Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "self-defense"
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1. The Walking Dead (2010–2022)
TV-MA | 45 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
Sheriff Deputy Rick Grimes wakes up from a coma to learn the world is in ruins and must lead a group of survivors to stay alive.
Stars: Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Lauren Cohan
Votes: 1,081,590
2. Road House (1989)
R | 114 min | Action, Thriller
A bouncer hired to clean up the baddest honkytonk in a Missouri town. Armed with a black belt in karate and a degree in philosophy, Patrick Swayze sets out to tame the Double Deuce for its owner.
Director: Rowdy Herrington | Stars: Patrick Swayze, Kelly Lynch, Sam Elliott, Ben Gazzara
Votes: 100,446 | Gross: $30.05M
3. Joker (I) (2019)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.
Director: Todd Phillips | Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy
Votes: 1,488,005 | Gross: $335.45M
4. Gone with the Wind (1939)
Passed | 238 min | Drama, Romance, War
A sheltered and manipulative Southern belle and a roguish profiteer face off in a turbulent romance as the society around them crumbles with the end of slavery and is rebuilt during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.
Directors: Victor Fleming, George Cukor, Sam Wood | Stars: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Thomas Mitchell, Barbara O'Neil
Votes: 334,219 | Gross: $198.68M
5. The Hateful Eight (2015)
R | 168 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In the dead of a Wyoming winter, a bounty hunter and his prisoner find shelter in a cabin currently inhabited by a collection of nefarious characters.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins
Votes: 659,579 | Gross: $54.12M
6. Get Out (I) (2017)
R | 104 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A young African-American visits his white girlfriend's parents for the weekend, where his simmering uneasiness about their reception of him eventually reaches a boiling point.
Director: Jordan Peele | Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Catherine Keener
Votes: 696,470 | Gross: $176.04M
7. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
PG | 96 min | Comedy
A listless and alienated teenager decides to help his new friend win the class presidency in their small western high school, while he must deal with his bizarre family life back home.
Director: Jared Hess | Stars: Jon Heder, Efren Ramirez, Jon Gries, Aaron Ruell
Votes: 237,728 | Gross: $44.54M
8. Aftersun (II) (2022)
R | 102 min | Drama
Sophie reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father twenty years earlier. Memories real and imagined fill the gaps between as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the man she didn't...
Director: Charlotte Wells | Stars: Paul Mescal, Frankie Corio, Celia Rowlson-Hall, Sally Messham
Votes: 93,505
9. Triangle of Sadness (2022)
R | 147 min | Comedy, Drama
A fashion model celebrity couple join an eventful cruise for the super-rich.
Director: Ruben Östlund | Stars: Thobias Thorwid, Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean, Jiannis Moustos
Votes: 177,680
10. Scream VI (2023)
R | 122 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
In the next installment, the survivors of the Ghostface killings leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter in New York City.
Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett | Stars: Courteney Cox, Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown
Votes: 119,296
11. Emily the Criminal (2022)
R | 97 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Down on her luck and saddled with debt, Emily gets involved in a credit card scam that pulls her into the criminal underworld of Los Angeles, ultimately leading to deadly consequences.
Director: John Patton Ford | Stars: Aubrey Plaza, Theo Rossi, Bernardo Badillo, John Billingsley
Votes: 55,171
12. Hypnotic (2023)
R | 93 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
A detective investigates a mystery involving his missing daughter and a secret government program.
Director: Robert Rodriguez | Stars: Ben Affleck, Alice Braga, JD Pardo, Dayo Okeniyi
Votes: 35,803
13. Scream (I) (2022)
R | 114 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
25 years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, Calif., a new killer dons the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town's deadly past.
Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett | Stars: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Melissa Barrera
Votes: 158,822 | Gross: $81.64M
14. The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)
R | 140 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Two men and their sons must deal with the unforeseen consequences of their actions.
Director: Derek Cianfrance | Stars: Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, Craig Van Hook
Votes: 290,297 | Gross: $21.38M
15. Knock at the Cabin (2023)
R | 100 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
While vacationing, a girl and her parents are taken hostage by armed strangers who demand that the family make a choice to avert the apocalypse.
Director: M. Night Shyamalan | Stars: Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird
Votes: 115,245
16. Us (II) (2019)
R | 116 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Adelaide Wilson and her family are attacked by mysterious figures dressed in red. Upon closer inspection, the Wilsons realize that the intruders are exact lookalikes of them.
Director: Jordan Peele | Stars: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker
Votes: 340,977 | Gross: $175.08M
17. Girl House (2014)
Not Rated | 101 min | Horror, Thriller
A beautiful young college student moves into a house that streams video to an X-rated website. After a deranged fan hacks the site and finds out where she lives, she spends the night fighting for her life.
Directors: Jon Knautz, Trevor Matthews | Stars: Ali Cobrin, Adam DiMarco, George Carroll, Alyson Bath
Votes: 9,799
18. The Butterfly Effect (2004)
R | 113 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Evan Treborn suffers blackouts during significant events of his life. As he grows up, he finds a way to remember these lost memories and a supernatural way to alter his life by reading his journal.
