Films about self-defense

L.A. screenwriter David Sumner relocates with his wife, Amy, to her hometown in the deep South. There, while tensions build between them, a brewing conflict with locals becomes a threat to them both.

A group of cooks at an asylum for the criminally insane get locked in with the inmates during a massive thunderstorm

Two Narcotics Detectives find themselves in an intense investigation lead by a determined Internal Affairs Detective after a child is wrongfully shot dead in a violent drug bust.

How can a split-second decision change your life? While investigating noises in his house one balmy Texas night in 1989, Richard Dane puts a bullet in the brain of low-life burglar Freddy Russell. Although he’s hailed as a small-town hero, Dane soon finds himself fearing for his family’s safety when Freddy’s ex-con father, Ben, rolls into town, hell-bent on revenge.

Given the country's overcrowded prisons, the U.S. government begins to allow 12-hour periods of time in which all illegal activity is legal. During one of these free-for-alls, a family must protect themselves from a home invasion.

A young punk rock band find themselves trapped in a secluded venue after stumbling upon a horrific act of violence.

A suburban housewife is forced to fend for herself when she becomes stranded in a desolate forest with four murderous thugs.

After Marnie Watson kills her abusive husband in self-defense, she is condemned to house arrest... only to discover that the house is possessed by the enraged and violent spirit of her dead husband.

A fictional movie star, Gray Evans, goes through the disintegration of his marriage, his gradual mental breakdown, and his increasing obsession with a young film student who reminds Gray of his own life before becoming famous. A dark psychological drama, I Love Your Work explores the pressures of fame and the difference between getting what you want and wanting what you get.

A psychiatrist faces his past, present and future when he finds himself involved in the treatment of a young man recently released from prison for a murder committed when the boy was just 11 years old.

Nasty Baby centers around a Brooklyn couple, Freddy and his boyfriend Mo, who are trying to have a baby with the help of their best friend, Polly. Freddy is an artist, and his latest work is all about babies – it’s clear he’s dying to be a father. Polly is a family practitioner who is more interested in having a baby than having a man. Mo is hesitant about the entire idea, especially when Polly isn’t having success with Freddyʼs sperm and the donor responsibility shifts to him. Set almost entirely in the multicultural vibrancy of Fort Greene, Brooklyn, the trio navigates the idea of creating life, when they are confronted by unexpected harassment from particularly aggressive neighborhood man, nicknamed The Bishop. The Bishop is bothersome in small, yet persistent ways, with a hint of danger. As their clashes become increasingly aggressive, someone is bound to get hurt.

Three hours outside of Addis Ababa, a bright 14-year-old girl is on her way home from school when men on horses swoop in and kidnap her. The brave Hirut grabs a rifle and tries to escape, but ends up shooting her would-be husband. In her village the practice of abduction into marriage is common and one of Ethiopia’s oldest traditions. Meaza Ashenafi, an empowered and tenacious young lawyer, arrives from the city to represent Hirut and argue that she acted in self defense. Meaza boldly embarks on a collision course between enforcing civil authority and abiding by customary law, risking the ongoing work of her women’s legal aid practice to save Hirut’s life.

An average family is thrust into the spotlight after the father commits a seemingly self-defense murder at his diner.

A radio correspondent tries to rescue a burlesque queen from her marriage to a Nazi official.

After his wife is assaulted, a husband enlists the services of a vigilante group to help him settle the score.

The town of Downers Grove looks like your average suburban neighborhood -- but Downers Grove has a disturbing secret.... For the past eight years, one senior from every high school graduating class has met a bizarre death right before graduation day. And this year, Chrissie Swanson has a terrible feeling that she is going to be the one to die. Can Chrissie survive the curse of Downers Grove or will she, like those seniors before her, fall prey to the town's deadly secret?

Angie, a young Brazilian artist, abandons her old life and embarks on a journey around the country. Running from her past, and searching for her foundation in life, Angie finds not only herself but love in its many forms.

Three kids hire a low-budget bodyguard to protect them from the playground bully, not realising he is just a homeless beggar and petty thief looking for some easy cash.

When her boyfriend dumps Emily, a spontaneous woman in her 30s, she persuades her ultra-cautious mom to accompany her on a vacation to Ecuador. When these two very different women are trapped on this wild journey, their bond as mother and daughter is tested and strengthened while they attempt to navigate the jungle and escape.

When Rudy Baylor, a young attorney with no clients, goes to work for a seedy ambulance chaser, he wants to help the parents of a terminally ill boy in their suit against an insurance company. But to take on corporate America, Rudy and a scrappy paralegal must open their own law firm.

While grieving for the loss of their mother, the Connolly sisters suddenly find they have a crime to cover up, leading them deep into the underbelly of their salty Maine fishing village.

Three childhood friends set aside their personal issues and reunite for a girls’ weekend on a remote island off the coast of Maine. One wrong move turns their weekend getaway into a deadly fight for survival.

After a woman shoots a man to death, a damning letter she wrote raises suspicions.

A police detective's investigation of a prostitute's murder points to his best friend.

Brash hoodlum Tom Connors enters Sing Sing cocksure of himself and disrespectful toward authority, but his tough but compassionate warden changes him.

