cinema history class: vigilante (1982)

 

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Session: Be Vigilant (Week 4)
Movie: Vigilante (1982)
Directed by William Lustig

Plot:

After his son is killed by a vicious gang, mild-mannered Eddie Marino goes hunting dirtbags. Horror ensues.

Reaction and Other Folderol:

Vigilante had a more complex plot than the other vigilante movies that Keith showed us in the series. In addition to the main storyline (in which Marino's (played by Robert Forster)  son is killed and he seeks revenge), there are other vigilante plots.  The movie opens with a rooftop rape (and possible murder), which serves to introduce us to the vigilante gang led by the charismatic Nick (Fred Williamson). And there's the story about a low-level drug dealer and his chain of command leading to a powerful political figure.

But there's at least one way that too many subplots harmed the film. In one storyline, Marino goes to jail and develops an unexplained friendship with a muscly inmate named Rake, played by Woody Strode. Theis subplot serves little purpose, except maybe to show him getting hardened as part of his journey to vigilantism. But it is incomplete. There are four scenes:

• Starting his sentence, Marino is taken to his cell, and notices Rake half-asleep in his cell. Rake notices him.
• Marino is menaced by other inmates in a mess hall (or is it a lounge?). Rake shows up to protect him, and the encounter ends peacefully.
• Taking a shower, Marino is set upon by the same inmates who intend to rape or kill him. Again, Rake comes to his rescue, beating up his attackers.
• As Marino is preparing to leave jail, Rake gives him some sage advice.

The whole plotline feels like something was missing. What did Marino do to anger the other inmates? Why did Rake decide to look out for him. It seems that there must have been more to this story in the script. And maybe more was shot but inexplicably edited out. As it stands, this is just a puzzling sideshow. If, in fact, the purpose of this subplot was (as I speculated above) to explain Marino's hardening, it's really unnecessary.

I was also disappointed by the relative ease of the dirtbags' death. I wanted them to suffer. And in the case of the corrupt judge, I wanted him to know that doom was approaching. His quick death in an explosion was too merciful.

On the positive side, the home invasion and child-killing that led to Marino's ...adventure... was probably the most horrific and saddening of the attacks we saw in the session. And it was probably one of the saddest moments in the ten year of the class.

Ratings

Me: 7.5

Bob-O: 9.4

Christina: 8.2

Dave: 9.5

Ethan: 8

Joe: 5