Death

Paul Kersey is back at working vigilante justice when his fiancée, Olivia, has her business threatened by mobsters.



Vigilante
Vigilante(1983)
6.2

New York City factory worker Eddie Marino is a solid citizen and regular guy, until the day a sadistic street gang brutally assaults his wife and murders his child. When a corrupt judge sets the thugs free, he goes berserk and vows revenge.



Vendetta
Vendetta(2022)
5.986

When his daughter is murdered, William Duncan takes the law into his own hands, setting out on a quest for retribution. After killing the street thug responsible for her death, he finds himself in the middle of a war with the thug's brother, father, and their gang, who are equally hell-bent on getting even. What ensues is a tense back-and-forth game of vengeance. By the end, William comes to find that the quest for revenge never has a winner.



Sudden Impact
6.6

When a young rape victim takes justice into her own hands and becomes a serial killer, it's up to Dirty Harry Callahan, on suspension from the SFPD, to bring her to justice.



Death Wish 4: The Crackdown

After the death of his girlfriend's daughter from a drug overdose, Paul Kersey takes on the local drug cartel.



The Exterminator
5.5

When a man's best friend is killed on the streets of New York, he transforms into a violent killer, turning New York into a war zone.



Action Jackson
5.5

Vengeance drives a tough Detroit cop to stay on the trail of a power hungry auto magnate who's systematically eliminating his competition.



Death Sentence
6.775

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.



Batman
Batman(1989)
7.235

Having witnessed his parents' brutal murder as a child, millionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne fights crime in Gotham City disguised as Batman, a costumed hero who strikes fear into the hearts of villains. But when a deformed madman known as 'The Joker' seizes control of Gotham's criminal underworld, Batman must face his most ruthless nemesis ever while protecting both his identity and his love interest, reporter Vicki Vale.



The Punisher
6.4

When undercover FBI agent Frank Castle's wife and son are slaughtered, he becomes 'the Punisher' -- a ruthless vigilante willing to go to any length to avenge his family.



Violent City
6

A hitman is double-crossed by his girlfriend and barely escapes a murder attempt. He then sets out to take his revenge on the woman and the gang boss who put her up to it.



Killing Them Softly

Jackie Cogan is an enforcer hired to restore order after three dumb guys rob a Mob protected card game, causing the local criminal economy to collapse.



Kill Bill: Vol. 1
7.97

An assassin is shot by her ruthless employer, Bill, and other members of their assassination circle – but she lives to plot her vengeance.



Seeking Justice
5.918

After his wife is assaulted, a husband enlists the services of a vigilante group to help him settle the score.



The Retaliators
5.769

An upstanding pastor uncovers a dark and twisted underworld as he searches for answers surrounding his daughter's brutal murder.



Highwaymen
5.7

James Cray watched as his wife was killed by Fargo, a hit-and-run serial murderer. After severely injuring Fargo and going to prison for several years, James is now determined to avenge his wife's death. He drives across the country looking for Fargo's 1972 Cadillac Eldorado, which the now-disabled killer has turned into a rolling death trap. James' search is helped by a state traffic officer and a singer with her own agenda.



Law Abiding Citizen

A frustrated man decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets one of his family's killers free. He targets not only the killer but also the district attorney and others involved in the deal.



The Killer
6.58

After a fateful miss, an assassin battles his employers, and himself, on an international manhunt he insists isn't personal.



Vendetta
Vendetta(2015)
5.321

A hard-nosed detective deliberately commits a crime to get thrown in prison, allowing him the chance to seek vengeance on a criminal serving a life sentence for brutally murdering his wife.



The Purge: Anarchy
6.628

One night per year, the government sanctions a 12-hour period in which citizens can commit any crime they wish -- including murder -- without fear of punishment or imprisonment. Leo, a sergeant who lost his son, plans a vigilante mission of revenge during the mayhem. However, instead of a death-dealing avenger, he becomes the unexpected protector of four innocent strangers who desperately need his help if they are to survive the night.



