As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.
Session: Be Vigilant (Week 1)
Movie: The Exterminator (1980)
Directed by James Glickenhaus
Two guys form a fast friendship under fire in Vietnam. Their friendship continues after the war in New York, until one of them is beaten up and horribly wounded by a gang, and the other knows what he must do. Horror ensues.
Reaction and Other Folderol:
Considering the low budget this indie film had to work with, they did a really good job of making it feel like a "big" movie. The prologue in Vietnam had me thinking of First Blood, and then the aerial shots of Manhattan were very impressive.
Robert Ginty, starring as the exterminator, had a Larry Byrd kind of look to him. Or maybe he looked like the blonde guy from Air Supply...I never really figured which. His wooden demeanor could have dragged the whole production down, but somehow it didn't. He just seemed like a stoic.
There are a bunch of ways that the plot doesn't really make sense -- things that fall into place too easily without adequate explanation. But in a way that doesn't matter. Despite his monotone, Ginty does manage to sell the suspense. Will he actually burn that thug with the blowtorch? Will he really run that mobster through the meat grinder? I, as the viewer, was excited to find out. And, in the end, for a movie like this maybe that's all that matters.
The Exterminator is a fun movie in that mindless actiony kind of way, but ultimately it's a second rate copy of Death Wish, but with less focus.
Ratings
Me: 6.5
Bob-O: 9.8
Christina: 8.5
Dave: 9.7
Ethan: 8
Cats: Rats, but no cats
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