If movies like sympathy for lady vengeance interest you, then you are on the right path to finding movies that deal with crime, drama, and thriller genres that deal with revenge, vigilantism, torture, bullying, ex-convicts, and crimes.
Nothing compares to the adrenaline rush of pure action movies like Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, filled with dramatic shootouts, big chase scenes, furious fight scenes, and explosions that fill the entire screen. They frighten us and make us jump.
The following are recommended movies like sympathy for lady vengeance.
1. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005)
- Director: Park Chan-wook
- Cast: Lee Young-ae, Choi Min-Sik, Kim Si-hoo, Oh Dal-Su, Lee Yeong-ae, and Kim Byeong-Ok
- IMDb Ratings:7.5/10
- Running Time: 1hr 55mins
The angelic-faced single mother, Lee Geum-ja, was falsely charged with kidnapping and murder and was recently released from prison after serving thirteen arduous years.
With the aid of her cellmates, Lee devises an impenetrable plan of revenge to exact her sweet revenge on the perpetrator of the heinous crime. Although, planning is more accessible than carrying out one’s dreams.
Currently, Lee Geum-ja is divided between her unquenchable need for vengeance and the desperate need for reconciliation as she tries to rebuild her relationship with the daughter she made give up. Can she get both?
2. MS. 45 (1981)
- Director: Abel Ferrara
- Cast: Zoë Lund, Steve Singer, Jack Thibeau, Peter Yellen, Helen McGara, Abel Ferrara, and Editta Sherman
- IMDb Ratings: 6.8/10
- Running Time: 1hr 20mins
Thana, a dedicated dressmaker from New York who is introverted and shy due to her terrible disability, fights for survival in a vast metropolis where violence is frequent.
Women might be sexually objectified, abused, or even attacked. Thana will spend one day on her way home from work falling prey to a repulsive predator, who will have his way with her in a quiet back alley, leaving her stunned and silent.
The horror has not yet been over, though. Thana will be trapped once more as she makes her way back to the safety of her home, and the awful nightmare will be repeated—this time by a persistent burglar.
Thana’s life will undoubtedly be significantly affected by this savage hit, but not for long because this tiny lamb has teeth and ferocious hunger for revenge against all males.
If you are looking for movies like sympathy for lady vengeance with crime scenes, check out this movie.
3. I Saw the Devil (2010)
- Director: Kim Jee-Woon
- Cast: Lee Byung-hun, Choi Min-sik, Jeon Gook-hwan, Ho-jin Chun, Sa-ha Oh, Yoon-seo Kim and In-seo Kim,
- IMDb Ratings: 7.8/10
- Running Time: 2hr 24mins
When Joo Yeon’s tire blows out in the snow, she hires a tow truck to come and rescue her, and, to pass the time, she contacts her adored secret agent fiancé Kim Soo-Hyeon. Unexpectedly, a man demands to help her, but Joo-Yeon declines.
However, the man steals her car, kidnaps her, and mutilates her body. Soo-Hyeon receives information on the four main suspects from her father, a retired police chief, who also requests a two-week vacation from his boss.
He pursues the men, and when he discovers Kyung-Chul is the murderer, he swears to exact terrible retribution on the murderer so that he will suffer as Joo-Yeon did.
As a monster, Soo-Hyeon starts a game of cat and mouse, grabbing and releasing Kyung-Chul’s wound repeatedly.
However, the serial killer personifies evil and causes Soo-Hyeon to regret not murdering him earlier. If you love movies like sympathy for lady vengeance, you should watch this one.
4. Mother (2009)
- Director: Bong Joon Ho
- Cast: Hye-ja Kim, Won Bin, Jin Goo, Je-mun Yun, Mi-Seon Jeon, Sae-byeok Song, and Woo-hee Chun
- IMDb Ratings: 7.8/10
- Running Time: 2hr 9mins
The slow Yoon Do-Joon is a young man overprotected by his mother, who practices acupuncture and herbal medicine in the province of Pusan, South Korea. He does not get along with his heedless army friend Jin-tae.
