The Exterminator (1980)

 


(All screen captures are the property of Interstar Pictures)


The Exterminator

Release Date: September 10, 1980

Written & Directed by James Glickenhaus

Producer: Mark Buntzman

Starring: Robert Ginty, Christopher George, Steve James, & Samantha Eggar

IMDb Rating: 5.7/10

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: Critic – 38%, Audience – 40%


Notes: August is the Dog Days of Summer month here at MovieMania. I'm covering movies that Siskel & Ebert once deemed as dogs. The first one is a movie they called a rip-off of Death Wish. They also said it was an example of the descent into gruesome savagery. It's The Exterminator. It stars Robert Ginty (The Paper Chase and Warrior of the Lost World) and Steve James (I'm Gonna Git You Sucka and American Ninja). It also includes Christopher George (El Dorado and Midway) and Samantha Eggar (The Phantom and The Astronaut's Wife). James Glickenhaus wrote and directed this movie. He also wrote such great films as McBain. (I'm talking about the Christopher Walken movie, not the Simpsons joke.)

I have a few interesting notes before I begin. Samuel L. Jackson is an uncredited extra in this movie. I wasn't able to find him. Also, IMDb claims Kurt Russell based Snake Plisskin off of Robert Ginty's character. (Is there evidence of Kurt saying this?) Next, I should mention I watched the unrated director's cut of the film. If you've seen it, I might mention scenes you didn't witness. I don't know the differences. This is the only version I saw. After watching it, I understand Siskel & Ebert's comments. It was brutal at times. (I mean that in more ways than one.)



The movie opens in Vietnam. Explosions send bodies flying through the air. We see our two main characters John Eastland (Robert Ginty) and Michael Jefferson (Steve James). Michael finds John wounded and sets off a flare. But, the Viet Cong surrounds and captures them. They torture them for information and decapitate one of their men. The machete goes through his neck like it was made of butter. Michael breaks free and grabs a gun. He goes full Rambo on the Viet Cong and escapes with John. A helicopter rescues them. John opens his shirt to reveal his flak jacket saved him. (They misspelled it as flack jacket. I hope they got—flack for that. Thank you! I'll be here all week!)

Next, they treat us to a long opening credits sequence. We hear the entirety of a folk song about PTSD while flying over New York City. (I swear Law & Order used some of these exact shots for their credits.) Then, we arrive in the present day. John and Michael have jobs at a distribution warehouse. Two of the least-intimidating mobsters collect protection money from their boss. One looks like Ron Jeremy's bald cousin. Michael sees them, but he goes about his business. He convinces John to put away some boxes for him. He'll buy him drinks later for it. John agrees, but he runs into some thieves stealing cases of beer. They load them into an orange muscle car marked with the words The Ghetto Ghouls. They jump John, but Michael arrives. The Ghouls throw around the n-word. That was a mistake. Michael and John beat them up.



Later, John and Michael chill on a rooftop and feed some pigeons. John wants to get drinks, but Michael has to see his kids off to school first. (Wait, is it morning? Isn't it a bit early to drink?) We meet Michael's wife Maria (Michele Harrell). He says goodbye to his kids and leaves. However, The Ghetto Ghouls jump Michael in an alley. They snap his neck and stab him in the back with a gardening tool. The movie then cuts to John meeting Maria in a park. He tells her about Michael's mugging. The doctors say he is paralyzed for life. They checked him into the hospital and diagnosed him without contacting his wife. She finds out about it afterward.



The movie jumps again! Now, John has one of the Ghetto Ghouls (Ned Eisenberg) tied up in an abandoned building. This thug looks like a junkie Seth Green. John intimidates him with a flamethrower until he gives up the location of the Ghouls' hideout. John heads there with a machine gun. He finds the Ghouls having a disco party with prostitutes. One of the Ghouls is Irwin Keyes. (You may not recognize the name, but you'd know his face. He played goons and thugs in numerous films. He was also on The Jeffersons.) John bursts into the room and tells the ladies to leave. Then, he threatens the Ghouls. They make the mistake of calling Michael the n-word. John shoots them while having Nam flashbacks. He leaves their bodies in the basement, where rats eat them.

The police arrive, including Detective James Dalton (Christopher George). The grisly scene makes some of them puke. But, they're not torn up about the deaths. It's only the Ghetto Ghouls. They crack some jokes about it.



