Exterminator 2 (1984) User Reviews

Cheesy and sleazy fun.

[Hey_Sweden · 6/10 · 13 April 2013]

"Exterminator 2" brings back the great Robert Ginty as flamethrower wielding vigilante John Eastland, but has nowhere near the impact as the first film. That's not to say that it's not enjoyable, but overall it's silly stuff.

Directed by Mark Buntzman, who produced the first film, it sees Eastland start to date an exotic dancer named Caroline (Deborah Geffner) and make friends with an outgoing garbageman named Be Gee (the excellent veteran character actor Frankie Faison). Eastland agrees to take on a job as a garbageman (!), but finds his happiness threatened by the activities of a street gang led by the fiendish "X" (Mario Van Peebles, in a breakthrough role). Of course, Eastland has already been up to his old tricks by torching various criminal scum, but is he going to be ready for this particularly sadistic gang?

The viewer can have an interesting time checking out the early appearances by actors who would go on to become busy and recognizable if not famous: Irwin Keyes, Arye Gross, Thomas Calabro, and John Turturro, who has a bit. The gang members basically come across as cartoons and there's a certain goofy quality to a lot of the dialogue, performances, and situations. (If nothing else, the audience may find "Exterminator 2" laughable enough to be entertaining.) The music is also particularly amusing, providing the perfect accompaniment for assorted violent goings on. Ginty is reasonably engaging although his character of Eastland was a more compelling individual the first time. Faison is superb and shows off a natural charisma. And Van Peebles makes the most of his demented & depraved role, making for a pretty good antagonist.

Especially entertaining is seeing Ginty turn Faisons' garbage truck into an assault vehicle and watching the final cat-and-mouse chase between hero and villain. There's plenty of characters going up like Roman candles to keep the viewers interested.

All in all, this is decent enough, and it might be worth watching it along with, say, "Death Wish II" and/or "Death Wish 3" for a dose of vigilante vs. gang escapism.

Six out of 10.

Not a great film but its an Interesting Curiosity for Film buffs

[Keeneyedwatcher333 · 5/10 · 21 July 2011]

The First Exterminator film is a cult classic among fans of Revenge and exploitation flicks, however this film for a long time was not, until just recently, Exterminator 2 (1984) Is an interesting film because it didn't turn out like it should have, According to many fans and sources it was meant to be a follow up in the same gritty style of its predecessor, however the production company wasn't happy with the final product and demanded a entirely new ending involving a larger action scene as well as some other extra scenes to be added to the rest of the film, So apparently there's an entirely different work print version of the film out there, which would be an interesting watch because the version I am reviewing is the version that was Released in theaters and on VHS, we have yet to get a DVD and if we do I hope we get a special edition with both versions of the film and a documentary.

OK the plot of the film is extremely simple, It picks up 3 or 4 years after the original, and "The Exterminator" (Played by Robert Ginty Once again) is back cleaning up the crime ridden streets of new york, however the crime is even more ferocious than ever before, a new gang is on the Streets lead by a psychotic gang leader called "X" (Mario Van Peebles) His plan is basically to take over the entire city of New York by starting to get the public hooked on Drugs and have them join his gang to form an uprising on the entire city.

Now first thing You'll notice is the film's tone is completely different It's no longer dark and gritty and it has more in tone with the MAD MAX movies, THE EXTERMINATOR now wears a welding mask and burns crooks with a flamethrower, the film is still very violent (Depending on which version you get) But its more action oriented, however the problem is the action is not that good, every scene is mashed together and just barely makes sense, The Acting is probably the worst thing about the film, all the actors just seem bored and the punks are just over the top silly, and i don't blame them, the writing in this film is some of the worst ever, and the musical score is just laughable it sounds like it was composed for an old SEGA genesis/mega-drive game, even for its time it was bad, however it could've been good if they had better production values on the film, which is another major problem, the film's budget was extremely low and it dwarfs my mind on why that is, the first film was a financial success so you'd think they would give a bigger budget for the sequel, but this is produced by GOLAN GLOBUS after all so its expected, but even for them it was still low budget being made for only $3 million when they made other films for 5 to 10 million dollars.

Now after Ripping pretty hard on this film, I gotta give it some slack because in some strange and screwy way it was entertaining, Because When Watching it you can't help but think "You Know this could've been a Great Idea for a Comic Book" Indeed this film's tone is not far from the truth it has that comic book feel, even the Cover and poster art makes you think so, Not only that The main villain "X" Is hilariously entertaining to watch, he hams up the role just enough not to annoy you, And the final Action scene is cool, it involves an armored Garbage truck with guns,rockets and a snow plow attached to the front going through gang members, so this film Does have its entertainment value But Its more of an interesting curiosity to film buffs because of its history, so i suggest checking it out for Curiositys sake.