When Do-Joon is struck by a Mercedes, Jin-tae, and Do-Joon pursue the hit-and-run driver and discover the vehicle parked inside a golf club. Golf balls that were dropped in a lake are collected by Do-Joon, while Jin-the damages the car’s side mirror.
A battle breaks out when they see the cart carrying the Mercedes driver and passengers, and it ends up in the police station. Do-Joon goes to a bar in Manhattan at night to meet Jin-tae, but he doesn’t show up.
When Do-Joon gets home, he sees Moon Ah-Jung walking alone in an alley. Ah-Jung is discovered dead on a home terrace the following morning. A golf ball was found next to Di-Joon’s body, leading the inept cops to believe that Do-Joon was the murderer.
Doo-Joon is taken into custody, forced to confess, and accused of killing. His mother, however, goes with her gut and thinks her son is innocent and the fall guy for the inept police force.
With eekJin-assistance, tae the mother looks into the matter. She discovers that Ah-Jung had been trading her body for liquor and food.
She learns from a ragpicker that her son accidentally killed Ah-Jung because he called him a retard.
However, the cops track down another mentally ill guy and file a case against him. The mother, aware of the terrible truth, leaves the town to forget everything.
5. The Chaser (2008)
- Director: Na Hong-jin
- Cast: Kim Yoon-Seok, Ha Jung-wo, Yeong-hie Seo, Kim Yoo-Jeong, In-gi Jeong, Jung-woo Choi and Kyung Jin Min
- IMDb Ratings: 7.8/10
- Running Time: 2hr 5mins
Story from Korea about a disgraced police detective-turned-pimp who, after one of his prostitutes goes missing, finds himself in a desperate race against time to catch the perpetrator.
Just twelve hours remain for him to gather proof against the murderer before the cumbersome Seoul Police Department releases him to resume his reign of terror. This movie is one of the exciting movies, like sympathy for lady vengeance
6. Man From nowhere (2010)
- Director: Jeong-from Lee
- Cast: Won Bin, Kim Sae-Ron, Kim Tae-hoon, Kim Hae-won, Kim Sung-oh, Lee Jong-pil, and Thanayong Wongtrakul
- IMDb Ratings: 7.7/10
- Running Time: 1hr 59mins
Cha Tae-Sik, the manager of a pawnshop in South Korea, is a lonely and reserved man. His only buddy is the young woman Some Jung, who lives on the floor below with her recklessly addicted dancer mother Hyo-Jeong.
When Hyo takes a shipment of drugs from Chinese crime lord Mr. Oh Myng Kyu, she conceals the medications in a camera case and trades them at Tae-pawn sik’s shop.
The drug traffickers Jong Suk and Man Suk learn that Hyo has stolen the narcotics, then they kidnap Some and Hyo and force them to reveal the whereabouts of the drugs.
By getting rid of Mr oh, Jong and Man have summoned the police and are employing Tae-Sik. The-Sik knows that Some are in peril and that Jong and Man Suk are drug dealers and also organ smugglers.
Although, that made The-Sik discovers the brothers’ true motives and the body of Hyo without her organs in the trunk of his car.
The crooks are unaware that Tae-Sik is an ex-special agent with a history of trauma who is skilled and deadly and will stop at nothing to save Some. Can he be successful?
7. 3-Iron (2004)
- Director: Kim Ki-duk
- Cast: Hae Tae, Seung-hun Lee, Hyuk-ho Kwon, Jin-mo Joo, Hyuk-ho Kwon, Ju-seok Lee and Jeong-ho Choi
- IMDb Ratings: 7.9/10
- Running Time: 1hr 29miins
Hee Jae (Tae-suk) is a lonely vagabond who spends evenings in abandoned holiday homes. Tae-suk, however, is not your typical squatter that is carefree about vital things.
The polite young guy always cares to express his gratitude to his boss’s absent — and unaware — hosts by performing little domestic chores or making easy renovations before moving on.
One day, Tae-suk thinks a quiet house is deserted and runs into Seung-Yeon Lee, a battered housewife who desperately needs his help. 3-Iron is an excellent addition to the list of movies like sympathy for lady vengeance.
