Thevigilante film is afilm genre in which the protagonist or protagonists engage invigilante behavior, taking the law into their own hands. Vigilante films are usuallyrevenge films in which thelegal system fails protagonists, leading them to become vigilantes. The vigilante film has in recent years often crossed over with thesuperhero genre, due to character origin stories frequently involving an injustice having been committed against them.
In United States cinema, vigilante films gained prominence during the 1970s with "touchstones" likeDeath Wish andDirty Harry, both of which received multiple sequels. The 1974 filmDeath Wish has been described as officially starting the genre, causing many cheap imitations andknockoffs such asVigilante andVigilante Force, with the most financially successful being 1980'sThe Exterminator.[1]
TheLos Angeles Times reported, "Vigilante vengeance was the cinematic theme of the [1970s], flourishing in the more respectable precincts of thenew American cinema even as it fueled numerousexploitation flicks," referring toTaxi Driver as a respectableNew American Cinema example of the genre in comparison to the multiple exploitation orB film examples produced during the 1970s.[2] It reported in 2009 that such films were making a comeback after "the comparatively prosperous and peaceable 1990s", with examples likeWalking Tall (2004),Death Sentence (2007) andLaw Abiding Citizen (2009).[2]
