The Exterminator is writer/director James Glickenhaus best film that falls somewhere between Death Wish and First Blood with nods to Taxi Driver. This grindhouse action classic pulls no punches on tackling this material, set in the mean streets of NYC circa 1979/1980(a truly dangerous place during that period). After an altercation with local street gang leaves his best buddy from Nam in the hospital John Eastland (Robert Ginty) takes to the streets to fight his one man war on crime. Robert Ginty was up for the task as The Exterminator and is unrelentless and unrepenting in his methods and efforts to remove the scum of the Earth, from putting a mobster in a meatgrinder, setting a chicken hawk pimp on fire, shooting a pervert child rapist with explosive tipped bullets and leaving members of The Ghetto Ghouls for dead to have their faces gnawed off by rats. This is all set in 1980 NYC as a backdrop, that is bleak, depressing and gritty in style and approach. The Exterminator is very violent, but very well paced and well made low budget action flick that follows in the footsteps of Death Wish and Rolling Thunder and is 100 percent recommended to fans of the aforementioned films. Christopher George makes a memorable appearance as a cop that is investigating The Exterminator. Overall, The Exterminator is great vigilante action. Awesome, my kind of movie!

A vigilante is walking the streets of New York, dispatching villains using various methods. Can cop Christopher George find the exterminator? Well, only if he can stop romancing that doctor for five minutes, which he doesn't. This gritty, violent slice of eighties goodness is well worth tracking down. I remember the posters from back when I was a kid. Where else can you see a mobster getting fed into an industrial mincer, a nonce getting covered in petrol and torched, and a truly jaw dropping decapitation?It helps greatly that Mr movie gold, Christopher George (from Grizzly, City of the Living Dead, Pieces and Enter the Ninja) and Robert Ginty (from Whitefire and Codename: Vengeance) are both excellent here, and both sadly no longer with us either. Sigh.

This filmed caused a stir when released in the cinemas back in 1980. A raw vigilante film, a more hard edged Death Wish.It starts out in Vietnam with high production values with explosions and a bizarre decapitation scene. Then we go to late 70s/early 80s New York City, where gangsters and muggers are in every corner, it was a surprise The Warriors did not make a guest appearance.Robery Ginty playing the mild mannered Eastland who turns to vengeance when his black army buddy gets attacked by a gang is a world away from John Rambo and Charles Bronson looking more like an ordinary Joe with his heart in the right place.We have scenes where he injures, kills and maim the bad guy in all sort of nasty ways including a gangster getting a giant meat grinder treatment.In the middle of all this is a cop on his trail if only he was not too busy romancing a local doctor. For some strange reason the CIA also turn up.NYC is a mean, seedy place. As well as cut throat gangs we have nasty politicians sodomising and torturing kids, prostitutes, it was a wonder that tourists were turning up in droves.Its a low budget exploitation picture but although it might have had a reputation of being a video nasty three decades ago, its rather tame and comic book. It has rather decent product values and good acting from the main leads. I wonder if the cop and doctor get married!

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.