Instant Death
5.5

A vicious gang war for drug dominance draws in a disturbed Special Forces veteran John Bradley. Trying to adjust to normal life and haunted by inner demons of a violent past, the underworld's retribution on his last connection to humanity, a daughter and grandchild leads to a descent of fury and violence that not even the brutality of gangland is prepared for.



Collateral Damage
5.768

Firefighter Gordon Brewer is plunged into the complex and dangerous world of international terrorism after he loses his wife and child in a bombing credited to Claudio 'The Wolf' Perrini.



Death Warrant
6.2

Canadian policeman Louis Burke is assigned in a jail to investigate the murders of prisoners and jailors. While there, Louis, using his outstanding martial arts skills, is able to save his life and make himself respected in this violent world.



Recoil
Recoil(2012)
5.778

A cop turns vigilante after his family is murdered, exacting vengeance on the killers - and then on all criminals who have slipped through the system.



King of New York
6.8

A former drug lord returns from prison determined to wipe out all his competition and distribute the profits of his operations to New York's poor and lower classes in this stylish and ultra violent modern twist on Robin Hood.



Sin City
Sin City(2005)
7.463

Welcome to Sin City. This town beckons to the tough, the corrupt, the brokenhearted. Some call it dark… Hard-boiled. Then there are those who call it home — Crooked cops, sexy dames, desperate vigilantes. Some are seeking revenge, others lust after redemption, and then there are those hoping for a little of both. A universe of unlikely and reluctant heroes still trying to do the right thing in a city that refuses to care.



Cyborg
Cyborg(1989)
5.7

A martial artist hunts a killer in a plague-infested urban dump of the future.



Mad Max
Mad Max(1979)
6.7

In the ravaged near-future, a savage motorcycle gang rules the road. Terrorizing innocent civilians while tearing up the streets, the ruthless gang laughs in the face of a police force hell-bent on stopping them.



Righting Wrongs
7.6

Jason Chan, a Hong Kong lawyer, is angry at the way the law protects criminals and decides to take the law into his own hands, dishing out vigilante justice when a key witness and his entire family are murdered. But hotshot cop Cindy Si is soon on Chan's case, and the situation unravels into a fight that only a few will survive.



Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

Some of Sin City's most hard-boiled citizens cross paths with a few of its more reviled inhabitants.



Hollow Point
6.4

When his wife and daughter are senselessly murdered, a grieving man finds himself caught up in a war between a group of charismatic vigilantes and the crime that infests their city.



Vendetta
Vendetta(2013)
5.916

Special ops interrogation officer Jimmy Vickers tracks down a gang who slaughtered his parents while at the same time avoiding being tracked down by his old unit and the cops. With police closing in and his old unit on his trail, he has to evade capture long enough to complete his gruesome crusade.



Death Proof
6.837

Austin's hottest DJ, Jungle Julia, sets out into the night to unwind with her two friends Shanna and Arlene. Covertly tracking their moves is Stuntman Mike, a scarred rebel leering from behind the wheel of his muscle car, revving just feet away.



Due Justice
6.033

An attorney with a military past hunts down the gang who killed his wife and took his daughter.



Out for Justice
6.1

Gino Felino is an NYPD detective from Brooklyn who knows everyone and everything in his neighborhood. Killing his partner was someone's big mistake... because he's now out for justice.



M.F.A.
M.F.A.(2017)
6.1

After the accidental death of her rapist, an art student becomes an unlikely vigilante, set out to avenge college girls whose rapists were not charged.



A Short Film About Killing

Jacek climbs into the taxi driven by Waldemar, tells him to drive to a remote location, then brutally strangles him, seemingly without motive.



Underworld U.S.A.
6.9

A bitter young man sets out to get back at the gangsters who murdered his father.



Give 'em Hell, Malone
5.623

A tough as nails private investigator (Malone) squares off with gangsters and their thugs to protect a valuable secret. Malone goes through hell to protect the information but he dishes some hell as well...



Runaway Jury
6.9

After a workplace shooting in New Orleans, a trial against the gun manufacturer pits lawyer Wendell Rohr against shady jury consultant Rankin Fitch, who uses illegal means to stack the jury with people sympathetic to the defense. But when juror Nicholas Easter and his girlfriend Marlee reveal their ability to sway the jury into delivering any verdict they want, a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game begins.



