Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

GazerRise Fantastic!

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

imbluzclooby Some movies earn their reputation on 'Shock-Value' alone. After reading other reviews it seems there is a fairly broad range of tastes and cultural sophistication among the reviewers that range from sadistically deranged to seemingly emotionally balanced.I vaguely remember this movie when it was released. I was 12 and I don't recall anyone talking about it. So I suppose it was box-office flop. Outside of its shocking violence the movie is about as uninspiring, cheesy, clumsy and repugnant as one could find. Honestly, the production values are as cut-rate as one would find in an average porn film. The Exterminator shamelessly rips off the Vigilante tale, undoubtedly, from Death Wish, a better movie. But it doesn't even have the quality acting, believable script or production values of Death Wish. It is simply a moronic tale of an urban nobody who avenges the death of his friend. Then inexplicably, without any noticeable character development, emotional range or dramatic arc, the lead actor, Robert Ginty, goes on a maniacal rampage to become a homicidal maniac who exceeds the carnage of the thugs he chooses to target. There are several torture scenes that are not only implausible in nature and nuance, but seem to just grade against the monotone plot. There are a series of slow plot developments that occur only through coincidence that are punctuated by brutal torture and offings. A couple of the acts committed by the protagonist are so hideous that they are actually more heinous than any deed committed by the thugs or creeps depicted in the film. I'm not sure if this was intentional or not, because the movie is not sophisticated enough to distinguish due justice or a senseless rampage. The only hope for this movie's theme is if we engage in the idea that violence begets violence and its bloody consequences. But the film doesn't even achieve that level of social consciousness. And therefore is nothing more than gratuitous and cinematic crud. It just plays out like a messy series of sketches that illustrate some Right-wing fantasy of ridding criminals. I guess this film was hoping to bank on the American public's cry for justice during a time when America was plagued with urban blight during the Carter administration and its ineffective and lenient judicial system.Typically, the movie is also a timepiece of its own era (Late 70's and early 80's) with laughably bad hairstyles. The acting is pretty bad in parts. Christopher George, as the lead detective, is too incompetent and lethargic as a worthy nemesis to the vigilante villain. Robert Ginty is strangely bland and he's an odd choice for an anti-hero. He just seems very unfit and unconvincing in this kind of role. The thugs, perpetrators, pedophiles and mobsters in the milieu are about as menacing as an elementary school faculty. Characters are so hopelessly unbelievable in acting and presence that I'm certain they were paid very low salaries. This production also has a considerable amount of one-time actors where this was their only big-screen gig. After watching this abominable piece of celluloid it comes to no surprise. The problems with this movie are so abundant that to bother mentioning all of them would take too much space. The opening and closing ballad is also execrable.

John-Jude The Exterminator is a borderline video nasty from the 80s heyday of the genre.Cheap looking in parts though overall shot with a higher budget than usual for this type of fare-I have to admit I was kinda rooting for Ginty's trigger happy anti-hero.Unfortunately he is given little in terms of character development but shows a good way with a one liner and handles the few sensitive moments well(surely he deserved better than ending his career on Baywatch Nights!).But it's the graphic violence that is the film's selling point-sometimes nasty other times a bit laughable.Villains are straight from central casting though manage to be unpleasant nonetheless.Movie takes an unexpected dark turn with a sequence involving a vice den-which will leave you feeling like you need a shower.I enjoyed it-with reservations.The makers of the Jason Bourne trilogy were certainly paying attention to the ending-I'l say no more than that!

