Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		2.5
Audio		2.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.5

The Exterminator Blu-ray Movie Review

Another cult classic Vigilante film arrives on Blu-ray with fair results.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 13, 2011

I have been a witness to the spilling of the blood.

Sure, revenge is a dish best served cold...unless The Exterminator is in town. He's more likely to serve it up with a bit more kick. Flamethrower used as a tool to secure information from a petty con? Oh yes indeed. Barbecuing a scumbag behind a child prostitution ring? That dude's served up extra crispy by the time the police arrive. But The Exterminator's got other skills, too. This Vietnam vet is handy with an M-16, is capable of mincing up a corrupt mobster, skilled at adding poison to his bullets, and proves time and again to be ready, willing, and able to take out New York's trash. As one might rightfully surmise, Director James Glickenhaus's The Exterminator doesn't bring anything new to the Vigilante genre. It's a modestly built but mostly entertaining ride through the city's seediest locales and a blunt and brutal look at the sort of street justice that promises to restore law, order, and decency to a decaying cesspool and to an exponentially greater degree than any cozy courtroom or well-furnished jailhouse ever could. This is the sort of movie built to be little more than drive-in fodder; it sometimes struggles to maintain even a semblance of cinematic spit and polish, but the run-down, beat-up, almost cheap look and feel do in a roundabout way add to the movie's effectiveness as a dirty workhorse that strives only to show bad people killed in some of the worst ways imaginable.

Lock 'n' load.

Friends John Eastland (Robert Ginty) and Michael Jefferson (Steve James) barely escaped the deadly jungles of Vietnam, but their return home to the hellish New York will mark the beginning of their true trials and begin a time of great suffering. They work hard to make an honest buck, but get by more on the strength of their friendship than the money in their pockets. Their bond is threatened when a group of thugs violently attack Michael in response to a daylight robbery the friends broke up at work. Now, Michael is paralyzed, and John wants justice. He takes matters into his own hands, torturing a gang member and gaining vital intel that leads him through a successful retaliatory raid. But he's not content to stop there. John, who is quickly dubbed "The Exterminator" and grows into a media sensation, tackles mafia corruption and sordid prostitution rings around the city. Unfortunately, his vigilante justice becomes the subject of a massive police hunt led by the relentless detective James Dalton (Christopher George). Acting for yet also against the law and his killings targeted by the feds as potentially linked to terror, John must choose to continue fighting the good fight or give up what he's become and save himself from an uncertain future.

A prime example of the post-Vietnam era Vigilante film, The Exterminator successfully captures the personal trials and the social challenges that faced many returning vets. In this case, they're removed from the deadly jungles of Vietnam and plunked back into the nightmare reality of their own backyard: New York City. The Exterminator expertly captures the city's physical decay and the moral decline that's seen it become one of the seediest and deadliest places on the planet. New York itself is as much of a character -- and in many ways an enemy -- as any human being in the film; it's the place the good, the bad, and the indifferent all call home, and its many temptations and corruptions are the driving forces behind the plot. The film's greatest success is its ability to depict an overwhelming, often nauseating, sense of depravity and despair. One can't help but almost immediately understand the movie -- the motives of those working on both extremes of the law -- simply by bearing witness to the emotionally hostile and spiritually challenging world in which the action takes place. Many films of this era demonstrate great command in showcasing the seedy underbelly of New York, but few prove as critically instrumental to the plot and one's grasp of the picture as The Exterminator.

Then there's the film's action, which is relatively slow but dotted by extremely grotesque depictions of hardcore violence. The pace isn't so much a fault of the story, but rather the extremely choppy editing that often sucks much of the life straight out of the picture. There's a disconnect in many scenes as the film struggles to maintain not its linearity but its cohesiveness; it's almost as if the editing -- both visual and sound -- was an afterthought, and the movie goes to show just how critically important editing is to a finished product. On that note, The Exterminator shows its limitations throughout; the picture gels but never feels complete. That's not a death sentence for it, however, as the shaky superstructure seems to give the movie more of a rough and tumble realistic vibe that plays nicely with the harsh visuals and edgy characters that make up the bulk of the motion picture, yet the editing is so bad in places that nothing good can be said to come of it. The same may be said for the acting; it leaves much to be desired from top to bottom, but the cast nevertheless seems well-chosen and the resultant performances appropriately gritty.

The Exterminator Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Exterminator features a steady but far from pristine 1080p, 1.78:1-framed transfer. The image is fairly smooth and looks a bit washed out. Fine detail is limited; while the image enjoys a stability in high definition that's not available otherwise, the flat texture and frequent soft edges eliminate many of the clothing and facial details, leaving behind a dull and uninspired image instead. Colors, too, lack vibrancy, instead appearing faded and bland but not to an absolutely adverse extent. Detail and color never really come together; while one might improve in a scene, the other invariably falls behind. Black crush isn't much of an issue, but severe noise gives darker scenes a messy appearance. Banding and blocky backgrounds aren't common but are present. This is a serviceable transfer, and not at all bad for a relatively obscure picture being handled by a cult studio just now getting into releasing titles on Blu-ray.

The Exterminator Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Exterminator rolls onto Blu-ray with a pair of audio tracks, a "restored" DTS-HD MA 2.0 presentation alongside a monaural 1.0 DTS-HD MA option. Frankly, the latter is the slight winner amongst the two. The restored track is incredibly shallow. There's absolutely no punch, depth, or realism to it. Dialogue is replayed at a significantly low level; even cranked all the way up to reference levels isn't enough to even it out. Music, however, enjoys a touch more energy, even though there's an obvious scratchy and harsh edge to it. Spacing across the front is the track's strong suit. However, the various action scenes -- particularly the opening sequence in Vietnam -- is just lessened by the absence of vigor. Switching over the mono track yields slightly more balanced dialogue. Clarity improves slightly as well. Neither track is all that satisfying; nevertheless, the end result is at least acceptable and not quite a deal breaker.

The Exterminator Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Exterminator debuts on Blu-ray with a rather skimpy assortment of extras. The only real meaty offering is an audio commentary track with the film's writer/director.

• Audio Commentary: Writer/Director James Glickenhaus and Blogger Chris Poggiali discuss all things The Exterminator, including the picture's budget, the gritty reality of early 1980s New York, the picture's tone, its rating, the soundtrack, the work of the cast, and more. This is a relaxed and well-spoken commentary. The two participants enjoy a good chemistry and do a fine job of communicating their thoughts on the picture. A must-listen for fans.
• Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 1:24).
• Television Spots (1080p, 3:11).
• DVD Copy.

The Exterminator Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Exterminator is a decent entry into the hardcore Vigilante sub-genre. Its best asset is the magnificent way it captures the grimy New York of decades past, making the run-down streets and dead-end world a living nightmare in which the action takes place. The performances are iffy and the editing is in major need of help, but The Exterminator is nevertheless a quality picture within its genre, a resonating and oftentimes powerful experience about the prices of justice and freedom. Synapse's Blu-ray release of The Exterminator features mediocre video, subpar audio, and one supplement of value. Definitely worth a rental, but fans should feel comfortable making a purchase at a low price point considering that this is likely to be the one and only Blu-ray release of The Exterminator for some time.