Directors: Eric Bress, J. Mackye Gruber | Stars: Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart, Melora Walters, Elden Henson
Votes: 521,057 | Gross: $57.94M
19. All Good Things (2010)
R | 101 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
David Marks, a real estate scion, is suspected of killing his wife Katie, who disappeared in 1982.
Director: Andrew Jarecki | Stars: Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst, Frank Langella, Lily Rabe
Votes: 60,058 | Gross: $0.58M
20. Commando (1985)
R | 90 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A retired Special Forces colonel tries to save his daughter, who was abducted by his former subordinate.
Director: Mark L. Lester | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rae Dawn Chong, Dan Hedaya, Vernon Wells
Votes: 174,839 | Gross: $35.10M
21. Police Academy (1984)
R | 96 min | Comedy
The mayor declares that anyone can enroll in the police academy irrespective of their physical condition or education level, and many misfits descend on the academy, including a young troublemaker who's forced to apply or go to jail.
Director: Hugh Wilson | Stars: Steve Guttenberg, G.W. Bailey, Kim Cattrall, Bubba Smith
Votes: 137,373 | Gross: $81.20M
22. No Escape (I) (2015)
R | 103 min | Action, Thriller
In their new overseas home, an American family soon finds themselves caught in the middle of a coup, and they frantically look for a safe escape from an environment where foreigners are being immediately executed.
Director: John Erick Dowdle | Stars: Lake Bell, Pierce Brosnan, Owen Wilson, Thanawut Ketsaro
Votes: 93,150 | Gross: $27.29M
23. Crash (I) (2004)
R | 112 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Los Angeles citizens with vastly separate lives collide in interweaving stories of race, loss and redemption.
Director: Paul Haggis | Stars: Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Thandiwe Newton, Karina Arroyave
Votes: 448,979 | Gross: $54.58M
24. A History of Violence (2005)
R | 96 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A mild-mannered man becomes a local hero through an act of violence, which sets off repercussions that will shake his family to its very core.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, William Hurt
Votes: 252,797 | Gross: $31.49M
25. Wrong Turn (2021)
R | 109 min | Horror, Thriller
Friends hiking the Appalachian Trail are confronted by 'The Foundation', a community of people who have lived in the mountains for hundreds of years.
Director: Mike P. Nelson | Stars: Charlotte Vega, Adain Bradley, Bill Sage, Emma Dumont
Votes: 36,475
26. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
PG-13 | 105 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
The solitary life of an artificial man - who was incompletely constructed and has scissors for hands - is upended when he is taken in by a suburban family.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall
Votes: 523,695 | Gross: $56.36M
27. The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)
R | 118 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A lawyer defending a wealthy man begins to believe his client is guilty of more than just one crime.
Director: Brad Furman | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe, William H. Macy
Votes: 253,732 | Gross: $58.01M
28. Fatal Attraction (1987)
R | 119 min | Drama, Thriller
A married man's one-night stand comes back to haunt him when that lover begins to stalk him and his family.
Director: Adrian Lyne | Stars: Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, Anne Archer, Ellen Latzen
Votes: 97,072 | Gross: $156.65M
29. Freaky (2020)
R | 102 min | Comedy, Horror, Thriller
After swapping bodies with a deranged serial killer, a high-school senior discovers that she has fewer than 24 hours before the change becomes permanent.
Director: Christopher Landon | Stars: Vince Vaughn, Kathryn Newton, Celeste O'Connor, Misha Osherovich
Votes: 72,341
30. Mr. Right (I) (2015)
R | 95 min | Action, Comedy, Romance
A girl falls for the "perfect" guy, who happens to have a very fatal flaw: he's a hitman on the run from the crime cartels who employ him.
Director: Paco Cabezas | Stars: Anna Kendrick, Sam Rockwell, Tim Roth, James Ransone
Votes: 61,127 | Gross: $0.03M
31. The Girl Next Door (2007)
R | 91 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
Follows the unspeakable torture and abuses committed on a teenage girl in the care of her aunt and the boys who witness and fail to report the crime.
Director: Gregory Wilson | Stars: William Atherton, Blythe Auffarth, Blanche Baker, Kevin Chamberlin
Votes: 29,371
32. Do the Right Thing (1989)
R | 120 min | Comedy, Drama
On the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone's hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson
Votes: 112,396 | Gross: $27.55M
33. The Purge (I) (2013)
R | 85 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A wealthy family is held hostage for harboring the target of a murderous syndicate during the Purge, a 12-hour period in which any and all crime is legal.
Director: James DeMonaco | Stars: Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Max Burkholder, Adelaide Kane
Votes: 239,944 | Gross: $64.47M
34. Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
PG-13 | 151 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Diana must contend with a work colleague, and with a businessman whose desire for extreme wealth sends the world down a path of destruction, after an ancient artifact that grants wishes goes missing.
