THE EXTERMINATOR (1980)http://imdb.com/title/tt0080707/*spoilers*
This exploitation favorite opens with a bang right in the middle of a burning jungle in Vietnam. A trio of GI’s including our hero John Eastland (Robert Ginty) and his best pal Michael Jefferson are taken prisoner by the Vietcong, who proceed to tie them up and interrogate them. One of the unlucky soldiers is decapitated before Jefferson can get free and proceed to blow the shit out of everybody in a merciless slow motion bloodbath. John and Mike manage to fight their way to a helicopter, which carries them both to safety.
We then flash forward about a dozen years or so and find the two vets working together in the same NYC warehouse. John discovers a pack of street thugs stealing beer one afternoon and a violent confrontation ensues. Mike shows up and the two pals manage to run the punks off. This leads to a retaliatory beat down and flesh ripping attack that leaves Mike in a hospital bed, paralyzed for life. John uses his trusty flamethrower to get information and quickly tracks down the punks that crippled his friend. After a dramatic confrontation that includes the classic line
“That nigger was my best friend, you motherfucker!” John fills the scumbags full of lead and leaves one of them still alive to have his face eaten off by rats!
Not content to stop there, John soon unleashes an onslaught of violent fury against the entire NYC underworld. No pimp, pervert, or pusher is safe. “The Exterminator” is best known for his trademark flamethrower, but he also takes the time to make his own homemade mercury filled bullets, and really knows his way around an industrial meat grinder too! I always get a chuckle out of seeing a fully clothed mafioso going into the meat grinder and nothing but fresh ground hamburger coming out of it! No pesky clothing or shoe pieces to worry about!
The late great Christopher George (Pieces, Enter The Ninja) plays the hard boiled cop trying to track down the exterminator down. Chris takes up a lot of the running time slowly investigating the case, cooking hotdogs, and romancing his doctor-girlfriend, played by Samantha Eggar (The Brood). The scenes with these two are pretty much worthless. The vigilante quickly becomes a hero to the public but is considered a dangerous menace by the mayor, who fears more for his re-election attempt than he does the publics safety. As the body count rises John also becomes a target for the C.I.A., who consider him to be a threat to national security.
The legendary James Glickenhaus wrote and directed this classic exploitation flick which is chock full of nasty violence and SLEAZE including child prostitution, sex slaves, torture, mutilation, and disfigurement! The perverted sequences featuring the “chicken shack” are unreal. It makes you wonder where in the hell this stuff was filmed! There’s an especially gory decapitation during the violent opening sequence that ranks as one of the best I’ve ever seen. Not realistic by any means, but exceptionally cool looking! This flick is a little uneven in terms of pacing, but more than makes up for it with grit and grue.
Like any exploitation flick, this has to be seen in all of its full uncut glory to be appreciated. When the more extreme moments of splatter are scissored there’s not a lot left here to be enjoyed. This film was heavily edited to earn an “R” rating. Tango Entertainment recently released the digitally remastered unrated director’s cut on dvd. That’s the only version worth seeing. Fans of violent genre flicks influenced by “Death Wish” and “Taxi Driver” will eat this up. Like all Glickenhaus productions, this flick was marketed for hardcore action and horror fans, and the image of The Exterminator with his flamethrower has become iconic. The film itself never really lives up to the promise of the vhs cover art, but they don't call them exploitation flicks for nothing.
Check out the trailer!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjcW7PAyObw
