The Exterminator (1980)

A man's best friend is killed on the streets of New York City. The man (Robert Ginty) then transforms into a violent killer, turning New York City into a great war zone, and Christopher George is the only one to stop him.

Director:

James Glickenhaus

Writer:

James Glickenhaus

Stars:

Robert Ginty, Samantha Eggar, Christopher George

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christopher George	...	Detective James Dalton
Samantha Eggar	...	Dr. Megan Stewart
Robert Ginty	...	John Eastland
Steve James	...	Michael Jefferson
Tony DiBenedetto	...	Chicken Pimp (as Toni Di Benedetto)
Dick Boccelli	...	Gino Pontivini
Patrick Farrelly	...	CIA Agent Shaw
Michele Harrell	...	Maria Jefferson
David Lipman	...	The State Senator from New Jersey
Cindy Wilks	...	Candy
Dennis Boutsikaris	...	Frankie
Roger Grimsby	...	Himself
Judy Licht	...	Herself
Stan Getz	...	Himself
George Cheung	...	Vietcong Leader (as George Lee Cheung)

Storyline

When John Eastland's best friend, Michael Jefferson, is mugged and left permanently crippled, he decides to do something about it. Jefferson had saved Eastland's life in Vietnam and now it's time for Eastland to get revenge for his friend. Using his old Army gear he sets out on a crusade to clean up the streets of New York using the name "The Exterminator."

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Plot Keywords:

black hair | dying young | criminal | crime victim | vietnam war veteran | 

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Taglines:

If you're lying, I'll be back...

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 September 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Exterminator

Filming Locations:

Indian Dunes - 28700 Henry Mayo Drive, Valencia, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Interstar

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min (director's cut) 101 min (original uncut)

Sound Mix:

Stereo (Dolby Stereo)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kurt Russell based his character of Snake Plissken from Escape from New York (1981) on John "The Exterminator" Eastland (Robert Ginty).

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Goofs

At the very beginning, when Eastland's friend saves him from an imminent beheading, they fire on an enemy soldier standing at the water's edge. The man is blown backwards not by the impact of the bullet but from a clearly seen rigged see saw that throws him into the air.

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Quotes

John Eastland: You really are a sick motherfucker, you know that?

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Crazy Credits

"The producer" is credited as burping ghoul

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Alternate Versions

The norwegian release is cut in the opening scene with the beheading and when Michael Jefferson is violently attacked by the thugs.

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Connections

Referenced in Ash vs Evil Dead: The Killer of Killers (2015)

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Soundtracks

Kali Au
Written by Chuck Loeb
Performed by Stan Getz (as Stan Getz Ensemble)

User Reviews

A war veteran turns one-man vigilante when his friend is attacked and paralyzed by furious band formed by some ominous punks

Successful crime thriller of the 80s that went on the ¨Vigilante genre¨ which Bronson had created as Architect Paul Kersey turned avenger . Again an ordinary man become vigilante and taking the law into his own hands as judge , jury and executioner. This first entry with excessive violence concerns about John Eastland (Robert Ginty), a Vietnam vet and New York worker and become into relentless revenger . John turns the one-man vigilante when his friend (Steve James) is attacked by furious band formed by some heinous villains . His friend lives in N.Y. along with his wife and daughter and he is made a cripple and reduced to living vegetable. Eastland then stalks the slums of N.Y. and takes the law into his own hands , searching vengeance on crooks , hoodlums, sadistic muggers and pimps making the neighborhood safer and bumping off delinquents and street scum. Meanwhile a stubborn police inspector (Christopher George) is investigating the grisly events .

This first outing contains suspense , noisy action-packed, intrigue, thrills galore and lots of violence and gore , including obnoxious executions as nasty beheading -made by Stan Winston- and others. This disgusting story looks increasingly passionless and mechanical and violence seems to be considered excessive . Robert Ginty with his usual stoic acting displays efficiently his weapon , Magnum 44 , such as ¨Harry the Dirty¨ and killing mercilessly nasties . It's certainly thrilling , though the morality may be questionable , even in this time, as the spectators were clearly on the Ginty-Eastland side . Furthermore, appears a nice main and secondary cast , as Susanna York as a doctor , Christopher George as obstinate cop ,and Dennis Boutsikaris as heinous hoodlum in his film debut. It packs a screeching musical score composed, orchestrated by Joe Renzetti , including a wonderful and emotive final song that is the best item of the film . There's an unrated director's cut that runs some minutes more . This exciting motion picture is middlingly directed by James Glickenhaus . He's an expert on violent action movies as proved in ¨The protector¨, ¨Shakedown¨ and ¨The soldier¨ . Followed by another extremely violent and low-budgeted sequel to this successful 1980 movie , realized in 1984 by the same producer Mark Buntzman with Mario Van Peebles in his movie debut , Debora Geffner, Frankie Faison and of course Robert Ginty , replacing his Magnum by means of using a blowtorch against street scum.