OVERALL: 5/10

BTW: Make sure you get the U.S version of this film, as its censored heavily in most parts of the world.

Who you going to call? The Exterminator!

[lost-in-limbo · 5/10 · 12 December 2006]

Johnny Long is back to doing what he does best and that's cleaning up the New York streets of its scum. This time he's all geared up with the flame-thrower set on exterminate. When he's not flaming street gangs. He spends time with his dancer girlfriend and that of an old army buddy. Although things get real personal, when Johnny's girlfriend is brutally beat up by a power hungry gang lord of the streets, known as X. This really tips Johnny over the edge and drives him to revenge.

Don't you just hate when you get through watching a movie to realise it was heavily cut, as it doesn't go as long as it's advertised on the video case (which by the way has a great cover art work). Well, that was the case here and I couldn't hide my disappointment of it. I'm not a massive fan of the original, but I was still interested in seeing the sequel after reading how much crueler and nihilistic it is in its actions. Sure, that would have been great, that's if I saw it that way, but I didn't. The deaths scenes were cut down and some (like the always mentioned subway scene and Johnny's girlfriend beat-up in the park) I didn't even get to see. Those moments where choppy as hell and had me going "What on earth just happen?!" Even the film's final standoff between X (a dreadfully juicy turn by Mario Van Peebles) and Johnny Long comes on too early in the story and then drags on for ages. Until it meets its murky conclusion.

In all, it's a very inferior sequel that turns into an embarrassingly, vapid cheese-fest in the tradition of the Death Wish sequels (… namely part 3). There's no foot grounded in reality compared to the original and it comes off like an action comic fantasy. Thanks to Peebles and his laughable bunch of roaches. Robert Ginty (and his placidly stiff nature) is back as Johnny the Vietnam VET turned vigilante. On this occasion he brought with him his welder helmet and the trusty old flamethrower (the iconic picture found on the poster of the original) to clean up the dirtily decayed and crime-riddled streets. When he gets mad. Vicious punks and petty thieves better watch out! As he appears from nowhere (like a ghost) to wipe the floor. How they don't notice someone dressed like this until its to late, goes beyond me. Imagine the noise he would be make carrying all of this and how hard it would be to swiftly maneuver with it!

The mangled story is basic and skips a lot stuff that happened in the original and heads its own direction… well kind of… ah, yeah its derivative. How could the cops go from knowing who the exterminator is at the end of the first feature to be at square one in the follow up? Who knows? I don't. While, there's nothing much else going on in the thin material to derail the main focus off Ginty's character and emotional build up. Still cluttering up the pace are redundant fillers (give me some break dancing) and an over-plus of scene-stealing Van Pebble posing and preaching his "He is the street" speeches. Just proving how much of a bad-ass he is. Poor Van Pebble, because he comes across as extremely wretched and too fruity looking to invoke that presence.

Mark Buntzman's no-nonsense direction is ineptly junky (great campy slow-mo pieces), but he makes decent of the gritty and beat up look of the New York surroundings. It's not as prominent, say like the original, but Bob Baldwin's grounded photography gives it that rough edge. On the other-hand, the progressively clunky score by David Spear is a manipulative piece of mess. There's an explicit vibe created, but sadly its more comic style than nastily exploitive. Nonetheless it's still fun and creative in its set pieces.

There are moments of ridiculously stupid and roistering fun evident, but make sure you get your hands on the uncut version.

P.s. Watching the uncut version (shockingly on Pay TV?!) was a much better experience. The subway sequence was rather unsettling. Shonky, but amusing comic action.

One of the cheesiest action flicks I've ever seen.

[panamajaq04 · 25 February 2004]

I've never seen the first "Exterminator". I hear it's actually a really good movie. If that's true, then it is nothing like it's sequel, "Exterminator 2". To call "Exterminator 2" an awful movie would be generous. But, it would be a lie to say that I didn't enjoy watching it.

I was channel surfing one night, and I felt like I just had to see an 80's action movie. You know the feeling? Anyway, I searched through the channels for anything starring Arnold Schwarzenegger (still can't believe he's the governor of my state!), Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, or Chuck Norris. Instead, I found "Exterminator 2".

