The Exterminator 1980 Film Review

The Exterminator 1980 (Rated R) 

There are so many vigilante/revenge films out there, that it is hard to find ones that surprise you. By all accounts, The Exterminator is an extremely paint by the numbers Vigilante film. At least that is what the film appears to be on the surface, while it delivers the kind of satisfying practical action fans will expect, it is also a bit tame on the action front, while the film is very violent, the action scenes are brief and lack a certain sense of impact, regardless of how over the top some of them appear. That being said, the action scenes are serviceable with a couple being far better than expected.

Robert Ginty carries the film as "The Exterminator" and does a surprisingly good job during the film's cheesy, but effective dramatic scenes. He handles the action convincingly and manages to make what could be a one-note character, somewhat deep, even with the bare bones script. Which is the films major issue, it tries to have a similar structure to Death Wish, while also trying to be an X Rated Punisher. 

The fault here is that outside of Ginty's lead, we are left with Christopher George as Dalton, a cop investigating the vigilante's killing spree. Now, this is not to say that Christopher's performance was bad, or that his character was uninteresting, on the contrary, he provided an excellent contrast to Ginty's Exterminator. The issue here is that outside of some great vigilante scenes, there is not much driving the plot outside seeking justice, and scenes which seem vital tend to go nowhere. The film sadly does drag quite a bit, for an hour and forty-two minute run time, the film felt too long mostly due to scenes which go nowhere. Pacing is the films biggest issue, it has great ideas, a solid cast and some impressive action for its time. However the story really never goes anywhere until the final twist. The last three minutes of the film manages to make up for the lack of any real plot, and if you're a fan of vigilante cinema then you won't really care about the plot too much. The film does jump around a few times, which can be slightly confusing making it hard to follow the first hour. Still, I was enthralled even when I felt the film was either slow or lacked sense, I was none the less interested in seeing where it went.

The film delivered just enough cathartic justice, to be worth the hour and forty I spent with it. I did find that the climax while satisfying from a story perspective, was lacking in action making it somewhat underwhelming. The finale does elevate the movie higher than just another killing spree. However, a vital scene which hints towards the big twist at the end, is so easy to miss that the ending may not make sense to some. If you are not a serious film fan, and one who loves the genre, then this will do nothing for you, as there are far better films with similar themes for the casual audience. Yet, for genre fans, this is a real treat, as it may be rough around its edges, it aims high enough and has enough balls, to be worth your time.