Director: Patty Jenkins | Stars: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal
Votes: 291,723 | Gross: $46.37M
35. Green Room (2015)
R | 95 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A punk rock band is forced to fight for survival after witnessing a murder at a neo-Nazi skinhead bar.
Director: Jeremy Saulnier | Stars: Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat, Patrick Stewart
Votes: 139,211 | Gross: $3.22M
36. A Most Violent Year (2014)
R | 125 min | Action, Crime, Drama
In New York City 1981, an ambitious immigrant fights to protect his business and family during the most dangerous year in the city's history.
Director: J.C. Chandor | Stars: Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, David Oyelowo, Alessandro Nivola
Votes: 77,579 | Gross: $5.74M
37. The Hunger (1983)
R | 97 min | Drama, Horror
A love triangle develops between a beautiful yet dangerous vampire (Catherine Deneuve), her cellist companion (David Bowie), and a gerontologist (Susan Sarandon).
Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, Susan Sarandon, Cliff De Young
Votes: 29,041 | Gross: $5.98M
38. American Ultra (2015)
R | 96 min | Action, Comedy
A stoner - who is in fact a government agent - is marked as a liability and targeted for extermination. But he's too well-trained and too high for them to handle.
Director: Nima Nourizadeh | Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Connie Britton, John Leguizamo
Votes: 96,000 | Gross: $14.43M
39. To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995)
PG-13 | 109 min | Comedy, Drama
Three drag queens travel cross-country until their car breaks down, leaving them stranded in a small town.
Director: Beeban Kidron | Stars: Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze, John Leguizamo, Stockard Channing
Votes: 36,537 | Gross: $36.47M
40. Safe Haven (I) (2013)
PG-13 | 115 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
A young woman with a mysterious past lands in Southport, North Carolina where her bond with a widower forces her to confront the dark secret that haunts her.
Director: Lasse Hallström | Stars: Julianne Hough, Josh Duhamel, Cobie Smulders, David Lyons
Votes: 116,159 | Gross: $71.35M
41. Widows (2018)
R | 129 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Four women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands' criminal activities take fate into their own hands and conspire to forge a future on their own terms.
Director: Steve McQueen | Stars: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki
Votes: 104,123 | Gross: $42.40M
42. Runaway Jury (2003)
PG-13 | 127 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A juror on the inside and a woman on the outside manipulate a court trial involving a major gun manufacturer.
Director: Gary Fleder | Stars: John Cusack, Rachel Weisz, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman
Votes: 104,570 | Gross: $49.44M
43. Halloween (I) (2018)
R | 106 min | Crime, Horror, Thriller
Laurie Strode confronts her long-time foe, Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.
Director: David Gordon Green | Stars: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, James Jude Courtney
Votes: 169,067 | Gross: $159.34M
44. Hush (I) (2016)
R | 82 min | Horror, Thriller
A deaf and mute writer who retreated into the woods to live a solitary life must fight for her life in silence when a masked killer appears at her window.
Director: Mike Flanagan | Stars: John Gallagher Jr., Kate Siegel, Michael Trucco, Samantha Sloyan
Votes: 153,699
45. Assassination Nation (2018)
R | 108 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
After a malicious data hack exposes the secrets of the perpetually American town of Salem, chaos descends and four girls must fight to survive, while coping with the hack themselves.
Director: Sam Levinson | Stars: Odessa Young, Abra, Suki Waterhouse, Hari Nef
Votes: 21,744 | Gross: $1.96M
46. Night of the Comet (1984)
PG-13 | 95 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
A comet wipes out most of life on Earth, leaving two Valley Girls fighting against cannibal zombies and a sinister group of scientists.
Director: Thom Eberhardt | Stars: Catherine Mary Stewart, Kelli Maroney, Robert Beltran, Sharon Farrell
Votes: 24,132 | Gross: $14.42M
47. Teeth (I) (2007)
R | 94 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
Still a stranger to her own body, a high school student discovers she has a physical advantage when she becomes the object of male violence.
Director: Mitchell Lichtenstein | Stars: Jess Weixler, John Hensley, Josh Pais, Hale Appleman
Votes: 46,453 | Gross: $0.35M
48. Straw Dogs (1971)
R | 113 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A young American and his English wife come to rural England and face increasingly vicious local harassment.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Susan George, Peter Vaughan, T.P. McKenna
Votes: 64,488
49. Ip Man (2008)
R | 106 min | Action, Biography, Drama
During the Japanese invasion of China, a wealthy martial artist is forced to leave his home when his city is occupied. With little means of providing for themselves, Ip Man and the remaining members of the city must find a way to survive.
Director: Wilson Yip | Stars: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Siu-Wong Fan, Ka-Tung Lam
Votes: 233,560
50. Riders of Justice (2020)
Not Rated | 116 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
Markus goes home to his teenage daughter, Mathilde, when his wife dies in a train crash. All appears to be a tragic accident until a mathematics geek, who was also a fellow passenger on the train, and his two colleagues show up.
Director: Anders Thomas Jensen | Stars: Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Andrea Heick Gadeberg, Lars Brygmann
Votes: 63,546