So I start watching this. In the movie, a bunch of street punks rob a store, murdering the store owners in the process. The punks make their getaway, but suddenly - a guy pops out of nowhere with a flamethrower and torches them! And I'm thinking "Woa! Awesome to the max, dude!" Even though I hadn't seen the first movie, I caught on to the plot quickly. Why? Because there is no plot. Just this dude with a flamethrower running around setting bad guys on fire, with the help of his garbage man sidekick. The bad guys want to take over the city, by the way (and they also wear hilarious looking costumes - you'll have to go to a screening of the Rocky Horror Picture Show to see people in more ridiculous outfits). Best of all, "Exterminator 2" is set to delightfully corny synth music. You'll have that stupid theme tune stuck in your head for days.

There are a couple of scenes that drag on and on; I wanted to shout "Get on with it!" during these parts. And also

***SPOILER ALERT***

the end of the movie is depressing. Other than that, "Exterminator 2" is a thoroughly enjoyable picture. That is, if you are in the mood for something dreadful.

Cartoony vigilante hijinks aplenty.

[DigitalRevenantX7 · 3/10 · 11 June 2015]

CAUTION: Plot spoilers present.

John Eastland has a job by day as a garbage collector, but by night he wanders the streets as the masked vigilante "The Exterminator", torching criminals with his flamethrower. A gang of thugs led by the bloodthirsty X swear revenge after Eastland's intervention in a robbery staged by his men. With their grand scheme to steal money from armoured cars & use the loot to buy drugs under threat, X attacks Eastland's girlfriend, crippling her. Eastland takes his garbage truck & turns it into an improvised tank with machine guns & rocket launchers fitted into it. With it, Eastland mounts an offensive on X & his gang.

I was never much of a fan of the notorious 1980 vigilante flick THE EXTERMINATOR – it was a mediocre thriller that tried to beat the likes of DEATH WISH but only found fame through controversy in several countries due to its violent content. That said, it was watchable enough for a cheap action film. Which brings us to this sequel. Made in the same year as James Cameron's classic killer cyborg actioner THE TERMINATOR (the similarity of title might have confused some people at the time), Exterminator 2 is mounted by Cannon Films, the same company that ironically staged the Death Wish sequels.

Exterminator 2 is nothing more than a cartoony action film that featured plenty of cut-price superheroics & no pretence at being serious – as the villain, Mario Van Peebles shouts & shoots his way around while Robert Ginty's hero comes outfitted with military-grade body armour, flamethrower & welder's mask as if he stepped out of a comic book. The climax, with Ginty taking on the goons with a makeshift tank, is ludicrous enough to make for unintentional hilarity & the plot is appropriately streamlined to allow as many action set pieces & muggings to take place in.

As a serious piece of action cinema, Exterminator 2 is nothing but nonsense. As a piece of 1980s' comic book action excess, it fares slightly better. The film is available in various cut & uncut versions around the world but the uncut version is not really that different from the censored version (as a strange sort of irony, here in Australia, the television broadcast version is uncut as opposed to the local VHS print – but close inspection between the two indicates that the difference is only marginal). The gore is non-existent unlike the original film's slightly better bloodletting & the net effect is of watching a piece of early-1980s junk.

Very bad film

[Bogey Man · 2/10 · 26 July 2002]

I had high expectations on this sequel to James Glickenhaus' ultra violent and hyper nihilistic vigilante classic The Exterminator (1980). The sequel, Exterminator 2 (1984), is directed by Mark Buntzman, who produced the original Exterminator film. Both films star Robert Ginty as The Exterminator, who cleans cities of scum and dirt, like pimps, violent youth gang members and other criminals. There's no plot in this sequel. It has Mario Van Peebles as X, the main villain in some gang which has some ridiculous rituals and kills people without reason. Exterminator happens to wipe out some of the X' gang's members, and now X wants to kill the Exterminator. This is the "plot" of this film which has nothing to offer but stupid situations and dialogue. Damn was I disappointed!

The social commentary and nihilistic atmosphere of the first and original The Exterminator is very strong even today and the film hasn't lost its power during all these years. The Exterminator 2 however is very inept technically and in any imaginable cinematic level. The characters are stupid and irritating, there's laughing, screaming and running without any reason and there's also stupid love affair between Ginty and his girl friend, a dancer. Their love making scene is totally horrible as it tries to be romantic and emotional. This film fails perhaps in every level and maybe I feel it even more since I love the first film so much. This time Ginty uses his flame thrower which was on the cover art only in the first film. Most of his killings are committed by this fire weapon, and the overall nihilism in the form of graphic violence and gritty urban settings from part one are totally missing in this sequel. I love vigilante films, but this I cannot love even if I wanted to. This film has nothing to give and it is also very stupid and also boring so it cannot be recommended even as a piece of trash.