Comeuppance Reviews Best friends John Eastland (Ginty) and Michael Jefferson (James) survived the horrors of the Vietnam war together. Michael even saved John's life. After the war, both men work at a packing plant in New York City's South Bronx. One day, Michael is assaulted and put in the hospital by a gang called The Ghetto Ghouls. Eastland then begins his quest for revenge in the seediest parts of the city - and in his attempt to clean up the streets he becomes vigilante hero The Exterminator. Everyone from street punks to child molesters to upper-class mobsters become the target of The Exterminator's retribution. He becomes so effective, he attracts the attention of Detective James Dalton (George), a man who wants to find and stop him. Even the CIA is interested in stopping Eastland. Will they catch him - or will Eastland live to flamethrow another day? Yes! We here at Comeuppance Reviews HQ LOVE The Exterminator. As you can tell from the name of our site, we have a special fondness for revenge movies, and they don't come much better than this. Movies of this type, from this place and time have a special fascination, and The Exterminator does not disappoint one iota. Everything from its killer opening set in Vietnam all the way through to the end, this movie delivers the goods in spades.James Glickenhaus is a quality filmmaker, and we're fans of his work. We also recommend The Soldier (1982) and Shakedown (1988), but this is the money movie. There's more sensitivity and intelligence behind The Exterminator than most people give it credit for. There are subtle comments about Vietnam vets and their treatment once they came home, and the shoddy Jimmy Carter presidency if you care to look for them. Plotwise there is plenty of subtext and parallels - all of which add to the texture and interest of this fine film. It's rare that a movie can entertain and please an audience on an intellectual and a visceral level. But The Exterminator achieves this rare feat. While the movie does have elements from Taxi Driver (1976) and Death Wish (1974), Glickenhaus brings this style into the gritty 80's, with fantastic results. According to the DVD commentary, he shuts down critics that wrote off this movie as a Death Wish knockoff by saying he didn't see Death Wish before filming. Glickenhaus has plenty of other interesting comments, such as when he says that Joseph Bottoms, brother of Timothy, almost played Eastland, or when he says he imagines First Blood (1982) as the ideal continuation of the Eastland story, not so much Exterminator 2 (1984).Speaking of the DVD, Synapse knocks it out of the park with its excellent DVD/Blu-Ray combo pack. While I'd seen the film before on VHS, it was like I was watching it for the first time here. It looks amazing and you have to go on Amazon and buy this right now.Being fans of stunts and stuntmen, we appreciated how in the end credits, it showed specifically which stuntman did what stunt. You don't see that very often. As for the more recognizable stars, it's great to see two fan favorites, Robert Ginty and Steve James together. They have great chemistry and really seem like friends. The Christopher George-Samantha Eggar plot is interesting because it slyly implies that Dalton is not exactly rushing to stop Eastland, he's doing it rather leisurely because he secretly approves of what he's doing, but he has to keep up appearances. There's actually a lot of sly moments, such as the use of the song "Disco Inferno" by the Trammps, among others. Anyone who watches Law & Order will recognize Dennis Boutsikaris and Ned Eisenberg who often play lawyers, as well as David Lipman, who often plays a judge on the show.In the 42nd street scenes you can see the famous Lyric theater, where Glickenhaus says The Exterminator played to sold-out houses for 24 hours at a stretch. The Lyric is also featured in Shakedown, where the movie marquee is showing The Soldier, and The Exterminator. So Glickenhaus has some history there. We love seeing 42nd street and the movie marquees of the time, and you can see theaters playing Beyond The Door, Cauldron Of Death, and the O.J. Simpson vehicle Firepower. It truly was a time when O.J. Simpson was simply a athlete/actor, and the World Trade Center was still standing in all its glory. There's a gigantic nostalgia factor at work here, and it just shows we need The Exterminator now more than ever.The Exterminator simply rocks and is a must-see. Go Eastland!

TSMChicago A cold, cruel and cynical tale of revenge and vigilantism from writer/director James Glickenhaus. John Eastland (Robert Ginty) becomes judge and executioner after his army friend is gravely wounded by thugs. The uncut DVD version from Anchor Bay also stars Christopher George, Dennis Boutsikaris and Samantha Eggar. Yes, that's sax man Stan Getz making an appearance at a concert in Battery Park.I saw The Exterminator in the theater when it was first released in 1980 and, at age 22, it was the only movie that ever made me feel physically ill. Ginty's encounter with the chicken pimp and the state senator is as grim as any execution scene put on film even though it is not the most graphic. Director Glickenhaus skillfully creates a raw and realistic rage with documentary-style camera work and lighting as Ginty methodically and brutally dispenses his brand of justice.The graphic pre-credit Vietnam sequence was filmed at Indian Dunes Park; the same location as the tragic scene from Twilight Zone where Vic Morrow and two children were killed.