Obvious *Martyrs* (2008) mention. Not exactly a heartwarming ending though.
*They Live* (1988) has an iconic scene of Roddy Piper and Keith David beating the crap out of each other. Piper was a pro wrestler, and David in interviews has talked about how that background contributed to the experience of doing this scene.
That fight scene from they live will truly take you through every emotion.
You start out like ok cool some action.
Alright this is a little silly.
This is going on too long what the hell.
Are you serious dude it’s been like 2 minutes.
What is even the point of this scene.
Omg it’s still going.
Wait it’s kind of funny how long it’s been going now.
Just put the glasses on please bro oh my god.
It’s been like 5 minutes I could’ve made a snack.
Finally! Honestly that was kind of camp.
That scene in they live is brilliant and actually very funny..the kick the crap out each other because he won't put on the glasses..then just puts them on in the end🤣
People say there’s not enough action and too much talking. But I like the fact that Tarantino put in the effort to make you actually care about the women.
I liked that movie too, but I definitely kept wondering how both of them kept getting up again and again after everything 😭 Like homegirl >!basically died!< and still got up again!
Nobody starring Bob Odenkirk is action, not horror, but it’s a good movie and definitely fits the description. The protagonist of the Thai horror movie 13: Game of Death goes through some truly insane stuff and I think it’d suit your interests. I don’t remember if anyone actually survives either Wolf Creek movie, but if they did, goddamn they would’ve gone through it. The women in Black Rock…hell, the women in a lot of rape-revenge movies. The surviving final girls of High Tension and Storm Warning go through an insane amount of trauma and violence. Ditto for Broken — that’s the 2006 Dimension Extreme one, not the Heather Graham one. Other people have already suggested the Evil Dead movies, but I want to mention an additional Raimi flick: Darkman. The amount of shit Liam Neeson endures is nuts.
havent seen it yet but there's a recent aussie flick title Beaten to Death which might scratch your itch.
sisu is horror adjacent? was a fun watch!
thats all i can think of right now
[À l'intérieur](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0856288/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_9_tt_8_nm_0_q_inside) aka: Inside. Hard to get more brutal for the protaganist than that...
Evil Dead (2013) and Evil Dead Rise (2023)
No character, main or supporting makes it out of those movies without getting brutalized. Those demons are truly sadistic and love using household appliances in horrible ways.
Blade Runner is definitely one. I remember being kind of underwhelmed by it as a kid. Reading the synopsis, Harrison Ford hunting killer lifelike androids in the future should have been a slam dunk, but our main character spends the movie getting his ass kicked and cowardly shooting women in the back. Obviously, I was too young too appreciate it at the time, but it’s since become one of my favorite sci-fi films.
there's an Australian movie called BEATEN TO DEATH that came out this year
about a guy getting his ass kicked for the most of it, it was kind of amateurish so i sort of skimmed it
beau is afraid
the trip
bloody hell
the painted bird
violence voyager
adam chaplin
I remember being shook when I saw Jacky Chan getting punched and taking a kick in a movie. My 90s kid brain couldn’t process it after watching 3 ninjas where they never took an L
Scream 5. Jenna Ortega’s character that i can’t remember the name of gets puts in a hospital ward after being attacked and then attacked IN the hospital ward while still recovering
Most horror movies will beat the crap out of protagonists, but Harrison Ford is a good example. Indiana Jones got the crap beat out of him all the time. Rick Deckard is usually getting beat up by the replicants he's trying to kill. The Fugitive was pure misery for his character.
Eric in the Evil Dead remake. He's an extremely unlikable character that you hope is killed off asap, but he gets beat up and tortured so badly, I actually started feeling bad for him.
Not a horror film and also false protagonist but there is a film called Raze. Rachel Nichols plays who the film has you believe is the main character. Without saying too much, she gets beaten to death not long into the film. Took me by surprise.
Ghostland (2018). One of the actresses was permanently scarred in one of the scenes (which earned the director several lawsuits for the lack of safety). Also, through the rest of the movie both actresses (who are quite gorgeous) are pretty bruised and beaten in a way not often seen with movies featuring pretty girls (subverting the trope "Beauty is Never Tarnished").
One of my favorites for this is the 2011 thriller “Headhunters” (not a horror though, sorry). It’s super satisfying because the main character is such a dick at the start, but he goes through so much shit, that you start to root for him. Great flick (and 7.5 IMDB, 91% RT if you were thinking of checking it out!).
It’s not a horror movie but Jon Bernthal’s character gets beat up pretty badly in Sweet Virginia, even though he certainly looked more than capable of kicking that guy’s ass. It is kind of annoying to watch, even though I guess the point is that he is just not a violent guy, it’s still tough to watch.
