The Exterminator

The seventies, and up until the early eighties, was the prime time for revenge films. This movie is one of the last of the cycle3, while at the same time being ahead of it’s time, as it brings the eighties-style action movie into the fold. It’s storyline, about a psychotic Vietnam veteran (played by Robert Gintly) who kills people in the street after the brutal attack and crippling of his best friend (Steve James). His vigilante justice extends not just to the gang that attacked him, but also the the mob in the city, and criminals who have sex with underage boys. Meanwhile, a police agent, played by Christopher George, investigates, being sympathetic toward the vigilante and trying to calm him down.As you can see, the plot is very similar to a movie that would come out four years later, First Blood. And while the first Rambo film, Stallone made the killings to be more in a self-defense way, there’s very little sympathy with the Exterminator. He’s a brutal killer, taking the law into his own hands, and showing no mercy to those who commit crimes. There is a lot of good acting in this film, particularly from Christopher George, who I’ve always loved from his horror films like City Of The Living Dead. Sadly, Robert Gintly, our titular character, is too blonde, blue-eyed and baby-faced to be believable in the role, although to his credit he shows a good amount of intensity in the film. The script and cinematography are very realistic and very gritty, showing the true violence and racism of the streets. So I recommend you watch The Exterminator, it’s an underrated classic and if there was ever a movie that bridged the gap between the action films of the seventies and eighties, it’s this one.