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The Villainess poster

Movies that feel likeThe Villainess (2017)

Honed from childhood into a merciless killing machine by a criminal organization, assassin Sook-hee is recruited with the promise of freedom after ten years of service. However, secrets from her past destroy everything she’s worked for and now she embarks on a roaring rampage of revenge.

If you loved The Villainess, the closest films we have are Jawan (2023), Ballerina (2023) and Below Zero (2021). All three share The Villainess' kinetic and tense feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Ghajini (2008).

🍅 85% Rotten Tomatoes★ 6.6 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Jung Byung-gilkinetictenserelentless
11 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Paramount Plus Premium

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If The Villainess hit the spot, these will too

Jawan poster
Jawan
2023 · dir. Atlee
★ 6.9action · thrillerNetflix

Common ground: revenge

An emotional journey of a prison warden, driven by a personal vendetta while keeping up to a promise made years ago, recruits inmates to commit outrageous crimes that shed light on corruption and injustice, in an attempt to get even with his past, and that leads him to an unexpected reunion.

Ballerina poster
Ballerina
2023 · dir. Lee Chung-hyun
🍅 91%★ 6.3action · thrillerNetflix

One thread runs through both: revenge

Grieving the loss of a best friend she couldn't protect, an ex-bodyguard sets out to fulfill her dear friend's last wish: sweet revenge.

Below Zero poster
Below Zero
2021 · dir. Lluís Quílez
🍅 86%★ 6.2action · crime · thrillerNetflix

Both are built on the same subject: excited

The difference: Sits closer to crime than The Villainess does

When a prisoner transfer van is attacked, the cop in charge must fight those inside and outside while dealing with a silent foe: the icy temperatures.

Headshot poster
Headshot
2016 · dir. Kimo Stamboel
🍅 73%★ 6.3action · thriller · dramaNetflix

Kinetic where it counts, tense underneath

The difference: Leans harder into drama than The Villainess does

A young man washes ashore, his memory gone - but his past comes back to haunt him after he is nursed back to health and his killing ability is needed when he takes on a powerful drug lord.

Ghajini poster
Ghajini
2008 · dir. A. R. Murugadoss
🍅 53%★ 7.4action · romance · thriller

Action built on relentlessness, twice over

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

A man suffering from anterograde amnesia as a result of a violent attack in the past sets out to avenge his girlfriend's death with the aid of photographs, notes and tattoos all over his body.

The Furious poster
The Furious
2026 · dir. Kenji Tanigaki
🍅 98%★ 7.2action · crime · thrillerStarz

Kinetic thriller in both cases

After a criminal network kidnaps Wang Wei's daughter and the corrupt police refuse to assist him, Wei sets out on his own to locate her. Navin, a tenacious journalist whose wife has mysteriously vanished, is his only ally. In this explosive martial arts showdown, the unlikely duo fights the kidnappers ruthlessly driven by a furious vengeance.

Naked Weapon poster
Naked Weapon
2002 · dir. Tony Ching Siu-Tung
★ 5.5action · drama · thriller

The same preoccupation in both: assassin

A mysterious woman, known as Madame M, kidnaps forty pre-teen girls and transports them to a remote island to train them as the most deadly assassins. CIA operative Jack Chen follows the case for 6 years with no leads, but when a series of assassinations begin to occur, Jack suspects that Madame M is back in business.

Ong Bak 2 poster
Ong Bak 2
2008 · dir. Tony Jaa
🍅 49%★ 6.2adventure · action · thrillerPrime Video

Action with a pulse of tension, in both cases

Tien, the son of Lord Sihadecho — a murdered nobleman — is taken under the wing of Chernang, a renowned warrior and leader of the Pha Beek Krut.

Killer Elite poster
Killer Elite
2011 · dir. Gary McKendry
🍅 26%★ 6.4action · adventure · thrillerPeacock

Both keep coming back to the same thing: assassin

Based on a shocking true story, Killer Elite pits two of the world’s most elite operatives—Danny, an ex-special ops agent and Hunter, his longtime mentor—against the cunning leader of a secret military society. Covering the globe from Australia to Paris, London and the Middle East, Danny and Hunter are plunged into a highly dangerous game of cat and mouse—where the predators become the prey.

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance poster
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
2002 · dir. Park Chan-wook
🍅 53%★ 7.5action · drama · thriller

Relentless thriller, and it commits to that

A deaf man and his girlfriend resort to desperate measures in order to fund a kidney transplant for his sister. Things go horribly wrong, and the situation spirals rapidly into a cycle of violence and revenge.

American Assassin poster
American Assassin
2017 · dir. Michael Cuesta
🍅 34%★ 6.2action · adventure · thrillerParamount+

Both lean on momentum more than on action

Following the murder of his fiancée, Mitch Rapp trains under the instruction of Cold War veteran Stan Hurley. The pair then is enlisted to investigate a wave of apparently random attacks on military and civilian targets.

Run All Night poster
Run All Night
2015 · dir. Jaume Collet-Serra
🍅 59%★ 6.6action · crime · thriller

Both lean on tension more than on thriller

Brooklyn mobster and prolific hit man Jimmy Conlon has seen better days. Longtime best friend of a mob boss, Jimmy is haunted by the sins of his past—as well as a dogged police detective who’s been one step behind Jimmy for 30 years. But when Jimmy’s estranged son becomes a target, Jimmy must make a choice between the crime family he chose and the real family he abandoned long ago. Now, with nowhere safe to turn, Jimmy has just one night to figure out exactly where his loyalties lie and to see if he can finally make things right.

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The best-reviewed films that share The Villainess’ defining feeling.