The Star Chamber

As violence escalates in Los Angeles and heinous murders are committed, Steven Hardin, a young judge of the California Supreme Court, must struggle with his tortured conscience and growing despair as he watches helplessly as the ruthless criminals brought before his court go free because clever lawyers find obscure loopholes in the law.



The Verdict
6.8

When his wife's murderer is released due to a procedural error, Luc will do everything in his power to stop it from happening... He is going to take justice into his own hands and will then compete with the constitutional state which let him down.



John Doe: Vigilante
6.439

When John Doe is convicted of being a vigilante serial killer, a vigilante group named 'Speak for the Dead' emerges in support of John's cause—elevating the debate about justice versus vengeance.



Q & A
Q & A(1990)
5.8

A young district attorney seeking to prove a case against a corrupt police detective encounters a former lover and her new protector, a crime boss who refuses to help him.



Driven to Kill
4.99

A former Russian mobster named Ruslan, who is now a crime novelist, returns home and discovers his daughter is marrying his arch nemesis. His past also comes back to haunt him when his family is threatened. Hungry for justice, Ruslan returns to the life he once knew...with a vengeance.



M
M(1951)
6.305

Remake of the 1931 Fritz Lang original. In the city, someone is murdering children. The Police search is so intense, it is disturbing the 'normal' criminals, and the local hoods decide to help find the murderer as quickly as possible.



Dead Man Down
6.157

In New York City, a crime lord's right-hand man is seduced by a woman seeking retribution.



Johnny Handsome
6.32

A career criminal who has been deformed since birth is given a new face by a kindly doctor and paroled from prison. It appears that he has gone straight, but he is really planning his revenge on the man who killed his mentor and sent him to prison.



This Man Must Die
7.361

When his young son is killed in a hit and run accident, Charles Thenier resolves to hunt down and murder the killer. By chance, Thenier makes the acquaintance of an actress, Helène Lanson, who was in the car at the time of the accident. He then meets Helène’s brother-in-law, Paul Decourt, a truly horrible individual.



Death Race
6.29

Terminal Island, New York: 2020. Overcrowding in the US penal system has reached a breaking point. Prisons have been turned over to a monolithic Weyland Corporation, which sees jails full of thugs as an opportunity for televised sport. Adrenalized inmates, a global audience hungry for violence and a spectacular, enclosed arena come together to form the 'Death Race', the biggest, most brutal event.



The Equalizer
7.3

McCall believes he has put his mysterious past behind him and dedicated himself to beginning a new, quiet life. But when he meets Teri, a young girl under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters, he can’t stand idly by – he has to help her. Armed with hidden skills that allow him to serve vengeance against anyone who would brutalize the helpless, McCall comes out of his self-imposed retirement and finds his desire for justice reawakened. If someone has a problem, if the odds are stacked against them, if they have nowhere else to turn, McCall will help. He is The Equalizer.



Bad Ass
Bad Ass(2012)
5.797

Decorated Vietnam hero, Frank Vega returns home only to get shunned by society leaving him without a job or his high school sweetheart. It's not until forty years later when an incident on a commuter bus makes him a local hero where he's suddenly celebrated once again. But his good fortune suddenly turns for the worse when his best friend is murdered and the police aren't doing anything about it.



The Killing
7.649

Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and gets married. But when George tells his restless wife about the scheme to steal millions from the racetrack where he works, she hatches a plot of her own.



A Civil Action
6.5

Jan Schlickmann is a cynical lawyer who goes out to 'get rid of' a case, only to find out it is potentially worth millions. The case becomes his obsession, to the extent that he is willing to give up everything—including his career and his clients' goals—in order to continue the case against all odds.



The Punisher
5.8

The avenging angel of Marvel Comics fame comes brilliantly to life in this searing action-adventure thriller! Dolph Lundgren stars as Frank Castle, a veteran cop who loses his entire family to a mafia car bomb. His ex-partner believes Castle survived the blast and became the Punisher, living in the sewers and exacting vigilante violence against mob bosses throughout the city. When the populace is caught in the midst of a gang war that he caused, Castle must again emerge from the shadows and save the innocent.