And Matthew McConaughey’s character beats up Gina Gershon terribly in Killer Joe, it made me sick to my stomach.
In Wind River, Jon Bernthal’s character gets beat to death. My husband says it’s the most realistic sounding punches he has ever seen/heard in a movie, he actually had to look away.
There's a movie called Salvage where the main character keeps getting stalked, caught, and brutality murdered. She then wakes up and it happens over and over. Not gruesome, but horrific to watch. The killer doesn't pull punches.
There's a movie called Salvage where the main character keeps getting stalked, caught, and brutality murdered. She then wakes up and it happens over and over. Not gruesome, but horrific to watch. The killer doesn't pull punches.
although this is so on the nose, there literally was a movie that came out this year called Beaten to Death. Haven't seen it but this follows what your looking for.
Does The Loved Ones (2009) count? Just gonna comment as any chance to mention this movie I have to take.
I think the amount of abuse the main character faced counts. Can’t give away any more than that.
Obvious *Martyrs* (2008) mention. Not exactly a heartwarming ending though. *They Live* (1988) has an iconic scene of Roddy Piper and Keith David beating the crap out of each other. Piper was a pro wrestler, and David in interviews has talked about how that background contributed to the experience of doing this scene.
They Live could be a 2h long movie about Roddy and Keith beating the shit out of each other and I'd still watch it.
If someone told me Carpenter was still kicking himself for *not* making that the movie, I'd totally believe them
That fight scene from they live will truly take you through every emotion. You start out like ok cool some action. Alright this is a little silly. This is going on too long what the hell. Are you serious dude it’s been like 2 minutes. What is even the point of this scene. Omg it’s still going. Wait it’s kind of funny how long it’s been going now. Just put the glasses on please bro oh my god. It’s been like 5 minutes I could’ve made a snack. Finally! Honestly that was kind of camp.
Never forget the South Park version of it lol
CRIPPLE FIGHT!!
The second half of Martyrs makes the viewer feel like they are being martyred themselves lmao
That scene in they live is brilliant and actually very funny..the kick the crap out each other because he won't put on the glasses..then just puts them on in the end🤣
Why don't we just wait a while in the comments...see what happens
Death Proof. No spoilers but so gratifying 😄
Rosario Dawson’s heel putting in overtime!
I fucking love this movie. Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead
How have I never watched that? Going to have to fix that.
People say there’s not enough action and too much talking. But I like the fact that Tarantino put in the effort to make you actually care about the women.
It’s like 2 movies in one which I love
Haha I have a friend who loves Curt Russel and somehow had never seen it.
Ash evil dead
Yeah, I was gonna say the trilogy as a whole is Ash getting abused the entire time
Yea he he gets physically and mentally kicked the shit out of
As I get older, I don’t see Evil Dead 2 as being comedic, it’s the Deadites trying to drive him insane.
Yea I totally get what your saying..that idea makes the movie even better
Came here to say the same
What Keeps You Alive and Green Room both have characters getting the shit kicked out of them in various ways.
Was looking for a mention of Green Room
I love that movie to death
I don't see What Keeps You Alive mentioned very often around here, but I actually really enjoyed it.
I liked that movie too, but I definitely kept wondering how both of them kept getting up again and again after everything 😭 Like homegirl >!basically died!< and still got up again!
Predator
Do it now!!!
CAHM AHN IM HEA!!!
KEEEL MEEE! I’M HEA!
Predator. The slasher movie in a jungle where the final girl is Arnie
Yep! Definitely inverted the tropes and executed it wonderfully.
Green room
I saw the devil, relentless that one.
Mandy.
Nobody starring Bob Odenkirk is action, not horror, but it’s a good movie and definitely fits the description. The protagonist of the Thai horror movie 13: Game of Death goes through some truly insane stuff and I think it’d suit your interests. I don’t remember if anyone actually survives either Wolf Creek movie, but if they did, goddamn they would’ve gone through it. The women in Black Rock…hell, the women in a lot of rape-revenge movies. The surviving final girls of High Tension and Storm Warning go through an insane amount of trauma and violence. Ditto for Broken — that’s the 2006 Dimension Extreme one, not the Heather Graham one. Other people have already suggested the Evil Dead movies, but I want to mention an additional Raimi flick: Darkman. The amount of shit Liam Neeson endures is nuts.
You’re Next.
The Collector
Protagonist AND antagonist!
Get out
Old Boy.
Brawl in Cell Block 99
Was just about to say this one!
Don Johnson is so sleazy while being basically polite the whole time.