The Exterminator 2 gets 2/10 from me and that's only because of some unintentional turkey elements, which I found amusing. Still, I would like to love this film as I love the first, classic Exterminator film. Track down this sequel ONLY if you're very curious to see this (as I was), but don't expect anything from the film, even if you get the uncut version. I watched the uncut and pretty rare Greek tape, and also Danish tape (among others) is uncut. The old Finnish and British versions are cut. But then again, I don't know would the cuts really harm this piece of crap?

Worthless and artless.

[gridoon · 2/10 · 26 August 2001]

Robert Ginty says at one point "I feel like I've been here before"; well, those were my feelings exactly. I thought the original "Exterminator" was a pretty bad film with only a few memorable gore scenes to recommend it, but this is far worse. Made only to cash in on the first film's popularity, this is too boring to succeed even as a low-budget actioner with no other ambitions. The plot is so thin it can't even sustain its 85 minutes, and Ginty....well, he barely exists as a person. (*1/2)

One Of The Worst Sequels Ever Made

[Theo Robertson · 2/10 · 8 August 2002]

THE EXTERMINATOR is one of the most memorable films I`ve seen . Okay it`s by no means a groundbreaking masterwork of cinema but it does appeal to the wish fufilment in human beings of wanting to rid the world of scum. EXTERMINATOR 2 is also memorable . That`s because it`s one of the worst films ever made .

If you`ve never seen the original EXTERMINATOR then you`ll find the sequel makes no sense at all and if you`ve seen the first film you`ll find the sequel still doesn`t make any sense . John Eastland goes around frying bad guys because ....well because their bad guys ,there`s no character development and there`s a lack of internal continuity to all this since the feds were on his case at the end of the original , but here there`s no spooks putting two and two together and realising it`s the same vigilante killer , unless I`ve missed something the feds aren`t involved at all .

But what ruins this sequel is the completely OTT scenes and dialogue .( !!!! POSSIBLE SPOILER !!!!!) A scene featuring a robbery on a security van by gang X culminates in a police helicopter being shot down and a security guard being tied to a railway track and run over by an oncoming train ! Yes I`m sure that happens all the time . And the dialogue consists mainly of F words as in " I didn`t f****** see that motherf******`s face man. The motherf***** had no f****** face man " . I don`t know if he`s doing it on purpose but Mario Van Peebles gives one of the most laughably bad performances I`ve ever seen as the main villain X , most notably at the climax where he struts around a disused factory stalking Eastland spouting lines like " You fought good Johnny but now you must die . Don`t take it too hard Johnny we all come to an end one day "

I noticed some reviewers have compared this film to DEATH WISH 3 . Please don`t . DW3 is an enjoyable film that appeals to the vigilante in all of us. There is nothing to enjoy about EXTERMINATOR 2

"X" Doesn't Quite Mark The Spot Here!

[Celluloid_Fiend · 5/10 · 11 September 2019]

In the world of vigilante films, the Exterminator series can certainly hold its own against many others. But while having a fairly violent panache about it, "Exterminator 2" lacks some of the bits of grit and depth the original had.

In this sequel, Robert Ginty reprises his role as the ex-vet turned crime-killing vigilante. But when the Exterminator kills the brother of a revolutionary-minded gang leader, he'll find his private war on crime will become a lot more personal and costly!

Unlike the first film, this one is much more uneven in the delivery of the story. Some of the character relationships and connections are never properly developed. As a result, it lacks some of the raw emotion of the first film. Also, I missed having the point of view of the cop out to stop him. It was a dynamic that really helped to drive the drama and tension in the original. But here, no such dynamic exists. Writer/Director Mark Buntzman tries to fill such voids with the love story between the Exterminator and an exotic dancer with bigger dreams (played by Deborah Geffner), even to the point of putting in a less than necessary sex scene, perhaps to help punch up the exploitative and sleaze factors, but it just doesn't make the grade. Whereas the first film had more grit and complexity to it, this one never even gets close to anything like that. It's all a much more straight-forward affair, that doesn't try to go beyond being a b-grade action film.

