Grindhouse Weekly: ‘The Exterminator’ (1980)

1980’s The Exterminator is a nasty little revenge thriller from director James Glickenhaus that plays out like a poor man’s Taxi Driver or Rolling Thunder.  It’s doesn’t break new ground in the way of plot, or character development, or anything at all for that matter, but it’s still fun to watch a vigilante go around killing bad guys.  It’s dirty, violent, and a heck of a lot of fun.

The film stars Robert Ginty as John Eastland, a Vietnam vet who decides he’s had enough of the crime and corruption in New York after his buddy gets robbed and becomes paralyzed from the neck down.  Using his military training, John becomes The Exterminator, a flame thrower wielding badass who is cleaning up the city one body at a time.  

There are so many movies that tackle this same exact subject, and it’s tough to recommend this over something like Death Wish or Taxi Driver, but there’s still a lot of value to be had here. While Taxi Driver delves deeply into the personality of Travis Bickle and gave us a slow buildup to the extreme violence, The Exterminator opts for a more direct approach.  From the moment the film begins, with a scene in Vietnam involving a lot of death, explosions, and a beheading, we know what we’re in for.

It doesn’t pull any punches and goes to some very dark places.  Corrupt government officials, child rapists, gangs of racist hoodlums, no one is safe from The Exterminator.  Like most movies cut from this cloth, though the violence tends to be brutal and horrific, there’s a satisfying feeling after one witnesses said child rapist being shot with mercury injected bullets.

Since this was released in 1980, the overall tone and look of the film still has that 70s thriller vibe, however one can see glimpses of the elements that will later dominate 80s B movies, like the out of control punk rock gangs.  There was also a sequel released in 1984 that brought back Ginty as Eastland , however it wasn’t nearly as well received and has become difficult to find.

What really prevents The Exterminator from being in the upper echelon of revenge flicks, is Robert Ginty’s performance.  He’s just not as charismatic as De Niro or Bronson and his character feels fairly one-dimensional.  Though he does get a back story, the rest of the movie is so strangely cobbled together it’s difficult to really latch on to any of the characters.

That being said, this is still a solid, entertaining cult flick that revenge buffs like myself can easily enjoy.  It’s rough around the edges, but in a way that makes it more fun to watch.  Plus there’s a scene where someone gets lowered into a meat grinder.  So there’s that.