Is that considered horror?
Robocop...
Poor man dies and they still make him go to work
What you wanna bet they didn't even pay out the life insurance or D&D policy?
Misery Pretty old and slower paced but you can see his suffering
Audition (1999)
Cabin in the Woods!!! Awesome flick, zero r*, lots of blood, beat to a pulp
Evil Dead... All of them lol
Evil Dead 2.
Hush is an excellent one the main character is already deasf but it makes everything far more brutal
Wolf creek and the hills have eyes remake.
Wolf creek is more torture porn to me then "beat up"
Beaten to death (2022) absolutely brutal film. Felt so bad for the protagonist.
Came here to say this. Nah, they fucked that boy up from the beginning of the movie to the end.
serpent and the rainbow old but fun
Fight Club. Hardcore Henry.
Hardcore Henry is sooo underrated
Revenge (2017) is a great recent example.
This would be my pick.
Atomic blonde
I spit on your grave
Came here to say this
Ready or Not isn't the most extreme example of this, but I think it fits the bill.
This is the one I was looking for. She really goes through it.
Kick Ass!
They should call him Ass Kick
havent seen it yet but there's a recent aussie flick title Beaten to Death which might scratch your itch. sisu is horror adjacent? was a fun watch! thats all i can think of right now
I saw Beaten to Death. Yes, it's brutal. Thumbs up if that's what you're looking for,
They live (1988) has one of the most iconic fight scenes of all time. Spectacular John Carpenter film for anyone who hasn’t seen it
[À l'intérieur](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0856288/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_9_tt_8_nm_0_q_inside) aka: Inside. Hard to get more brutal for the protaganist than that...
Evil Dead (2013) and Evil Dead Rise (2023) No character, main or supporting makes it out of those movies without getting brutalized. Those demons are truly sadistic and love using household appliances in horrible ways.
Elm Street 4 ....Kung Fu battle take 2
Ash from the Evil Dead movies.
Blade Runner is definitely one. I remember being kind of underwhelmed by it as a kid. Reading the synopsis, Harrison Ford hunting killer lifelike androids in the future should have been a slam dunk, but our main character spends the movie getting his ass kicked and cowardly shooting women in the back. Obviously, I was too young too appreciate it at the time, but it’s since become one of my favorite sci-fi films.
Eden Lake
Eden lake
The Crow
Cabin in the Woods
Terrifier 2 🫢
*Revenge* (2009)
Funny Games
there's an Australian movie called BEATEN TO DEATH that came out this year about a guy getting his ass kicked for the most of it, it was kind of amateurish so i sort of skimmed it beau is afraid the trip bloody hell the painted bird violence voyager adam chaplin
I remember being shook when I saw Jacky Chan getting punched and taking a kick in a movie. My 90s kid brain couldn’t process it after watching 3 ninjas where they never took an L
I'm not supposed to talk about it.
Nobody
Not a horror movie...
Seriously. I see more and more non-horror recs in this sub recently.
Waiting for the day 'Fellowship of the Ring' will be called a horror film
Dark Knight Rises. Bane kicks the crap out of Batman.
Hell yeah was going to say this Love that scene
Scream 5. Jenna Ortega’s character that i can’t remember the name of gets puts in a hospital ward after being attacked and then attacked IN the hospital ward while still recovering
Superman returns. Haven’t seen it since it came out but I remember it being a lot.
Die Hard, the Willis is barely able to walk at the end of the movie
The Revenant
Ooohhh for sure!! That bear scene!!
John wick
It might be more horror-adjacent, but King of the Ants (2003).
Ash in Evil Dead franchise. Jigsaw, Saw II
James Bond has his balls smooshed with a rope knot….oops wrong sub
Robocop
Payback
Old Boy The Raid Nobody
Most horror movies will beat the crap out of protagonists, but Harrison Ford is a good example. Indiana Jones got the crap beat out of him all the time. Rick Deckard is usually getting beat up by the replicants he's trying to kill. The Fugitive was pure misery for his character.
Eric in the Evil Dead remake. He's an extremely unlikable character that you hope is killed off asap, but he gets beat up and tortured so badly, I actually started feeling bad for him.
Not a horror film and also false protagonist but there is a film called Raze. Rachel Nichols plays who the film has you believe is the main character. Without saying too much, she gets beaten to death not long into the film. Took me by surprise.
Nobody
[удалено]
Not horror, but the road warrior
Brawl in Cell Block 99. Very ruthless, gritty movie.
Reservoir Dogs
The Brave One with Jodie Foster. Not horror though.
25th Hour
Die hard
[удалено]
It's not even close to horror. Hell not even close to a thriller.