8. Old Boy (2003)
- Director: Park Chan-wook
- Cast: Yoo-Ji Tae, Kim Byeong- Ok, Kang Hye-Jeong, Dae-Han Ji, Dal-su Oh, and Yoo Hyung-ja
- IMDb Ratings: 8.4/10
- Running Time: 2hr
Oh, Dae-Su, a loud drinker kidnapped on a rainy night in 1988, awakens in an odd hotel room with no windows. Dae-Su is under lock and key for an unidentified purpose.
His invisible captors only provide him a color television to watch while feeding and routinely drug him to prevent suicide. And then, puzzled, Oh Dae-Su felt relieved after spending a torturous fifteen years in captivity.
Dae-Su is now encouraged by his merciless kidnappers to find those responsible for the enigmatical kidnapping and exact his savage, long-awaited retribution on the tormentor.
But who would deprive Oh Dae-Su of a quick and painless demise if they hated him so much? If you are looking for more movies like sympathy for lady vengeance that gives excitement, this movie is the one.
9. The Yellow Sea (2010)
- Director: Na Hong-jin
- Cast: Ha Jung-woo, Kim Yoon-seok, Byeong-eun Park, Lee Yoo-mi, Joo Sung-ha, Seo-hyun Ahn and Seo-hyun Ahn
- IMDb Ratings: 7.3/10
- Running Time: 2hr 16mins
In this fast-paced action thriller, a taxi driver living in Yanji, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in northeast China, goes to South Korea when a local gangster offers him to carry out a hit on a professor in return for repaying his debt.
Meanwhile, he also searched for his wife, who had come here but had not responded for six months. His suspicion of her betrayal raises his tension before something unexpected happens that night, on which he is prepared to kill the professor.
Soon, he finds himself running for his life from the police and the mob, resulting in many violent fights and intense car chases.
10. A Dirty Carnival (2006)
- Director: Ha Yoo
- Cast: Hu-jin Chun, Zo In-sung, Min Namkoong, Lee Bo-young, Jin Goo,, Je-mun Yun, and Jong-Hyuk Lee
- IMDb Ratings: 7.3/10
- Running Time: 2hr 20mins
Low-level criminal Kim Byung-doo is a long way from being a full-time gangster. Byung-doo is equally dangerous and ambitious, and he will do anything to advance inside his employer’s Sang organization, Chul’s, even though he hasn’t yet earned it.
Byung-doo eventually takes advantage of his great opportunity to impress the big boss and agrees to get rid of a corrupt prosecutor’s office. This office knows that he is desperate for money and cannot provide for his family, which might affect him badly if not taken care of.
However, there are costs associated with every promotion, and nothing in the brutal world of the violent criminal underworld is what it seems. And soon enough, Byung-doo would learn the unsavory reality of a risky game.
11. The Age of Shadows (2016)
- Director: Jee-Woon Kim
- Cast: Lee Byung-hun, Song Kang-ho, Gong Yoo, Zach Aguilar, Kaiji Tang, Greg Chun, and Hee-soon Park
- IMDb Ratings: 7.1/10
- Running Time: 2hr 20mins
The Age of Shadows, set in the late 1920s, centers on a cat-and-mouse game between Japanese operatives and a gang of resistance fighters who want to carry explosives from Shanghai into Seoul to blow up critical Japanese installations.
A gifted Japanese police officer of Korean descent, who was once active in the independence movement, must choose between the necessities of realism and his natural desire to aid a greater good.
This movie is an excellent addition to our list of movies like sympathy for lady vengeance.
12. The Divine Move (2014)
- Director: Beom-gu Cho
- Cast: Greg Chun, Sung-Ki Ahn, Marc Diraison, Dorothy Elias-Fahn, Todd Haberkorn, Kim In-Kwon, and Choi Jin-Hyuk
- IMDb Ratings: 6.6/10
- Running Time: 1hr 58mins
After losing a high-stakes game to notorious underground gambler Sal-soo, skilled baduk player Tae-Seok is falsely accused of killing his brother and imprisoned. He trains vigorously and swears vengeance.