Next, the movie introduces us to the crime boss of the meat mafia. (Yes, I'm serious.) His name is Gino Pontivini (Dick Boccelli). The non-intimidating mobsters from earlier work for him. He controls the meat prices in New York City. Gino sits at the breakfast table with his lady friend. He bemoans the quality of newspaper comics. (I bet he's a Garfield fan. You need good meat for lasagna.) Gino's associate arrives, so Gino sends his lady away from the table. They discuss the rising meat prices. The associate warns him not to get greedy. It isn't the old days. Gino agrees. In the old days, you could at least understand the comics! Now, it's all cosmic ducks and star shit.

Meanwhile, Dalton wants info about the killings. He finds one of the prostitutes from the disco party. He arrests her and puts her in a secluded cell. Dalton doesn't do much. Being locked up scares her enough. She comes clean when he finds drug paraphernalia in her purse. We don't see her give any information. The movie cuts away because a squirrel with ADHD edited this film!

Back at the hospital, John confesses to Michael about what he did. John promises to get money for Maria and the kids. He knows a way! Then, they cut back to Gino. He trains his attack dog before heading to dinner. (This is a Chekhov's dog situation. We will see that dog again.) Gino goes to a steakhouse with his lady and his goons. He cracks jokes about taking a crap and heads to the bathroom. A bodyguard checks it first and finds it clear. But, John is in the john! Gino didn't expect John to hide in the trash can. He emerges and knocks out Gino with a syringe. Then, John pulls him out of the window.



Gino wakes in a meat-packing plant. He's hanging from the ceiling by a chain. John wheels a large meat-grinder underneath him. He tells Gino he wants the money his mob stole out of their pockets. Gino offers him between fifty and sixty thousand dollars. That isn't good enough. John wants his address and the combination to the safe. He also asks about guards and security. Gino tells him about everything, except for the dog. John warns him he will grind him into hamburger meat if he left out any information. He then goes to the house. But, he alerts the dog when he bumps into a water bowl. It attacks him, so John kills the dog with an electric knife. (Boo!) We don't see if he gets the money because this movie hates giving too much info. John returns to Gino and lowers him into the grinder. Gino screams as they show ground beef pour out the other end.

Next, Dalton heads to the hospital. He enters the room of one of John's victims. They don't say who it is. I'm guessing it's not Gino. Dalton feigns interest in the suspect. His true intent is to speak with the female doctor, Megan Stewart (Samantha Eggar). He invites her on a romantic picnic in the park. She agrees. They make small talk while the camera flies over the scene. Some sappy romantic music plays.

The movie follows that scene with something completely different. A character called the Chicken Pimp (Tony DiBenedetto) searches the street for a prostitute. He finds one and takes her back to his brothel. He informs her they deal in young boys. She says she doesn't cater to chicken hawks. (I guess that's their nickname for pedophiles.) The Chicken Pimp says his client wants her to—NO! NO!! I refuse to write that in this review! Shame on you, movie! (This is getting a bit too dark.) We see the client (David Lipman). He looks like a discount Danny DeVito. He's mad she won't grant his request. The Chicken Pimp and NOT Danny tie her to the bed and burn her with a soldering iron. (This scene felt pointless at first. But, it comes into play later.)

Meanwhile, they cut to a news broadcast. Famous New York newscaster Roger Grimsby plays himself in this film. He presents a breaking news story about Gino Pontivini's murder. He says they found Gino's ground-beef remains in the warehouse. (Pontivini's hamburger patties are people! PEOPLE!!) Roger also says they received a letter from the killer. He calls himself The Exterminator. He promises to make the streets safer.



The news broadcast worries the CIA. We see the chief (Louis Edmonds) and Agent Shaw (Patrick Farrelly) in their office. They think The Exterminator is a ploy to make the incumbent president look weak in regards to crime. It's an election year. Chief suggests they do something about him, but a trial would draw too much attention. They need to deal with him, but they want the New York City police to cooperate.

Back on the streets, John takes a stroll. The prostitute from the chicken house approaches him for sex. He's reluctant but decides to give it a try. They check into a motel. The front desk clerk tries way too hard to ACT! He uses a ridiculous fake New York accent. He also has a strange obsession with sheets. They go to a room, but John sees her burns. He asks her what happened. She tells him the story. He comforts her by awkwardly touching her face.



John returns home and makes hollow-point bullets. He fills them with mercury. Then, he heads to the chicken house. He gets in by pretending to be a human trafficker. Once inside, he decides to make some fried chicken. He ties the Chicken Pimp to a bed and sets him on fire. NOT Danny DeVito sees this and hides in his room. John kicks open the door and finds a young man tied to the bed. He shoots NOT Danny in the junk. John then frees the frightened young man.

Later, Dalton arrives to the crime scene. He has an uncomfortably long conversation with a reporter in front of a wall of dick pics. We learn the pervert was a New Jersey senator.



