10 Gritty, Brooding Revenge Movies If You Love The Crow

This article contains mention of violence and assault.

Both versions of The Crow focus on the origin story of Eric Draven. He is a man who rises from the dead to take his revenge, similar to the many other revenge movies that follow this formula. The 2024 The Crow is not a remake of the original but expands upon the narrative laid out by the comic book series. Source material like the comic book serves as inspiration for the brooding vengeance films within this niche. While stories of revenge have been popular since the beginning of the film, The Crow exemplifies what the genre does best.

Nothing about either version of
The Crow
is flat or bland, as even within the moody palate, it remains dynamic.

It stands apart because of how dark and gritty the action and aesthetic of the project are. However, nothing about either version of The Crow is flat or bland, as even within the moody palate, it remains dynamic. The biggest differences between The Crow 2024 and the original movie are part of the reason that the recent adaptation of the beloved comic book isn’t as popular. While there are plenty of ways that vengeance narrative can play out on screen, most begin with the protagonist experiencing a loss like Eric does and then rising from the ashes.

10 Darkman (1990)

Directed by Sam Raimi

Though the director of Darkman, Sam Raimi, made his name making the campy cult classic Evil Dead movies, he branched out with the revenge thriller Darkman in 1990. Starring a young Liam Neeson as Dr. Peyton Westlake, AKA Darkman, the movie follows the doctor’s journey for vengeance after a corrupt real estate developer destroys his life because he found sensitive information. Frances McDormand plays Julie, Westlake’s love interest, who he attempts to get back to so they can rebuild their life together.

Though
Darkman
isn’t based on a comic like
The Crow
, it’s still in conversation with the same pulp aesthetics and gritty superhero genre.

There are similarities between the recent Deadpool movies and Darkman, as both protagonists have their skin and appearance altered by torture and explosions, making it difficult for them to reunite with the women they love. However, the project is closer in tone to The Crow, as Westlake is practically brought back from the dead after his attack, and he succumbs to despair as Eric does. Though Darkman isn’t based on a comic like The Crow, it’s still in conversation with the same pulp aesthetics and gritty superhero genre.

9 Death Wish (2018)

Directed by Eli Roth

Bruce Willis leads the 2018 remake of Death Wish, a 1974 film of the same name that sparked controversy at the time of its release for the vigilante narrative it perpetuated. In the 2018 version, Willis stars as Paul Kersey, a man who steps outside the law after his family is attacked in their home. Feeling frustrated and unprepared, Paul trains himself to use firearms and begins intervening in every crime he spots on the streets of Chicago.

Though Death Wish wasn’t a hit with critics or at the box office, it could be described as a modernized and more political version of The Crow. The 2018 iteration of Death Wish isn’t as tragic and overtly violent as the original, opting for a more clean and polished take on the action genre. While Paul isn’t as compelling a protagonist as Eric and Death Wish isn’t as visually innovative as The Crow, it’s an interesting exercise for Willis. It explores the moral and cultural implications of vigilantism.

8 I Saw The Devil (2010)

Directed by Kim Jee-woon

I Saw The Devil is so gory and intense for an action thriller that the movie comes close to the territory of the horror genre during its action-packed runtime. Lee Byung-hun stars as Kim Soo-hyeon, a NIS agent tracking the ruthless serial killer who murdered his fiancée. The killer, Jang Kyung-chul, played by Choi Min-sik in a truly chilling performance, is slowly tortured and followed by Soo-hyeon, who vows to make Kyung-chul pay and suffer as much as his victims did.

I Saw The Devil
leans into this tone and forces the audience to grapple with their own position as the viewer during the story.

Though The Crow is violent and graphic from beginning to end, I Saw The Devil is not for the faint-hearted, as the depictions of attacks and assaults are unrelenting throughout the film. It’s difficult not to be overwhelmed by the intensity of the movie and shocked at the level of cruelty displayed onscreen. However, I Saw The Devil leans into this tone and forces the audience to grapple with their own position as the viewer during the story.

7 John Wick (2014)

Directed by Chad Stahelski

John Wick is one of the movies that defined Keanu Reeves’ career, as the actor is almost better known for his performance as the titular character than he is for his other great works. While The Matrix was Reeves’ first foray into a major action franchise, John Wick has remained one of the greatest and most well-crafted works of action in film history. Each successive film ups the ante and increases both the tension and the abilities of its characters. However, the first movie in the universe will always be a classic and the most nostalgic of the films.

In the wake of his wife’s death, the titular character, John Wick, is accosted by a group of Russian mobsters who then murder his puppy. Already grieving, this action incites John, who is revealed to be a former hitman and one of the most formidable killers known to the organized crime underworld. John Wick has been compared to video games due to the way the fight sequences are shot and its highly dynamic cinematography and lighting. This is comparable to the way The Crow draws inspiration from its comic book source material and the superhero genre.

6 The Count Of Monte Cristo (2002)

Directed by Kevin Reynolds

A stylish period piece might not seem like The Count of Monte Cristo might not immediately draw comparisons to a dark comic book adaptation like The Crow, but they have more in common than viewers might imagine. Starring Jim Caviezel alongside Guy Pearce and featuring a young Henry Cavill, there’s a lot to recommend the sweeping revenge epic, The Count of Monte Cristo. Based on the 19th-century novel of the same name by Alexandre Dumas, the movie spans generations and watches Edmond Dantès (Caviezel) reclaim his lover and his fortune.

Dantès takes his time plotting his vengeance, slowly rebuilding his life and destroying Fernand in the most satisfying fashion.