In this radically reimagined American Western set towards the end of the Civil War, Southerner Augusta encounters two renegade, drunken soldiers who are on a mission of pillage and violence. After escaping an attempted assault, Augusta races back to the isolated farmhouse that she shares with her sister Louise and their female slave Mad. When the pair of soldiers track Augusta down intent on exacting revenge, the trio of women are forced to take up arms to fend off their assailants, finding ways to resourcefully defend their home––and themselves––as the escalating attacks become more unpredictable and relentless.

When two brothers are stranded by a brutal winter storm with an unpredictable father they barely know, the boys begin to suspect their supposed protector may be their biggest threat.

Ex-Navy Seal Bobby Kalinowski lives a quiet, peaceful life as a landscape architect in an LA suburb with his wife Dawn and 16 year old daughter Brianna. Tonight they are invited out for an evening on the town by new neighbors clay and Elise Freeman to a happening club downtown. Little did they know that this would be the start of a life or death ordeal for the group.

A high-class call girl accused of murder fights for the right to stand trial rather than be declared mentally incompetent.

An abused wife heads to California to become a movie star while her nephew back in Alabama has to deal with a racially-motivated murder involving a corrupt sheriff.

A group of teachers must defend themselves from a gang of murderous kids when their school comes under siege after hours.

David Sumner, a mild-mannered academic from the United States, marries Amy, an Englishwoman. In order to escape a hectic stateside lifestyle, David and his wife relocate to the small town in rural Cornwall where Amy was raised. There, David is ostracized by the brutish men of the village, including Amy's old flame, Charlie. Eventually the taunts escalate, and two of the locals rape Amy. This sexual assault awakes a shockingly violent side of David.

Vasilisa returns to her hometown for the wedding of her school friend Inna. Inna’s groom “Chistiy” with his two friends “Lambada” and “Kolbasa” organize a unplanned bachelor party on the eve of the wedding. Inna and Vasilisa show up unannounced to the party. Based on real events from 2014 in the city of Gomel.

Afflicted with a terminal illness John Bernard Brooks, the last of the legendary gunfighters, quietly returns to Carson City for medical attention from his old friend Dr. Hostetler. Aware that his days are numbered, the troubled man seeks solace and peace in a boarding house run by a widow and her son. However, it is not Brooks' fate to die in peace, as he becomes embroiled in one last valiant battle.

A love story centered on the lives of three young German soldiers in the years following World War I. Their close friendship is strengthened by their shared love for the same woman who is dying of tuberculosis.

A woman struggles to recover from a brutal attack by setting out on a mission for revenge.

The Double Deuce is the meanest, loudest and rowdiest bar south of the Mason-Dixon Line, and Dalton has been hired to clean it up. He might not look like much, but the Ph.D.-educated bouncer proves he's more than capable -- busting the heads of troublemakers and turning the roadhouse into a jumping hot-spot. But Dalton's romance with the gorgeous Dr. Clay puts him on the bad side of cutthroat local big shot Brad Wesley.

Working-class waitress Slim thought she was entering a life of domestic bliss when she married Mitch, the man of her dreams. After the arrival of their first child, her picture perfect life is shattered when she discovers Mitch's hidden possessive dark side, a controlling and abusive alter ego that can turn trust, love and tranquility into terror. Terrified for her child's safety, Slim flees with her daughter. Relentless in his pursuit and enlisting the aid of lethal henchmen, Mitch continually stalks the prey that was once his family.

On the run after murdering a man, accountant William Blake encounters a strange North American man named Nobody who prepares him for his journey into the spiritual world.

A mute gunslinger fights in the defense of a group of outlaws and a vengeful young widow, against a group of ruthless bounty hunters.

A semi-biographical account of Yip Man, the first martial arts master to teach the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun. The film focuses on events surrounding Ip that took place in the city of Foshan between the 1930s to 1940s during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Directed by Wilson Yip, the film stars Donnie Yen in the lead role, and features fight choreography by Sammo Hung.

When Michèle, the CEO of a gaming software company, is attacked in her home by an unknown assailant, she refuses to let it alter her precisely ordered life. She manages crises involving family, all the while becoming engaged in a game of cat and mouse with her stalker.

It's double trouble when fate and an ill-executed diamond robbery throw Mel and Lise together in a race and chase against time.

In Turkey, when a woman is sent to prison, her small children stay with her. In this film, Inci (say "Injee") is sent to prison for murder in self-defense (which warrants incarceration in Turkey), and while there, develops a special friendship with a little boy who is the son of another inmate.

A US Army colonel in France tries to track down an escaped sex maniac.

Saara is a middle-aged doctor who one day finds out that her architect-husband Leo is having an affair with a younger woman, Tuuli. Instead of revealing her true identity, Saara pretends to be someone else and makes friends with Tuuli. At the same time she is planning the best way to revenge her husband and his lover

A motorcycle stunt rider considers committing a crime in order to provide for his wife and child, an act that puts him on a collision course with a cop-turned-politician.

In feudal China, a blacksmith who makes weapons for a small village is put in the position where he must defend himself and his fellow villagers.

After a former elite agent rescues a 12-year-old Chinese girl who's been abducted, they find themselves in the middle of a standoff between Triads, the Russian Mafia and high-level corrupt New York City politicians and police.