5 of the Best Vengeance Seeking Female Movie Characters

Revenge can come in all shapes, sizes and forms, but there is no form I love more than that of the vengeance seeking woman. Whether it be through sheer wit, extreme violence or a mixture of the two, there’s something so thrilling about watching a woman stick it to the man in a variety of ways. Especially when the proverbial man deserves such comeuppance.

For your consideration, I have compiled a list of five of the very best examples of vengeance seeking female characters.  

Sex and Fury (Furyô anego den: Inoshika Ochô)

A majority of vengeful characters start off as victims, but that would not be the case with Ochô Inoshika in 1973's Sex and Fury. Played by a very young Reiko Ike, Ochô is a low life criminal who has honed the ability to slice up mofos with her sword, making her more than capable of exacting her vengeance without any inclination of fear.

Sex and Fury is sleaze at it's best (the film also stars sleaze Queen Christina Lindberg!), but with as much sex and violence as the film has, it is beautifully made on all levels. In what is the movie's highlight, Ochô is attacked while bathing, which results in a fight scene for the ages. Quickly moving the fight outside, Ochô proceeds to take out each of her attackers one by one, in the snow, while being completely naked. During this scene, there is this wonderful shot where all that is seen is Ochô's legs as she dances around in the snowy exterior, with blood splatter and limbs hitting the snowy ground all around and her legs.

The scene is easily one of my all-time favorite fight scenes, and the music used to score it is just fantastic. Sex and Fury is exploitation done perfectly, as it takes an artistic approach to a film that is, for all intents and purposes, all about sex and violence.       

Ms. 45 aka Angel of Vengeance

1981's Ms. 45 is a rape revenge film starring Zoë Tamerlis Lund as Thana, a girl who is raped not once but twice in the same day. After she is able to fend off her second attacker by beating him to death with an iron, she takes her attackers weapon, a 45. caliber pistol, and keeps it for herself.

After these horrific events, Thana becomes fearful that any male she encounters is a violent rapist. Due to this fear, Thana goes on a killing spree, with the target's being men who, in her mind, would mean to do her harm. Thana takes this fear and uses it as a jumping off point to swap places and become the aggressor; the one with the upper hand. She uses her looks and sexuality to seduce (mostly) scummy men with the intent of setting them up so she can shoot them with her new 45. caliber pistol.

Director Abel Ferrara does what he does best, as he gets down and dirty in this New York set revenge film. Ms. 45 is a perfect example of how great the New York city aesthetic was for cinema during the ‘70s and ‘80s, and Ferrera encapsulates all the grit and grime of New York during this time period. The city works as a perfect backdrop for a woman who has become traumatized by fear, as any corner or dark alleyway could possibly contain her next attacker. Or in Thana’s case, her next victim.

Coffy

1973's Coffy is hands down one of my favorite Blaxploitation films. Written and directed by one of the greatest exploitation directors of all time, Jack Hill, Coffy is just one of many examples of the genre legend's fine work. The film stars the great Pam Grier in the titular role of Coffy, who promises to take out local drug pushers after her eleven-year-old sister is hospitalized after shooting up some bad heroin.

Coffy uses her sexuality to take her revenge – even pretending to be drugged up and looking for some action – as she lures unsuspecting scum to their deserving demise. There's plenty of sex mixed in with some great action via Coffy’s shotgun, but Coffy as a film is still played straight, opting to concentrate as much on the exploitation elements as it does the characters and story. This is a true testament to the respect Hill had for the movie he was making.

The character of Coffy is sexy, deadly, and smart, all the elements that make for a great revenge film character. Coffy is the film that put Grier on the exploitation map, and even though she's a little rough around the edge performance wise, she remains highly entertaining, especially in how well she delivers Hill’s fantastic dialogue.

(Sympathy for) Lady Vengeance (Chinjeolhan geumjassi)

In the third part of Chan-wook Park's near perfect Vengeance Trilogy, 2005's Lady Vengeance is a revenge tale by way of art house cinema. With each passing film in the Vengeance Trilogy, the visual prowess becomes more and more intense, and Lady Vengeance is the culmination of these efforts. Where the film stands out most, however, is with the character of Geum-ja Lee, as played flawlessly by Young-ae Lee.

