Fiction: Surviving child later meets the people who left them an orphan

April 22, 2013 3:12 PM

Can you suggest some works of fiction where an entire family (except a small child) is murdered, and the orphan then grows up to eventually encounter the person(s) responsible?

One example would be Flesh and Bone (1993): "Some thirty years after Arlis witnesses his father murdering a family, he runs into Kay, who happens to be the family's baby who was spared. Kay and Arlis suspect nothing about each other, but when his father returns, old wounds are reopened."

Fiction can be any form: books, movies, TV episodes, short stories, etc.

I am looking for stuff released in the last 25 years.

Thanks in advance for any answers. It is much appreciated!

posted by 99percentfake to Media & Arts (31 answers total)

Gangs of New York.
posted by usonian at 3:15 PM on April 22, 2013

Batman.
posted by sexyrobot at 3:17 PM on April 22, 2013

Conan the Barbarian.
posted by prize bull octorok at 3:17 PM on April 22, 2013

These are both kind of sub-plots, but O-Ren Ishii from Kill Bill and Sawyer from Lost (sort of).
posted by oinopaponton at 3:19 PM on April 22, 2013

Harry Potter
posted by jacalata at 3:19 PM on April 22, 2013

The Bourne Supremacy (the movie).
posted by Sassyfras at 3:20 PM on April 22, 2013

Sacrifice, a 2010 Chinese film based on an old Chinese play.
posted by jacalata at 3:23 PM on April 22, 2013

Door from Neverwhere, although less emphasis on the "growing up". Also, I don't think there's murder but otherwise the plot of the TV show Revenge.
posted by gauche at 3:23 PM on April 22, 2013

This is on a larger scale and with a twist, but it may fit your criteria.
posted by MinusCelsius at 3:27 PM on April 22, 2013

The Belgariad, specifically book 2, Queen of Sorcery.
posted by restless_nomad at 3:29 PM on April 22, 2013

The Kingkiller Chronicles, with the main character Kvothe (although he's not a small child, but young). There are only two books released so far of a trilogy (The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear), but that is the underlying story that drives everything.
posted by SpacemanStix at 3:32 PM on April 22, 2013

Selene in Underworld, although she didn't have to go out of her way to meet the murdering family.
posted by glasseyes at 3:48 PM on April 22, 2013

How about Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book?
posted by DingoMutt at 4:00 PM on April 22, 2013

The Princess Bride. Not the hero, but one of the secondary characters.
posted by lharmon at 4:18 PM on April 22, 2013

Gillian Flynn's - Dark Places (She also wrote Gone Girl)
posted by magnetsphere at 4:30 PM on April 22, 2013

X-Men First Class. Erik Lensherr's family is killed during the holocaust and Erik (later Magneto) spends his life trying to find and kill the man responsible.
posted by Nickel at 4:51 PM on April 22, 2013

Hannibal Lecter, no?
posted by dragonfruit at 4:52 PM on April 22, 2013

Laurie R. King's Mary Russell series is heading that way, although there's a LOT more wrapped around that plotline.
posted by linettasky at 4:52 PM on April 22, 2013

Seconding The Graveyard Book. It couldn't be more what you're looking for if you paid Neil Gaiman commission.
posted by Green With You at 5:41 PM on April 22, 2013

Inglourious Basterds.
posted by No-sword at 5:42 PM on April 22, 2013

Death by the Riverside (mystery) by J.M. Redmann - sort of.
posted by expialidocious at 5:43 PM on April 22, 2013

Léon: The Professional
posted by blaneyphoto at 5:56 PM on April 22, 2013

If your date restriction isn't a deal breaker, Alan LeMay's "The Searchers."
posted by kestralwing at 6:46 PM on April 22, 2013

The Godfather Part II
posted by Bokmakierie at 7:07 PM on April 22, 2013

Weird. Happen to be watching the movie "Children of the Revolution" -- not parents, but grandparents. Tangled, sad, bizarrely funny, and stars Judy Davis.
posted by tully_monster at 7:42 PM on April 22, 2013

Lucky Number Slevin
posted by she's not there at 7:48 PM on April 22, 2013

A lot of Dean Koontz' stuff has this in it -- I'm thinking specifically of Lightning and What the Night Knows. Normally what happens is that the young person/child is saved by, like, some protective force or coincidence or whatever, and then the murderer somehow mystically tracks them down and threatens their family/future family, and this normally turns into a microscopic good v. evil story. There is often a golden retriever or loyal dog who is able to sense this metaphysical evil presence (that's more in later stuff).

Then of course there's the entirety of Harry Potter, for both HP (who meets Voldemort pretty frequently) and Neville Longbottom (with Belletrix).

And, y'know, there's always Batman.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SoleSurvivor may have more suggestions.
posted by spunweb at 8:38 PM on April 22, 2013

This happens in Deadwood except the child doesn't grow up and she doesn't meet the murderer but meets the man who hired the murderer.
posted by dobbs at 8:39 PM on April 22, 2013

Dark Places is pretty good.
posted by raisingsand at 11:20 PM on April 22, 2013

Dexter comes close.
posted by Phssthpok at 12:40 AM on April 23, 2013

Thanks for these answers! It is much appreciated!

Alan LeMay's "The Searchers."
Batman
Children of the Revolution
Conan the Barbarian
Deadwood (kind of )
Dean Koontz - Lightning and What the Night Knows (no)
Death by the Riverside (mystery) by J.M. Redmann - sort of.
Dexter (no)
Door from Neverwhere
Gangs of New York
Gillian Flynn's - Dark Places
Hannibal Lecter
Harry Potter
Inglourious Basterds
Laurie R. King's Mary Russell series
Léon: The Professional
Lucky Number Slevin
Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book (!)
O-Ren Ishii from Kill Bill
Revenge (TV show)
Sacrifice
Sawyer from Lost (sort of)
Selene in Underworld
The Belgariad, specifically book 2, Queen of Sorcery
The Bourne Supremacy (the movie)
The Godfather Part II
The Kingkiller Chronicles
The Never-Ending Sacrifice
The Princess Bride (one of the secondary characters)
X-Men First Class
posted by 99percentfake at 11:11 PM on April 23, 2013