After serving his seven-year sentence, he reconnects with his brother’s former sidekick Tricks, hermit and blind master player “The Lord,” and intelligent junkyard owner Mok-us. Together, they start coming up with a strategy to avenge Sal-soo and his men.
Sal-soldiers soo’s are systematically eliminated by Tae-Seok as he infiltrates his inner circle and gaming den. However, Sal-soo learns Tae-true Seok’s identity and challenges him to one last game that would decide the two men’s futures.
13. The New World (2005)
- Director: Park Hoon-Jung
- Cast: Lee Jung-jae, Choi Min-sik, Park Sung-Woong, Hwang Jung-min, Song Ji-Hyo, Yoon-Seong Kim, and Kwang-hoon Na
- IMDb Ratings: 7.5/10
- Running Time: 2hr 15mins
The top two lieutenants of the Goldmoon criminal organization remain after the death of their leader. The police take advantage of the situation and initiate an operation with the ideal tool.
Ja-sung, the boss’s right-hand man, has been operating undercover for eight years while closely monitoring handler Police Chief Kang. Ja-sung is caught between his job and honor as a cop and the passionately devoted street gangs.
They will accompany him to the end of the earth, mainly because he is expecting a child and lives in constant fear of being discovered as a mole.
Suspicions that a traitor lurks among them rise as they use inside information from Ja-sung to harm the relationship between the two contending contenders.
By paying hackers to scan the police database, cunning Jung ups the ante. If you fancy movies like sympathy for lady vengeance, you should stream this movie.
14. Time to Hunt (2020)
- Director: Yoon Sunghyun
- Cast: Lee Je-hoon, Jae-hong Ahn, Choi Woo-Sik, Jeong Min Park, Park Hae-soo, Greg Chun, and Johnny Yong Bosch
- IMDb Ratings: 6.3/10
- Running Time: 2hr 14mins
The leader of a criminal organization managed by Mr. Yang, Tae-gu, makes an effort to lead a more moral life for his ill sister and nephew. Then one day, someone accidentally kills his sister and nephew while shooting at Tae-gu.
In disbelief, Tae-gu decides to exact retribution. Finally, he overthrows the leader of another group and flees to Jeju Island. He meets Kuto and his niece Jae-Yeon, who are taking care of Tae-gu, unaware that his group has already abandoned him.
Tae-gu has a hunch that trouble is approaching when Jae-Yeon is unwell and dying. As things become complicated, Jae-Yeon and Tae-gu, who have no desire to live, begin to feel sympathy for one another.
In dystopian South Korea, where Jun Seok is released from prison for a prior heist he and his friends botched, the currency (the Korean won) has plummeted severely, virtually rendering the proceeds of their previous crime worthless.
To get the group out of their unhappy positions, Jun Seok suggests one last theft to his closest buddies, Jang Ho and Ki Hoon. They have set their sights on an illicit gambling den that holds enormous amounts of US currency.
Sang-Soo, who now works at the casino, is hired by the group. The group begins the robbery, which ends up messy but successful after obtaining weapons from Bong Shik, a friend Jun Seok knew while incarcerated.
They steal a sizable sum of money and the gambling establishment’s surveillance hard drives, which are full of videos documenting shady transactions between the establishment’s proprietors and various criminals.
The owners of the gaming establishment were upset over the disappearance of the surveillance hard drives. To find the quartet and get the hard discs, they hire murderer Han.
15. Asura (2016)
- Director: Sung-su Kim
- Cast: Jung Woo-sung, Hwang Jung-min, Ju Ji-Hoon, Kwak Do-won, Man-sik Jeong, and Ji-Hye Yun
- IMDb Ratings: 6.6/10
- Running Time: 2hr 16mins
A merciless prosecutor Kim Cha-in is pressuring Detective Han. The latter has been conducting dirty work for the corrupt mayor Park Sungbae in secret for years to assist in an investigation against the mayor.
Feeling stuck, Han (JU Ji-hoon) convinces Sunmo (JU Ji-hoon) to take up his duties as the mayor, but things get complicated in unexpected ways. Only the most vicious people survive in this dog-eat-dog world as things worsen.
