Stephen King once criticized superhero movies for going easy on violence. “If you look at these superhero movies, you’ll see … some supervillain who’s destroying whole city blocks, but you never see any blood,” King told The Times U.K. in an interview. Well, the second-most-adapted author of all time presumably doesn’t like many old action movies either. The ‘80s and ‘90s hits of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Chuck Norris rarely showed any blood. People would just get shot and fall. No splatter!
Well, things have changed in recent years. Both audiences and directors have become less squeamish, resulting in gorier action flicks. Such films paint a real picture of how violence always plays out in the real world. Unfortunately, their R-ratings tend to lock out younger audiences, who happen to be great fans of the genre. Is it time to tone down things once again? That’s a broad debate for another day. For now, take a look at the following films where several characters need emergency care (if they make it that far).
‘Kill Bill: Vol 1’ (2003)
Miramax Films
Some professions are hard to get out of in one piece, and the Bride (Uma Thurman) learns that the hard way in Kill Bill. Vol 1. As the former member of the Deadly Vipers Assassination Squad is preparing for her wedding at a chapel in El Paso, her former colleagues, led by her ex, Bill (David Carradine), attack the chapel. Badly wounded, The Bride informs Bill that he is the father of her unborn child, but he shoots her in the head anyway. Luckily, she doesn’t succumb to her injuries. After making a full recovery four years later, she embarks on a revenge mission.
From the kitchen fight to the House of Blue Leaves massacre, Kill Bill. Vol. 1 has gorier scenes than its sequel. The most memorable sequence, inspired by Lady Snowblood, comes during a duel in the snow garden. Blood splashing from arteries contrasts impressively against the pure white snow, creating a marvelous painterly picture.
Overall, this is a poignant martial arts flick that remains true to its large, tortured heart. Tarantino rightly earned numerous awards for his skills and for drawing convincing turns out of his actors, including Uma Thurman in a radically unglamorous role as the Bride. Apart from Lady Snowblood, Tarantino also presents himself as a master of sampling by paying homage to various other older films in the genre.
‘Sisu: Road to Revenge’ (2025)
Sony Pictures Releasing
Sisu: Road to Revenge reintroduces us to Finnish ex-commando Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila), aka "the man who refuses to die." We see him head to the location where his family was brutally murdered during WWII, dismantling his house, and loading it on a truck, eager to rebuild somewhere safe in their honor. But when the Red Army learns about Aatami's presence on their soil, KGB agents release Igor Draganov (Stephen Lang), the man who killed his family, to hunt him down.
The first film was gory, but Road to Revenge takes things a notch higher. One particular scene will leave you slack-jawed. A captured Aatami gets tortured inside a train until his entire body becomes bloody. He breaks free and, while trying to avoid waking up sleeping soldiers, he is forced to tiptoe through shards of glass. The protagonist takes so many hits, it's surprising that the final credits find him alive.
Beyond that, Sisu 2 impresses by sacrificing dialogue for action. Fewer than 50 lines get spoken, with the hero hardly ever saying a word. The film boasts three superb performances: Stephen Lang as the treacherous, self-loathing, and destructive hunter, Jorma Tormilla as the long-suffering protagonist, and Richard Brake as a KGB officer. Equal credit goes to cinematographer Mika Orasmaa.
‘Machete’ (2010)
20th Century Studios
Who imagined we’d see a movie where Steven Seagal loses a fight? There’s a long road before we get there in Machete. First, ex-Federale Machete Cortez (Danny Trejo) is set up after being tasked with assassinating the corrupt Senator John McLaughlin (Robert De Niro). You bet a man like him won’t just sit back and let his enemies sip martinis. Angry, he goes on a bloody rampage.
It’s hard to pick a standout bloody moment from Machete. There are too many of them. The hospital massacre has some over-the-top arterial sprays that you’d think you were watching Spartacus. This is also the kind of film where the hero disembowels a foe and uses the intestines as a grappling rope. Come on now! But don’t voice your complaints to Machete… because Machete kills. That’s the title of the sequel, by the way, but Machete kills more here than he kills in Machete Kills.
Directed by Robert Rodriguez, this crackerjack action flick greatly borrows from the exploitation style of the old. There are many scenes where the filmmaker should have yelled “Cut!” but he didn’t. The only “cut” happening here is the cutting of heads. Seagal is a villain, and the star-studded cast also includes Robert De Niro, Michelle Rodriguez, Lindsay Lohan, and Jessica Alba.
‘The Raid: Retaliation’ (2014)
XYZ Films
After surviving a deadly ambush during the apartment raid in the first film, elite cop Rama (Iko Uwais) goes undercover in Jakarta’s criminal underworld. Imprisoned in an effort to look credible, he strikes a friendship with volatile crime syndicate heir Uco (Arifin Putra), Bangun (Tio Pakusadewo), and uncovers deep corruption involving crooked cops, tying dirty cops and criminals.
The Raid 2, a gently rendered and bittersweet action flick, has a better story and presents greater reasons to fight and kill. Unlike the first film, where the action was limited to one building, Rama fights through prison yards, nightclubs, and even kitchens, leaving a huge bloody mess. The prison yard fight is especially vomit-inducing, with bones snapping and blood mixing with rain-soaked sludge. The kitchen fight comes a close second, with knives, broken utensils, and bare hands all used.
It would be unfair not to mention the action choreography. Most of the actors rely on the Indonesian fighting style of pencak silat, and boy, is it beautiful to watch. Due to its strong violence, the sequel received an R-15 rating in Japan with a total of four minutes cut from the theatrical release. It was also banned in Malaysia.
‘John Wick: Chapter 2’ (2014)
87Eleven
John Wick never learns. At least not at first. After getting his revenge on the spoiled ‘gangster kid’ who killed his dog and took his car in the first film, he convinces himself that he can live as a normal citizen again. Not gonna happen. A Camorra boss orders him to assassinate his sister, so that he can take her seat at the High Table (governing body of the world’s assassins). The plot kinda gets more comically intricate in the rest of John Wick 2, but who cares when you’re enjoying the action so much?
The sequel has one of the highest kill counts in the entire franchise. In the battle in the Rome museum hallway, there’s plenty of close-quarters combat, with foes dropping in numbers, visible impact wounds on their bodies, and the endless flowing of blood. The same happens at the New York Continental, among various other locations.
Chapter 2 was the installment that hinted to us just how big the franchise was going to get. The first film was like Taken, but on this occasion, the stakes rise even higher. The irrepressible Keanu Reeves looks even sharper, not only nailing the facial expressions, but at his best, handling a weapon like a trainer. These are two of his finest hours on-screen… no doubt.
‘The Night Comes for Us’ (2018)
Netflix
Ito (Joe Taslim) from The Night Comes for Us is one of the Triad’s elite enforcers. He always gets the dirty job done, but when he comes across a young, terrified girl during a village massacre, he decides to spare her. The move goes against his code, so his boss sends former ally Arian (Iko Uwais) and a horde of deadly assassins to end him. Will they be successful?
With lots of color, brutal fights, and curses framing the story, we witness action cinema magnificence. Who can forget that justifiably famous Triad nightclub massacre? Machetes and the sharpest knives cut through bodies; throats are opened, and blood exceeds the liquor in volume. The final warehouse showdown can never be topped, either.
After his heroic turn in The Raid, we never expected to see Iko Uwais as a villain. He is incredible, shining in a film that is rarely shy in its exploration of Jakarta’s sleazy underbelly. Joe Taslim is a wonder, too. “We all make choices. But in the end, our choices make us,” says Ito at some point. Don’t we all love a philosophy-loving protagonist?