Geum-ja spent 13 years of her life behind bars for a murder that she did not commit. Her tale of revenge is against the real murderer, a man who has, for far too long, gotten away with atrocities that would put fear into even the most jaded of hearts. Geum-ja is calculated, precise and very patient in how she goes about taking her revenge. She makes the right moves in prison by displaying maternal like qualities as she cares for her fellow inmates, even going as far as to donate an organ to someone who, in turn, will be forever indebted to Geum-ja. By the time she is released from prison, there are a number of paroled inmates who are more than willing to help Geum-ja, and she takes full advantage of their help to see that her vengeance is fulfilled.

Lady Vengeance is much like Geum-ja: calculated, precise and very patient. It slowly but strikingly burns, leading to an amazing final act and conclusion for the lead character.

Lady Snowblood (Shurayukihime)

In Toshiya Fujita's 1973 film Lady Snowblood, the beautiful Meiko Kaji portrays Yuki Kashima (aka Lady Snowblood), a character who is nothing more than an instrument created to avenge the injustices that her parents suffered.

Her father was murdered, her mother imprisoned and continuously raped, and it was this abuse that her mother went through that brought about Lady Snowblood. Yuki was purposely born for one reason and one reason only, and that is to seek vengeance for a family that she would never come to know and love. Nothing else. Revenge is her sole purpose in life and the reason for her existence. She's like a Terminator, but with far more style and grace.

Lady Snowblood is a brilliantly crafted film, filled with vibrant colors, beautiful cinematography and a fantastic score. It’s also extremely bloody and violent, and in a way that shows an immense amount of creativity.

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Thanks for digging into my list, and I very much encourage you to share your thoughts on my picks as well as share some of your favorite vengeance seeking female characters!

Even More Baby Babble: Vengeance continues to reign, getting my horror special edition and tee shirt all wet!

I have so much random shit to talk about that I couldn't even try and cram it in that last post, so here I go again. On my own. First up, I'll get right back into the topic of revenge films! As I was compiling my Top Five Female Revenge Movies list, I couldn't help but have a shit ton of revenge films cross my mind. With that, came the sudden memory that the Vengeance Trilogy super box set was due out any day now. Within an hour of that thought, I happened to drop by Freddy in Space only to see that Johnny had just received his copy in the mail, meaning that it was indeed out on standard DVD. I immediately made a mess in my pants and with my still unspent $50 Amazon birthday gift card, I went and bought it straight away! It's $44.99 new through Amazon, but being the smarty pants that I am, I bought a new copy used, and even with shipping, I only spent about $36 bucks! YEAAHHA! That leaves me with more gift card cash to buy even more stuff! Anyways, I got the set in the mail today and while it isn't the most eye catching, it's loaded more than a baked potato with cheese and bacon – which is what really matters. I cannot wait to dig into all of the extras, especially the Fade to White version of Lady Vengeance.

Something else I received in the mail s0mewhat recently, is the SFX Magazine Horror Special Edition. I actually do not have any place near me that sells either Fangoria, or Rue Morgue, so outside of Paracinema, I have not read a genre magazine in about six months. I would subscribe, but that shit is too expensive and to be honest those magazines can be pretty hit or miss. So it was very nice getting my hands on this Horror Special Edition from SFX Magazine, which is a UK based mag that normally deals in Sci-Fi cinema. The special is very well put together and has a solid and easy to read layout. It's also quite girthy, which is never a bad thing. I'm talking about the magazine, you pig! As for content, it's filled to the bloody brim with a mixture of news articles, retrospectives, interviews, and all sorts of other goodies. It came out at the end of January, so some of the news is dated, but there is plenty of great stuff to be read. You should still be able to pick up a copy at any one of the bigger book stores like Borders or Barnes & Noble, or you can order it online as a back issue. If you are interested, you can click here for more info on the magazine and some of the various articles found within.

