exterminator

After Bernard Goetz shot four muggers in an NYC subway in 1984, most of the life went out of the vigilante movies. It was much more fun to fantasize about old pros like Charles Bronsan punishing criminals with extreme prejudice than to swallow the idea of Goetz - a nerdy, bespectacled milquetoast - as a defender of justice. Reality, and the surrounding controversy, threw cold water in the face of what had been a cinematic hot topic. But The Exterminator (1980) was prescient in at least one respect: its hero (or anti-hero) is just as harmless and frumpy looking as Goetz. John Eastland (Robert Ginty) looks about as dangerous as a high-school English teacher, but after his buddy from the ‘Nam is viciously mugged he tracks down the punks responsible and makes them pay. Not content to stop there, John metes out justice to a whole lineup of gangsters, perverts and street punks, becoming a media sensation. The Exterminator was a staple on the shelf of every “mom & pop” video store across the country, sporting an eye-catching VHS box (recreated well for the Blu-ray) that lured you in with the promise of revenge, brutality and flame-throwers. And writer / director James Glickenhaus’ film delivers. After a clumsy start complete with Deer Hunter-style Vietnam flashbacks, the movie gets down to the business at hand with workmanlike efficiency. Not much flash, but a whole lot of New York grit. The hi-def / DVD debut contains the original director’s cut, new audio mix, TV spots and audio commentary.