The Big Heat
7.7

After the suspicious suicide of a fellow cop, tough homicide detective Dave Bannion takes the law into his own hands when he sets out to smash a vicious crime syndicate.



Fatal Attraction
6.8

A married man's one-night stand comes back to haunt him when that lover begins to stalk him and his family.



Righteous Kill
5.9

Two veteran New York City detectives work to identify the possible connection between a recent murder and a case they believe they solved years ago; is there a serial killer on the loose, and did they perhaps put the wrong person behind bars?



Mission of Justice
6.709

Mayoral candidate Dr. Rachel Larkin has a dangerous plan for swift justice in the form of a band of ex-convicts, called the Peacemakers, who roam the streets to do her bidding. When a boxer friend is killed by Larkin's thugs, an outlaw cop goes undercover to get evidence, and works his way up to the inner circle of the doctor's army.



Max Payne
Max Payne(2008)
5.4

A DEA agent whose family was slain as part of a conspiracy, and an assassin out to avenge her sister's death, join forces to solve a series of murders in New York City.



99 River Street
6.8

A former boxer turned taxi driver earns the scorn of his nagging wife and gets mixed up with jewel thieves.



Urban Justice
5.07

Seagal plays a man with a dark and violent past, who seeks revenge for the murder of his son.



Jack the Ripper
5.8

A serial killer whose mother was a prostitute starts killing streetwalkers as a way of paying back his mother for her abuse.



Retribution
6.7

While Carlos, a banking executive, takes his two kids to school in his car, he gets a phone call telling him that there is a bomb under the seats and he must to gather a large amount of money; otherwise, his car will blow up.



Nighthawks
6.4

When one of Europe's most lethal terrorists shows up in New York, an elite undercover cop is assigned to take him down by any means necessary.



Dirty Harry
7.5

When a madman dubbed 'Scorpio' terrorizes San Francisco, hard-nosed cop, Harry Callahan – famous for his take-no-prisoners approach to law enforcement – is tasked with hunting down the psychopath.



Mad Foxes
Mad Foxes(1981)
4.769

A man seeks revenge after a biker gang murders his loved ones.



Die Hard: With a Vengeance

New York detective John McClane is back and kicking bad-guy butt in the third installment of this action-packed series, which finds him teaming with civilian Zeus Carver to prevent the loss of innocent lives. McClane thought he'd seen it all, until a genius named Simon engages McClane, his new "partner" -- and his beloved city -- in a deadly game that demands their concentration.



Payback
Payback(1999)
6.8

With friends like these, who needs enemies? That's the question bad guy Porter is left asking after his wife and partner steal his heist money and leave him for dead -- or so they think. Five months and an endless reservoir of bitterness later, Porter's partners and the crooked cops on his tail learn how bad payback can be.



Hannie Caulder
6.199

After she's raped by the outlaw trio who murdered her husband, a frontierswoman hires a bounty hunter to instruct her in the ways of a gun in order to exact her revenge.



The Evil That Men Do

A former assassin (Charles Bronson) comes out of retirement to avenge the brutal murder of his friend at the hands of a sadistic torturer (Joseph Maher) employed by an oppressive foreign dictatorship.



Gangs of New York
7.314

In early 1860s New York, Irish immigrant Amsterdam Vallon is released from prison and returns to the Five Points, seeking revenge against his father's killer, William Cutting, a powerful anti-immigrant gang leader. He knows that revenge can only be attained by infiltrating Cutting's inner circle. Vallon's journey becomes a fight for personal survival and to find a place for the Irish people.



City of Industry
5.5

A retired thief swears revenge on the lunatic who murdered his brother and partner, while going on the run with the loot they stole.



Retribution
6.564

When a mysterious caller plants a bomb under his car seat, a bank executive begins a high-speed chase across the city to complete a specific series of tasks — all with his kids trapped in the back seat.



The Stone Killer
6.2

A Los Angeles detective is sent to New York where he must solve a case involving an old Sicilian Mafia family feud.



