The vigilante film is a

film genre A film genre is a stylistic or thematic category for motion pictures based on similarities either in the narrative elements, aesthetic approach, or the emotional response to the film. Drawing heavily from the theories of literary-genre cri ...

in which the protagonist or protagonists engage in

vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...

behavior, taking the law into their own hands. Vigilante films are usually

revenge Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." P ...

films in which the

legal system The contemporary national legal systems are generally based on one of four basic systems: civil law, common law, statutory law, religious law or combinations of these. However, the legal system of each country is shaped by its unique history an ...

fails protagonists, leading them to become vigilantes. The vigilante film has in recent years often crossed over with the

Superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

genre, due to character origin stories frequently involving an injustice having been committed against them.

History

In United States cinema, vigilante films gained prominence during the 1970s with "touchstones" like ''

Death Wish Death Wish or Deathwish may refer to: Common meanings *Suicidal ideation, term for thoughts about killing oneself *Death drive, term in Freudian psychiatry Arts and entertainment Radio *"Death Wish", a 1957 episode of the radio series ''X Minus ...

'' and ''

Dirty Harry ''Dirty Harry'' is a 1971 American neo-noir action thriller film produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the ''Dirty Harry'' series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department (SFP ...

'', both of which received multiple sequels. The 1974 film ''Death Wish'' has been described as officially starting the genre, causing many cheap imitations and

knockoffs Counterfeit consumer goods (or counterfeit and fraudulent, suspect items - CFSI) are goods, often of inferior quality, made or sold under another's brand name without the brand owner's authorization. Sellers of such goods may infringe on eith ...

such as ''

Vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...

'' and ''

Vigilante Force ''Vigilante Force'' is a 1976 American action film directed by George Armitage and starring Kris Kristofferson and Jan-Michael Vincent. The plot concerns a Vietnam War veteran and his buddies, who are hired by his brother and others in a small C ...

'', with the most financially successful being 1980's '' The Exterminator''.Richard B. Armstrong, Mary Willems Armstrong. (2010). ''Encyclopedia of Film Themes, Settings and Series''. McFarland. p. 216. The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' reported, "Vigilante vengeance was the cinematic theme of the decade, flourishing in the more respectable precincts of the new American cinema even as it fueled numerous exploitation flicks," referring to ''

Taxi Driver ''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a decaying ...

'' as a respectable example of the genre. It reported in 2009 that such films were making a comeback after "the comparatively prosperous and peaceable 1990s", with examples like '' Walking Tall'' (2004), ''

Death Sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

'' (2007) and ''

Law Abiding Citizen ''Law Abiding Citizen'' is a 2009 American vigilante action thriller film directed by F. Gary Gray, written by Kurt Wimmer, and starring Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler (who also co-produced). The film takes place in Philadelphia, telling the stor ...

History

List of films

Pre-1965 vigilante films

Late 60s-mid 80s vigilante film wave

Late 1980s to the present

See also

References

Bibliography