UnowPriceless hyped garbage

Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Ava-Grace Willis Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

capone666 The ExterminatorVigilantes in the 1980s were everyday people who just lost faith in McGruff the Crime Dog.And while the lawful mascot isn't mentioned in this action movie, his presence is felt.POW John (Robert Ginty) tries to assimilate back in NYC when the Ghetto Ghouls break into where he works and kills his co-worker. Enraged he grabs a flamethrower and exacts revenge. Unsatisfied, John moves on to busting up the mafia and a child sex ring. Dubbed the Exterminator by the press, John is dogged by a determined detective (Christopher George). Dubbed a Death Wish doppelganger by critics on its released, this obvious nod to the seminal street vigilante blockbuster also had a second-rate sequel. Decades on and this alleged knockoff still holds its own with some pretty intense interrogation and death scenes that rival modern remakes.Furthermore, scorching thugs is a double win because it also feeds the neighbourhood. Yellow Lightvidiotreviews.blogspot.ca

DeuceWild_77 "The Exterminator", James Glickenhaus' second feature film after the way obscure "The Astrologer" ('75), is for sure a product from its time, a modestly budgeted exploitation / vigilante flick, showed in the glory days of the lost Grindhouses of Times Square and 42nd Street, where the low-budget New York filmmakers could display their harsh works.Reusing elements from cult movies that worked also as social commentaries such as John G. Avildsen's "Joe" ('70) starring Peter Boyle; Michael Winner's "Death Wish" ('74) starring Charles Bronson and Scorsese's "Taxi Driver" ('76) and the extreme psychological horror films in vogue during the late 70's (the so-called 'video nasties') such as Joseph Ellison's "Don't Go in the House" ('79) starring Dan Grimaldi, "The Exterminator" is a grim tale about a Vietnam vet, John Eastland (played by Robert Ginty from "Coming Home", released 2 years before and also related to the Vietnam war), who works in a warehouse with his best friend, Michael Jefferson (Steve James from "American Ninja" fame), a tough soldier, but now a family man responsible for saving his life during the war. When a group of street thugs, "The Ghetto Ghouls" sadistically, paralyze Jefferson, Eastland becomes a vigilante, embarking on a mission to cleanse New York of all the criminals and perverts, but a quick witted veteran cop, Det. James Dalton (Christopher George, a notable character actor from classic westerns such as "El Dorado" and "Chisum", both starred by John Wayne) is given the mission to stop the activities of the unknown vigilante who calls himself "The Exterminator"...This movie became notorious back in the day for his gruesome scenes such as an explicit on-screen decapitation and the shot via poisoned bullets straight to the liver of a pervert, which resulted being cut in some countries and banned in others.Unfortunately, besides those infamous scenes the movie has very little to offer, it moves at a snail pace, the editing is kind of messy and the script is severely underdeveloped, consisting of ghastly vignettes in which Ginty is taking on the thugs who crippled his friend, then the Mob Boss, two repugnant pedophiles and more thugs that assaulted an old lady in Central Park (echoing Bronson in "Death Wish").In terms of performances, Ginty fares well in some scenes and looks terribly awkward in others, but he looks and feels like an average joe (besides his tall stature) and gives some credibility and realism to his vigilante, showing vulnerability and even some kind of humanism, instead of a machine type taking on criminals.Christopher George and the unnecessary love affair with the nurse played by Samantha Eggar (from David Cronenberg's "The Brood") which adds nothing to the main plot, both give satisfactory, yet routine performances.Steve James, in an early appearance on-screen, started to prove here that he deserved much more than the sidekick part which he went doing for his entire acting career until his way premature death at age 41 in '93.Even with its flaws, after all it's a low-budgeted Grindhouse flick, "The Exterminator" rules nowadays as a piece of nostalgia from the late 70's more realistic and depressing popular culture, showing the dark side of New York City (full of low lifes, street criminals, drug dealers, drug addicts, underage prostitution, disgusting pedophiles and slimy perverts), better (and cleverly) explored in the aforementioned "Joe" and "Taxi Driver", but not as gritty and explicit as Glickenhaus showed us here."The Exterminator" is a cult classic among the exploitation cinema and deserves to be respected for what it is, but like the other flicks from this genre it's not indicated for the general audience...

hodwatt-20518 The Exterminator tells the story of John Eastland, a former Vietnam war veteran whom goes on a vigilante killing spree after his best friend is viciously attacked by a group of thugs. Meanwhile, a detective, James Dalton tries to stop him.For the most part, this film is extremely dull. It draws itself out for far too long, and there is a subplot where the detective starts dating a nurse, which is completely unnecessary as it adds nothing to the plot. It's as if the director thought the film wasn't long enough so he tried to find excuses for it to be longer.While this film does have it's share of exciting scenes from time to time, it really doesn't have much else going for it. The acting isn't bad; not top notch, but acceptable. If you are after a good vigilante thriller, you could do worse than 'The Exterminator.' Then again, you could do a lot better too.

Scott LeBrun Writer / director James Glickenhaus's "The Exterminator" is fine exploitation entertainment, albeit on a purely visceral level. It doesn't exactly have the most coherent story, but the "Death Wish" style premise is easy enough to understand. Where it truly succeeds is in creating some memorably vicious and amazingly trashy moments. As a snapshot of the very seedy side of NYC at the time, it's aces. Some viewers will appreciate the combination of action, stunts, and sleaze; there's always another nasty surprise around the corner.Robert Ginty has the title role (otherwise known as John Eastland), a Vietnam veteran whose life is saved more than once by good friend Michael Jefferson (the charismatic Steve James, in a part you wish was bigger). Michael, unfortunately, is targeted by degenerate street punks back in NYC; he is mugged and paralyzed. John, knowing he owes his friend, tracks the punks down and gives them what they deserve. But he doesn't stop there. Incensed at the various kinds of crime in The City, he becomes a flamethrower wielding vigilante, soon pursued by amiable detective James Dalton (Christopher George).The entertainment value here, of course, lies in that vicarious pleasure we so often experience watching somebody, whether fictional or real, fight back against the criminal scum that try to make our lives miserable. Whether we're dealing with the punks, a loathsome "chicken pimp" (a creep who specializes in procuring boys for perverts, played by Tony Di Benedetto), or big shot mobsters such as Gino Pontivini (Dick Boccelli), the bad guys are so bad you wait eagerly to see them punished. The wildest scene has a guy fed into a meat grinder, although people also get set on fire and shot in the crotch with poisoned bullets. These moments are what make this such a trashy fun experience, although it does waste some time giving the detective character a love interest, a doctor played by Samantha Eggar. One good thing is that the movie literally begins with a bang, giving us a nightmarish Vietnam sequence that features what is one of the best cinematic decapitations of all time, thanks to Tom Burman and Stan Winston.George as always has an engaging presence, and Eggar is endearing as his new lady friend. Ginty does what he has to do well enough; buffs will note the presence of a number of character faces - David Lipman, Dennis Boutsikaris, George Cheung, Ned Eisenberg, Irwin Keyes, Lou David, Tom Everett - among the cast. Apparently Samuel L. Jackson was also an extra somewhere in here!Amazing aerial shots of NYC, excellent music by Joe Renzetti, and some poignant songs over the opening and ending credits also help.If you love other urban B pictures from this period (William Lustigs' "Vigilante" is another good one), then this one is pretty much mandatory viewing.Seven out of 10.