10 Biker Gang Movies, Ranked (According To IMDb)

Biker gangs have always been a popular subject, so popular that they gave birth to the television show Sons of Anarchy in 2008. The 1960s saw a boom in the biker gang craze, portraying them as either misunderstood anti-heroes or pure villains.

There is a difference between the biker gang movie and the biker movie. The biker genre started with Dennis Hopper’s Easy Rider, portraying two souls in search of the purity and peace of their country. Biker gang movies were tougher and more violent, usually stocked with action scenes and violence. Drive-Ins were the prime place for the biker gang movie. While it’s been marginalized, there are more than a few gems in the biker gang genre. Here are 10 movies ranked by their scores on IMDb.

10 Hell Ride, 2008 (5.1)

Two biker gangs revive their decades-old rivalry and things get chrome-hot and violent on the roads of the Southwest.

This exciting movie is full of pure hardcore motorcycle stunts done by an amazing stunt team. The cast is also top-notch. Michael Madsen, David Carradine, Vinnie Jones, and biker movie icon Dennis Hopper all shine in this exciting story.

9 Hells Angels On Wheels, 1967 (5.2)

In the hit 60s movie Hells Angels on Wheels, an innocent poet joins a gang of Hells Angels but regrets it once he discovers that they are more than “Weekend Warriors” who like to commit crimes of violent nature. The movie was well-received with audiences hungry for a fun biker gang movie and director Richard Rush didn’t disappoint, filling it with motorcycle action scenes.

The movie’s fame has endured through the years due to its action moments and the presence of Jack Nicholson, who was only two years away from becoming a cinematic icon with his star-making performance in Easy Rider.

8 The Glory Stompers, 1967 (5.2)

Dennis Hopper stars as a hardcore-mean leader of a motorcycle gang who goes to war with a rival gang over a brutal kidnapping in the cult hit The Glory Stompers.

It wasn’t well-liked by critics but was wildly popular with audiences at the time. It is a fast-paced and extremely violent action movie that fully entertains.

7 The Wild Angels, 1966 (5.7)

Peter Fonda leads a motorcycle gang called “The Angels” in the cult treasure The Wild Angels. Fonda leads his gang to a small California town and begins to wreak havoc on the locals and the town itself.

The movie is notable for Fonda playing a bad dude and for Nancy Sinatra, daughter of Frank, playing against type as his girlfriend. Bruce Dern gives great support as a member of the gang who wants to be the leader. A biker gang classic in every way.

6 The Born Losers, 1967 (6)

Screen hero Billy Jack was born in the smash hit movie The Born Losers which found the character coming up against and vicious and extremely deadly motorcycle gang that has invaded, you guessed it, a seaside California town.

Billy Jack became an enormously popular big-screen hero/vigilante during the late 60s and early 70s. This was the movie that started it all as action audiences were introduced to the karate-kicking, soft-spoken, half Native American hero as he laid waste to the villains, making The Born Losers one of the biggest hits of its time.

5 Stone Cold, 1991 (6)

Football star Brian Bosworth had his one shot at action stardom with this madcap and exciting 1991 stunt extravaganza, Stone Cold.

Directed by former stuntman Craig Baxley, who also coordinated and designed the stunts, the movie is non-stop action with jaw-dropping stunt work. Bosworth never made it to movie stardom but Lance Henriksen and William Forsythe make two of the best bad guys of 90s action movies.

4 The Loveless, 1981 (6.1)

Kathryn Bigelow began her directing career with The Loveless, a hard-to-find treasure of a biker gang movie. A motorcycle gang is on the way to the Daytona races when it stops in a small town and finds trouble.

Willem Dafoe had his first starring role as the gang’s leader who has a conscience. It pays homage to the biker gang movies of the 1950s but adds modern eroticism. While not full of action, the movie is a subdued character study of the motorcycle lifestyle.

3 Beyond The Law, 1993 (6.6)

Larry Ferguson, the screenwriter of The Hunt for Red October, wrote and directed this exciting movie where Charlie Sheen is a cop who goes undercover to catch a murderous biker gang leader played by Michael Madsen.

 The action is fast and non-stop but never gets in the way of the story. Sheen gives one of his very best performances in one of his best roles and Michael Madsen always makes for a fun bad guy. Made for the Showtime network in 1993, Beyond the Law is an interesting and exciting biker gang movie.

2 The Wild One, 1953 (6.8)

Marlon Brando became an icon for young men and made women swoon when he played the leader of a motorcycle gang in 1953’s The Wild One. Brando and his gang run afoul of a rival gang (led by Lee Marvin) while stopping in a small California town, which seems to be a common plot and setting in movies about biker gangs.

The movie was a big hit and created one of the most popular screen anti-heroes ever in Brando’s rebellious leader who rebels against everything.

1 Mad Max, 1979 (6.9)

Legendary on so many levels. director George Miller’s 1979 stunt epic Mad Max brought Mel Gibson to notice in America and led to one of the most critically and financially successful movie sagas ever created. Max is a cop in a post-apocalyptic future whose family is murdered by a violent motorcycle gang. Max takes to the highways to do battle with the gang, seeking revenge and bloody vengeance for his wife and baby.

The action sequences are some of the most amazing cinema has ever seen. Cars crash at high speeds, motorcycles roll under semis, cars drive through trucks, and many other death-defying stunts blew the minds of audiences. The movie was a huge success in its native Australia and a big success here in the United States. Mad Max, its director, and its title character are cinematic legends.