A little while back, Chuck from Zombies Don't Run, asked if I would write a little something for one of the movies on his reader-voted Top 10 Horror Movies of the 90's. I got to write about 1992's, Peter Jackson splatter-piece, Dead-Alive! I actually wrote quite a bit about it and my first not-so-good encounter with the film. Stop by Zombies Don't Run to see what I wrote about Dead-Alive, it's placement on the list, as well as what other films made that list. There are a bunch of other guest bloggers that wrote for some of the other movies that made the cut, so check out who wrote what, about what? Huh?! 

Finally, I have one more thing to share before I stop typing your eyes out. The good folks behind Paracinema Magazine, have just began an amazing adventure into the world of cinema related tee shirts! It's called Paratees and the tag-line of this hot new thang is "Cinema Obsession Put to Cloth," and they aspire to put inspirational genre art on quality tee shirts. Their first shirt design is available and it's inspired by the Walter Hill classic, The Warriors! The shirt is titled "For All You Boppers Out There" with the artwork done by RAZ. So please, take a second to stop by the new site and take a look around from time to time - I'll be sure to keep you all updated when new shirt designs become available.

Alright, that's it for me…I've gone on more than long enough now. You're free to go, but please come back!

Vengeance Will Be Mine!!

And in completely fucking awesome news, over at Twitch I found the goods on Palisades Tartan's official release for the super duper 8 disc box set of Park Chan-wook's Vengeance Trilogy!! It is set to come out on November 24th which is way sooner than I expected, and it will certainly be on my Christmas list, but chances are I will not be able to wait that long! This is the definitive set of the holy revenge trilogy and will feature everything found on all other releases of the three films plus a slew of added awesomeness! In case you do not know, the trilogy consists of: Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance (2002), Oldboy (2003), and the third film Lady Vengeance (aka Sympathy For Lady Vengeance 2005). A trilogy of films in theme only, and that theme is VENGEANCE!

Here are just some of the extras announced for this über set...

Each film is recorded in their original language (Korean) and offer English and Spanish subtitles. Each title is presented in anamorphic widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and DTS Surround Sound 5.1.Special features include an essay on each film by celebrated filmmakers, actors and writers, including Eli Roth... Additional features include but are not limited to Audio commentary by Park Chan-Wook and actor Ryoo Seung-wan (SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE), Behind the Scenes, The Process of Mr. Vengeance, My Boksu Story, Storyboards, Photo Gallery, Filmographies, Film Notes, Crew Interviews, Three Audio Commentaries (OLDBOY), 5 Behind the Scene featurettes, Le Grand Prix at Cannes, Deleted Scenes with commentary, Regular and Fade-To-White versions (LADY VENGEANCE), Character Interviews - Lee Geum Ja, Prof. Baek, Prisoners, Families, Lady Vengeance at the 62nd Venice Film Festival, Trailer, Film Notes, Making of and Deleted Scenes.

And that is just what they are telling us for now - who knows what surprises we have in store! I cannot wait to see every little extra to be found on this amazing set, and I will happily spend the time to engulf myself in every detail of some of the finest cinema ever put to celluloid, for as long as I can before I start seeing ants of my own! I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I love these films, and Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance is right there as one of my top two favorite films of all time. Don't front, it is a movie that deserves more than a couple of viewings to truly appreciate the masterpiece that is Mr. Vengeance. At one point, it was even my least favorite of the trilogy, so that says something about the film's strength after multiple sit throughs.

Possibly the one thing I am most excited for is the "Fade-to-White" version of Lady Vengeance...I had heard about this before and it is a mesmerizing idea to say the least. I can only wonder how this technique will effect a film that almost moves in a way like water that is slowly boiling down to the point where there is nothing left. I am so pumped for this to come out on November 24th and my calendar is marked with a wad of excitement! I just hope it is reasonably priced...I would guess between $50-$80 bucks, which would be a great price for all you are getting in the set. It would be great if it weren't too much over than that price range...I would hate to lose out on any other Christmas presents because it's too expensive!

