The Exterminator (1980)

"It didn't matter if it was right or wrong, I just did it." - John

A man deals out vengeance in the crime ridden streets of New York.
Starring: Robert Ginty, Christopher George, Steve James, Samantha Eggar

Link to IMDB

After barely surviving the horrors of the Vietnam war, John Eastland is back in New York, working as a laborer on the docks with his friend Michael. There's a lot of crime in the city, as the mobsters and ghetto ghouls are always pushing people around and causing trouble. After Michael is beaten by thugs so badly that he's left paralyzed, John decides he wants revenge on the men responsible. Armed with a big gun, John finds them and delivers his payback, but this is just the beginning of his plan.

Dalton

It's made clear that John doesn't enjoy killing and that he's suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder caused by the war, but he's compelled to clean-up the streets and deliver justice by any means necessary.
Detective Dalton is on the case of all this violence, he's a hard-headed cop that is not impressed with having a deadly vigilante in his town, but the clues are leading him closer to John.
Calling himself The Exterminator, John sends a message to the media, claiming that he's here to defend the innocent and rid the city of thugs, mobsters and crooked politicians.
Will John go too far before he can be stopped, or will he become the hero of retribution that the city needs?



Although it has a pretty thin plot, the movie remains a decent, well directed thriller. Violent, grim and occasionally ludicrous, it works well as an exploitation revenge story. There's also some real heart here, as it creates a sympathetic view of a common man trying to cope with the turmoil of PTSD in a society that is destroying itself.

Something awful is about to happen.

Similarities to Death Wish can be made, but The Exterminator has more introspective social commentary, and John feels like an unstable anti-hero being pushed over the edge instead of a calm bad ass like Charles Bronson.
It's a brutal movie, and yet surprisingly has a glimmer of hope underneath the ugliness. If you think you've seen it all but haven't watched this yet, then you might be pleasantly surprised.

Be sure not to miss:
- How to cook a hot dog with a lamp.
- The most realistic depiction of a guy being decapitated I have ever seen! The effect was done by the great Stan Winston, and is quite shocking.
- Rats enough!

Internet review:
"From the opening credits to the end credits it really captivated me." - Kucukdurgut

Should I watch it?
A solid revenge movie that fans of the genre will enjoy.

Where can I find it?
Here on YouTube. This is the full uncut version.

The Exterminator gets...