Chicago
Chicago(2002)
7.125

Murderesses Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart find themselves on death row together and fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows in 1920s Chicago.



Judgment Night
6.5

Four young friends, while taking a shortcut en route to a local boxing match, witness a brutal murder which leaves them running for their lives.



Hobo with a Shotgun

A vigilante homeless man pulls into a new city and finds himself trapped in urban chaos, a city where crime rules and where the city's crime boss reigns. Seeing an urban landscape filled with armed robbers, corrupt cops, abused prostitutes and even a pedophile Santa, the Hobo goes about bringing justice to the city the best way he knows how - with a 20-gauge shotgun. Mayhem ensues when he tries to make things better for the future generation. Street justice will indeed prevail.



Demon City
6.954

Framed for his family's murder and left for dead, an ex-hitman will stop at nothing to exact revenge on the masked "demons" who have taken over his city.



Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead

Five different criminals face imminent death after botching a job quite badly.



The Dead Pool
6.3

Dirty Harry Callahan returns for his final film adventure. Together with his partner Al Quan, he must investigate the systematic murder of actors and musicians. By the time Harry learns that the murders are a part of a sick game to predict the deaths of celebrities before they happen, it may be too late...



John Wick
John Wick(2014)
7.452

Ex-hitman John Wick comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that took everything from him.



Marathon Man
7.17

A graduate student and obsessive runner in New York is drawn into a mysterious plot involving his brother, a member of the secretive Division.



Harry Brown
6.823

An elderly ex-serviceman and widower looks to avenge his best friend's murder by doling out his own form of justice.



A Time to Kill
7.4

A young lawyer defends a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his 10-year-old daughter, sparking a rebirth of the KKK.



Felon
Felon(2008)
7.1

A family man convicted of killing an intruder must cope with life afterward in the violent penal system.



Coffy
Coffy(1973)
6.605

After her younger sister gets involved in drugs and is severely injured by contaminated heroin, a nurse sets out on a mission of vengeance and vigilante justice, killing drug dealers, pimps, and mobsters who cross her path.



Falling Down
7.386

An ordinary man frustrated with the various flaws he sees in society begins to psychotically and violently lash out against them.



Acts of Vengeance
5.9

A fast-talking lawyer transforms his body and takes a vow of silence, not to be broken until he finds out who killed his wife and daughter and has his revenge.



American Hangman
6.016

An unidentified man posts a live feed on social media showing that he has kidnapped two strangers and intends to kill one before the day is out. His intention is to hold a capital 'trial' online. As the authorities recognize what's happening, it becomes apparent that the online public is going to act as judge and jury.



Adam Chaplin
6

Set in the fictional country of Heaven Valley, the film is the story of a man, Adam, who following the suspicious death of his wife begins to investigate her murder and in doing so, discovers the involvement of local mafia boss: Denny Richards. Unable to trust the police, corrupt and controlled by Denny, Adam, consumed by anger, summons a demon who offers him superhuman strength and dark powers. The demon follows him during his trip, promising to lead Adam to the door of the murderer if he does everything the demon asks. This unleashes a bloody war that will bring Adam, the demon on his side, against the police department with all its dark allies. The fight begins and it will be extreme!



Shoot 'Em Up
6.483

A man named Mr. Smith delivers a woman's baby during a shootout, and is then called upon to protect the newborn from the army of gunmen.



1990: The Bronx Warriors

In post-apocalyptic New York City a policeman infiltrates the Bronx which has become a battleground for several murderous street gangs.



The New York Ripper

A burned-out New York police detective teams up with a college psychoanalyst to track down a vicious serial killer randomly stalking and killing various young women around the city.



Street Smart
5.9

A New York journalist lies when his fake story about a pimp describes a real pimp up for murder.



Panic in the Streets
6.903

A medical examiner discovers that an innocent shooting victim in a robbery died of bubonic plague. With only 48 hours to find the killer, who is now a ticking time bomb threatening the entire city, a grisly manhunt through the seamy underworld of the New Orleans Waterfront is underway.

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