Dalton returns to the station. They tell him the CIA wants to talk. Dalton is more interested in having a nice hot dog. However, he cooks it in the most unconventional way. Dalton connects it to the end of two forks and runs electricity through them. (I'll give him points for originality.) Dr. Megan then calls him. He tells her he has a lead on The Exterminator. They found a boot print. He's checking it against military records. This is because of the information he got from the disco prostitute. She told him The Exterminator used a military machine gun. (Why is he giving his girlfriend all this info? That's shoddy police work.) Megan wants to hear more, so she invites Dalton to a jazz concert. They go, but Megan's talkative friend interrupts their date. The friend offers Dalton a joint because she doesn't believe he's a cop. (I don't blame her.) During the date, we learn Dalton also served in Nam.

Later that night, junkie Seth Green is back on the prowl. He and the remaining Ghetto Ghouls mug an old woman. John chases them after stealing a man's motorcycle. He shoots NOT Seth Green, which sends him flying over the car. He chases the other ghouls, but John crashes the bike. He's hurt, so the ghouls try to run him down. But, John shoots the driver. The car goes off the side of a bridge like a scene from Vanilla Sky. Needless to say, the car explodes.

Dalton investigates the crash. Agent Shaw appears at the scene. He tells Dalton the CIA's conspiracy theories about The Exterminator. Dalton replies, “It sounds like you need to take a shit. But, it's coming out of your mouth instead of your asshole.” (I laughed at that line.) Then, Dalton ignores Shaw and calls Dr. Megan. She's working, but she invites him for some fun in the on-call room.



While Dalton and Megan get frisky, John visits Michael in the hospital. Both rooms are down the hall from each other. (What a coincidence!) John tells Michael he gave Maria the money. Michael can't speak, but John somehow realizes he wants him to pull the plug. He says he will do it if Michael blinks twice. He does, so John both pulls the plug and cuts it with a knife. An alarm sounds while John casually strolls down the hallway. He passes a half-dressed Dalton and tells him his fly is open. Dalton zips his pants while John enters the elevator. It takes Dalton a moment, but he puts two and two together. He realizes John came from Michael's room. That was The Exterminator and he missed his chance.

Dalton returns to the station. He tells his team to check their boot list against men from the 144th ranger battalion. John's name is on the list. Dalton has his guy, so he suits up for battle. He fetches his old army weapons from a footlocker. Meanwhile, John goes to Maria's apartment. He tells her Michael is dead.

They raid John's apartment, but he isn't there. When John returns, he spots the police surrounding his building. He heads for a payphone and calls his apartment. Dalton sits down on John's couch and reads a copy of The Anarchist Cookbook. (Why am I not surprised John has that as a coffee table book?) The phone rings, so Dalton answers it. John tells him to meet at the Brooklyn navy yard. He has to come alone at 3 AM or John will kill him. The CIA attempts to trace the call, but it's too short.



They meet on a ship. John fires a warning shot. He says he wanted to scare Dalton. That's all it was ever about. John then surrenders and hands over his gun. However, a CIA sniper shoots Dalton. They duck behind the wall. Dalton tells John to run. He's reluctant, but Dalton makes him leave. John stands, so the sniper shoots him too. John falls off the boat and into the water. Dalton tries shooting the sniper, but the CIA finishes the job. They kill Dalton and blow up his car. You can hear the sniper say Washington will be pleased.



Wait, it isn't over! John is alive! He crawls out of the river. We see that John wore his flak jacket. (Oh, excuse me. I meant flack jacket.) The camera pans out and the movie ends with another folk song.

Positives:

A few of the kills were unique. I especially liked the meat grinder. Also, there were some good one-liners. Most of those came from Dalton. The movie also had some good set pieces and camera work. The pieces for a good movie were there. It's the execution that ruined that.

Negatives:

The editing hurt this film. I provided details, but I had to discover most of them on my own. The movie did a terrible job explaining things. It felt like scenes were missing. They rushed the story. Many of the characters were never named on-screen. I got the names from IMDb. Most of the performances ranged from wooden (Ginty) to over-the-top (the motel clerk). Christopher George is the only one who had fun with the material. He was a highlight. In the hands of a more competent filmmaker, this might have been a good movie. It's a tale of wasted potential.

MVP of the Movie:

It goes without saying, but I'm giving it to Dalton (Christopher George). He didn't take it too seriously. You could tell he had fun with it. I looked forward to his scenes.

Thank you for reading. My next review will be Frankenstein Island. Look for it in two weeks.

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