1980: "The Exterminator"

                                    The Exterminator is a low-budget vigilante/revenge film that was a part of a late 70's/early 80's trend in the wake of Death Wish (which became a controversial success due to the rising crime rate in America at the time). It stars Robert Ginty as the eponymous Exterminator, a disgruntled Vietnam veteran who goes on a vigilante crime spree against all sorts of rotten eggs after his best friend is paralyzed by a group of thugs. Christopher George co-stars as a detective on the Exterminator's trail.
                             
                            Now, as an exploitation film, I thought the film worked on a lurid level that a movie of this caliber should have. It has the right atmosphere (grungy old Taxi Driver-era New York City), it's competently shot, and it's incredibly violent in a cleansing sort of way (it's actually way more violent than I remembered). The hellish opening scene in Vietnam sets the tone well (though the rest of the movie pales somewhat in comparison). And for a revenge movie, it has its gratifying moments (I don't condone violence, but it's nice to see child molesters get their just desserts).
                            But when it comes to the script, that's where the movie suffers. It's very messy when it comes to focus and utilizes convenient, lazy plotting. The movie starts off fine with the gang attacking Ginty's friend. Now, a revenge movie usually builds up to the moment of revenge, which makes it all the more satisfying (with preparation and interrogation). But once the friend is paralyzed, we immediately cut to Ginty holding one of the gang members hostage without any idea of how Ginty found him or how he was able to apprehend him. Then five minutes later, he finds the rest of the gang and ties them up in a basement (they don't even get killed). Then the rest of the movie just has Ginty attacking other unruly sorts (from gangsters to child molesters) without any motivation (though the movie advertises itself as a vigilante film). Then the movie loses sight of its original purpose (revenge) and never recovers.
                          We never get inside Ginty's head. It doesn't help that Ginty's acting isn't good (though he had an doughy, unconventional look that I kind of liked). I guess we're supposed to assume that he has psychopathic tendencies due to PTSD or something, but the movie refuses to give us any real insight into his actions or his sudden decision to turn vigilante.
                          The movie also tries to give us a pointless parallel story with the cop, who is also a veteran, but doesn't give us any insight into him either. More than anything, it kills the momentum of Ginty's story.

                         I don't mind these kind of exploitation movies, and I'm not personally offended by the problematic message these movies tend to have (like most critics negatively point out). I would have been perfectly fine if the movie had just been pure, mindless exploitation. Instead, the movie sits on a rickety fence between exploitation and serious drama, and the movie ends up being weighed down by its attempts to be serious. It's an almost decent revenge movie, but suffers from a bad script.