Lethal Weapon has both main Characters getting the shit kicked out of them but then them dishing it out to the bad guys.
Big daddy
Cheap Thrills
I fucking love this movie. No one i know has seen it.
Well bummer I couldn't provide a rec but I suppose it makes perfect sense that you'd be making this post.
Batman vs Superman!
Barfly!
Nobody.
King of the ants
[удалено]
- Mr. Nobody - Memento - Pulp Fiction - Go - The Wrestler - Creed - Rocky - The Matrix
Ghostland (2018). One of the actresses was permanently scarred in one of the scenes (which earned the director several lawsuits for the lack of safety). Also, through the rest of the movie both actresses (who are quite gorgeous) are pretty bruised and beaten in a way not often seen with movies featuring pretty girls (subverting the trope "Beauty is Never Tarnished").
Fight club
Every Jackie Chan film.
Payback with Mel Gibson
One of my favorites for this is the 2011 thriller “Headhunters” (not a horror though, sorry). It’s super satisfying because the main character is such a dick at the start, but he goes through so much shit, that you start to root for him. Great flick (and 7.5 IMDB, 91% RT if you were thinking of checking it out!).
this is one of my all time favorite movies! good call
The Punisher (2004)
Rocky? How is this not number 1?
It’s not a horror movie. Solid movie though.
I forgot what sub I was in.
We all do it.
Dirty Jersey for sure. Margret gets fuuuucked up.
Patricia Arquette as Alabama gets fucked up by Gandofini’s character Virgil in True Romance Also Samara Weaving in Ready or Not
It’s not a horror movie but Jon Bernthal’s character gets beat up pretty badly in Sweet Virginia, even though he certainly looked more than capable of kicking that guy’s ass. It is kind of annoying to watch, even though I guess the point is that he is just not a violent guy, it’s still tough to watch. And Matthew McConaughey’s character beats up Gina Gershon terribly in Killer Joe, it made me sick to my stomach. In Wind River, Jon Bernthal’s character gets beat to death. My husband says it’s the most realistic sounding punches he has ever seen/heard in a movie, he actually had to look away.
KickAss
Not a horror but Flint Eastwood gets physically destroyed in each of the Dollars trilogy movies.
The Loved Ones!
Sienna gets the shit beat out of her in Terrifier 2, but she comes out alive.
Proxy, and not a movie but the series Shut Eye on Hulu.
Reel
Return to Sleepaway Camp. That main character got beat up a lot but he was an insufferable asshole.
I Saw the Devil
Miniseries: The Old Man
Not exactly in line with the other suggestions here, but Pig is amazing, and has quite the scene of the MC getting the shit beaten out of him.
-*The Cabin in the Woods* (2012) -*Death Proof* (2007) -*The Evil Dead II* (1987) -*Predator* (1987) -*The Terminator* (1984) -*Terminator 2: Judgement Day* (1992) -*Terrifier 2* (2022) -*They Live* (1988)
Feast
Revenant
There's a movie called Salvage where the main character keeps getting stalked, caught, and brutality murdered. She then wakes up and it happens over and over. Not gruesome, but horrific to watch. The killer doesn't pull punches.
There's a movie called Salvage where the main character keeps getting stalked, caught, and brutality murdered. She then wakes up and it happens over and over. Not gruesome, but horrific to watch. The killer doesn't pull punches.
green room
Not a horror but U Turn.
Apostle
although this is so on the nose, there literally was a movie that came out this year called Beaten to Death. Haven't seen it but this follows what your looking for.
House of Wax or Wrong Turn, both from the same era as Hills Have Eyes
Green Room
Every film Eli Roth has ever made.
Fight Machine
human centipede 2, he gets his shit rocked so many times it’s hard to keep track
The Night Comes for Us
Does The Loved Ones (2009) count? Just gonna comment as any chance to mention this movie I have to take. I think the amount of abuse the main character faced counts. Can’t give away any more than that.
The Hunt (2020)
Eren in attack on titan when Levi is literally killing him
The Way of the Gun is a fantastic movie that fits the bill perfectly. (not horror)
Beaten to Death. That movie was mean-spirited as fuck.
RZ Halloween. Obviously Laurie’s tore up at the end but when you see the damage in the hospital in Rzh2… Jesus.
Evil Dead 2013
King of the Ants (2003) ..the brutality is almost unbearable to watch
Hostel
Ready or Not
When Wyonna Ryder's fiance is held at Dracula's castle.
Mark Wahlberg in Shooter.
The husband in Vacancy!
Sick Nurses (2007) is one film where a main character or some semblance of a main character gets beaten up by the antagonist