Back in the Lab Again

Wow...does a week and a half feel like an eternity when it's spent away from the services provided by my computer - I am beginning to get my bearings back, but I certainly missed a lot of movie news, trailers, and crap like that while doing the whole moving thing. Moving also made it a little difficult to make it out to the movies to see The Final Destination, but hopefully I will get the chance to peep it before it takes off into the "wait two months for DVD" limbo. I have heard some positive reviews along with the nice job TFD has done in the box office, especially in comparison to H2, which went straight to the crapper after the numerous terrible reviews and the continued strong showing of Inglourious Basterds and District 9. And that's another one that I have yet to see (District 9 I mean), but hope to before it's too late. Doesn't make it any easier with Sorority Row just coming out and getting decent reviews along with the release of the post apocalyptic animation film 9, a movie that I have been dying to see. Then there's Whiteout, another film that I'm really looking forward to watching, even though reviews have been a little on the whack side.

Oh woe is me, complaining about the over saturation of genre films that I'm interested in playing in theaters...whaaah! I'm not really complaining, but sometimes if I don't see a movie when it comes out theatrically, I won't see it for a very long time - so I try to see what I can at the cinema as far as stuff that looks or promises to be good. In the end, I am happy to see such an abundance of films that are worthy of Baby Eating and the few that I have seen have been quite good and done well money wise (save for H2), so I hope the trend keeps up. Probably not though.

As I said, I missed out on a ton of shit, and I have been scoping out the webs to find the stuff that I would think is most excellent as far as news and/or trailers. First of all, I am very eager to hear more about any news concerning an 8 disc box set of Park Chan-wook's Vengeance Trilogy. Some of my all time favorite films are in that trilogy, and while I have some proper releases of these movies already, this promises to be the definitive set of the master filmmaker’s revenge trilogy - with what I can only imagine will be super killer extras. You can check here for some very minor details, but this is the best news that I have heard since my little hiatus for sure.

Apparently, Victor Salva is working on getting a third installment of Jeepers Creepers off the ground. If everything comes together as planned, the film would be subtitled Cathedral and set 23 years after the events in the first movie while also bringing back Gina Phillips character, Trisha with her teenage son Darry, named after her brother that was snatched up in the first movie. I am certainly interested in another sequel, I really liked the first Jeepers Creepers, but the sequel was a disaster of epic proportions, on top of being a major disappointment with what was a good idea premise wise. However, I have heard of massive on set issues with namely a good portion of the cast not showing up for work and things of that nature. Though that may have been a factor, it's still not really much of an excuse for how many holes the films plot had. Jeepers Creepers 2 did decently in theaters, not sure if it was good enough to garner a theatrical release for a third film, but if it did come to fruition, it would be nice to see it in theaters.

Along my journeys, I strolled upon this teaser trailer for one of many Glass Eye Pix films that look to be promising, the movie is called Bitter Feast and is about a Chef that takes revenge on a food critic that gave his grub a bad review. Sounds like a fun little idea if executed properly, I do find it funny that Uber Chef, Mario Batali will actually be playing a character in the film, and I dig this simple and very fun little teaser that they put together here, which isn't surprising since this is the same company behind Hypothermia which had a teaser that I was raving about a few weeks ago.



Maybe the biggest surprise for me is this trailer for Solomon Kane that just plain looks amazing. Based off the pulp writings of Robert E. Howard, who is better known for creating Conan "the freaking" Barbarian, Solomon Kane looks to be along the lines of something like Van Helsing (if it didn't eat ass) meets Brotherhood of the Wolf. In my opinion, that is a very good thing. Check out the trailer stat!


Alrighty, that is enough catching up for now - it is nice to be somewhat caught up with a good majority of what is going on movie wise. Even better is the fact that I can get back to posting here regularly again. I do have some interesting things to say about my new surroundings movie wise, as I live in a very different area from before a few weeks ago, but that will be something I save for another day. Until then, always remember to cook all babies thoroughly as we are not responsible for any food born illness that you may encounter.