After being betrayed by Fernand (Pearce), a man he considered a friend, Dantès is isolated in an island prison for years until he escapes and assumes a new identity to get his revenge on Fernand. Though there isn’t quite as much violence and action in The Count of Monte Cristo as in The Crow, there are still fantastic fight scenes and a thrilling showdown between Dantès and Fernand. However, Dantès takes his time plotting his vengeance, slowly rebuilding his life and destroying Fernand in the most satisfying fashion.

5 The Equalizer (2014)

Directed by Antoine Fuqua

Denzel Washington reinvigorated his action career with The Equalizer in 2014, and the two sequels have cemented the franchise as one of the most thrilling and compelling action universes of the past several years. Though The Equalizer received middling reviews from critics, it was a smash at the box office and was praised for its visual style and fight choreography. Though Washington’s character, Robert, isn’t romantically involved with the woman he seeks vengeance for, he’s just as motivated to help her as Eric is to avenge Shelly, his fiancée.

Though not as visually innovative and cohesive as The Crow, The Equalizer still falls in line with the gritty and dark cinematography that defined the action genre in the 2010s. Due to its potential for sequels, The Equalizer ends more happily for Robert than The Crow does for Eric, as he finds a new lease on life to begin helping more people. However, his altruistic intentions don’t stop him from being just as lethal as Eric and finding creative ways to subdue his opponents.

4 Oldboy (2003)

Directed by Park Chan-wook

Often described as one of the best revenge movies of all time, Oldboy defines the style and ability of the filmmaker Park Chan-wook and seamlessly combines the revenge and action genres. Oldboy is a relentless and brutal exploration of what happens to a person’s psyche after imprisonment. Following parallel trajectories of pain, lost love, and the vindictive actions of a ruthless villain,Oldboy and The Crow have much in common. Both protagonists turn their bodies into weapons and hunt down the men who turned their lives upside down.

Held against his will for years, Dae-su has to work to uncover the identity of his captors and the reason he was isolated in only five days, or he will be killed.

Starring Choi Min-sik as Oh Dae-su, Oldboy hinges on Choi’s performance, and he delivers every step of the way as Dae-su falls deeper into a twisting conspiracy. Held against his will for years, Dae-su has to work to uncover the identity of his captors and the reason he was isolated in only five days, or he will be killed. The stakes of both Oldboy and The Crow increase throughout the films, and it’s impossible not to feel the tragedy of Eric and Dae-su as their happiness is destroyed.

3 Taken (2008)

Directed by Pierre Morel

Taken and its subsequent sequels can be credited with bringing Liam Neeson into the action genre and establishing a new type of revenge thriller in the 21st century. Though other films inspired the work, Taken has been influential within the niche of government agents going rogue and taking the law into their own hands to rescue their loved ones. Taken follows Neeson’s character, Bryan, on a quest across Europe that leads him to the darkest corners of the black market after his daughter is kidnapped.

Like Eric, Bryan is driven by his need to rescue his daughter and exact his vengeance on her kidnappers. However, since his daughter, Kim, is still alive, this raises the stakes and puts a ticking clock on the movie, leaving the viewer anxious to find out if Bryan will rescue Kim and make it out alive. Though Eric has nothing left to lose and acts accordingly through his violent nature, Bryan is just as ruthless in his pursuit of Kim, and the action sequences in Taken are part of the reason the film was such a box office success.

2 Unforgiven (1992)

Directed by Clint Eastwood

Of all Clint Eastwood’s projects, Unforgiven is widely considered his magnum opus, as the classic Western star both directed and starred in the film. Unforgiven is Eastwood’s love letter and withering critique of the Western genre put together in one brilliantly crafted project that sees a gunslinger well past his prime take on one last challenge against a man even worse than he was. The villain of the piece, Little Bill Daggett, played by the great Gene Hackman, goes down in history as one of the best antagonists in a Western movie.

Many Westerns fall into the revenge genre, and while
Unforgiven
might not have much in common with
The Crow
on paper, the morally ambiguous yet heroic archetype of Eric Draven is cut from the same cloth as Will Munny.

Many Westerns fall into the revenge genre, and while Unforgiven might not have much in common with The Crow on paper, the morally ambiguous yet heroic archetype of Eric Draven is cut from the same cloth as Will Munny. Both Munny and Draven have lost the love of their lives and are looking for something to keep them going, returning to the violence of their pasts to do something good for the future. Like The Crow, there are few characters worth redeeming in Unforgiven, but that makes them all the more compelling to watch.

1 Gone Girl (2014)

Directed by David Fincher

There are few monologues in film history as memorable as the “cool girl monologue” delivered by Rosamund Pike as Amy Dunne in Gone Girl. Pike and Ben Affleck are at their best as two sides of the same coin in the twisting revenge thriller based on Gillian Flynn’s novel of the same name. After Amy discovers that Nick (Affleck) is cheating on her, she fakes her death and frames him for it, hitting the road and never looking back. However, Amy hits quite a few snags in her new life, and Nick isn’t willing to go down without a fight.

Similarly to The Crow, Gone Girl sees a marriage damaged irreparably, but in Gone Girl, there aren’t external forces preventing them from being together. Though Amy seems like the more vindictive member of the pair, it soon becomes clear that Nick is just as damaged as she is, and they’re both willing to do terrible things to each other. Watching Gone Girl unfold and realizing how complex their relationship truly is makes the movie a delightful puzzle that leaves the audience on the edge of their seats.