That isn't to say there is nothing of enjoyment here. The film does have an ample amount of violence, as you would expect in a vigilante story. The opening scene in the liquor store and the Exterminator's "untimely" arrival is among the most visceral moments in the film and hearkens back a little to the original. Veteran character actor, Frankie Faison, fits in nicely as Ginty's "Man Friday." And Mario Van Peebles does all he can with the one-dimensional villain known simply as "X." The final cat-and-mouse battle between him and the Exterminator was very well done. The film does a decent job on the action stuff, which makes up a little, but not all, of the lacking in other areas the film has.

In a lot of ways, "Exterminator 2" falls into the pitfall many sequels do: They don't really give enough flavor to it, to make doing it feel like a worthwhile effort. It is just a pale and flame-scorched reflection of the original and it shows. It's not horrible, by any means, but it feels a little bland and formulaic. It lacks the depth and hardiness of the original. Genre fans will probably get some mild enjoyment from this outing. Otherwise, you are better off to stick with the first one. It is easily the better of the two!

Vet strikes back!

[irsheyes · 7/10 · 25 April 2002]

Just like John Rambo this movie captures a vet pushed past his limit but this time in an urban massacre film. I saw this film as a teenager in the 80's. I always appreciated the straight forward good guy kills bad guy with minimal exposition way of the 80's.

Enjoyable enough as these things go

[Red-Barracuda · 5/10 · 13 September 2021]

Follow-up to the exploitation classic. This one is produced by the Cannon group, which should set off alarm bells given these are the guys who made their fair share of crap back in the 80's, including the Sylvester Stallone arm wrestling movie. True to form Cannon have injected their brand of cheese into this one as well. The Exterminator (Robert Ginty) battles a gang led by Mario Van Peebles. Sporting an impressive flat-top and clobber that would not have looked out of place in The Warriors, Van Peebles chews up the scenery at every given opportunity; Ginty, on the other hand, acts like he is heavily sedated throughout. There is a lot more explosions in this sequel and Ginty drives around in a garbage truck rigged up like a tank. The stupid level has been ramped up at the expense of the scuzz factor basically and this is a more typical cheesy 80's actioner for the most part, while it sports an often truly terrible soundtrack. Still, I did find it enjoyable enough as these things go.

everything you want it to be

[roon_baboon · 8/10 · 6 May 2006]

i've read some bad comments about this film on this site, mainly from people who i think took even the first film rather too seriously. this is a brilliant piece of absurd 80's action, dutifully modelled on the superb death wish series. the "street punks" are one of the best features and resemble the b*****d offspring of the warriors and mad max 2. the exterminator himself spends most of the film going berserk with a flamethrower and at one point he operates a rubbish truck armed with remote control machine guns. the action is interspersed with ridiculous love scenes involving a stripper. although i think this film does lack some of the quality of the original i found it just as enjoyable and anyone who can appreciate the death wish series should certainly enjoy this

A great iconic image but an inferior effort

[HaemovoreRex · 6/10 · 10 July 2006]

Robert Ginty returns as John Eastland, the ex-Vietnam veteran turned vigilante hero from the first film in this inferior sequel.

This time around he comes to odds with a street gang led by Mario Van Peebles appearing here as a character named simply 'X' who makes Eastland's life that bit more miserable when he and his gang decide on a hostile take over of the city.

In addition, they further manage to antagonise our hero by firstly kneecapping his girlfriend and then a bit later on murdering her in her apartment! Understandably mightily vexed by this decidedly anti sociable behaviour, our man decides to take drastic action and sets about wiping the villainous buggers out! This time around he is aided by a buddy and his dumper truck although as a word of advice; don't get too attached to his pal…..

It has to be said that the film isn't a patch on its forerunner with generally toned down violence, almost comically clichéd villains and some truly awful and distracting music throughout.

The action scenes to, whilst more elaborate here, are still nowhere near as engaging as in the previous film.

Still, having said the above, our hero certainly looks more striking here having taken to wearing a welders mask and now utilising a flame thrower as his weapon of choice. In fact the image of this faceless, merciless killer is indeed very memorable in the same way that the white mask wearing Michael Myers is to the Halloween films, the Hockey mask wearing Jason Vorhees is to the Friday The 13th movies or the icon of the green and red jumper and the knife fingered glove of Freddy Kruegar is to the Nightmare On Elm Street films.

Overall, as it stands, the movie is mildly enjoyable with a number of fairly exciting scenes involving Eastland torching the bad guys to cinders, however, as a sequel to such a great original it falls rather flat.

As a final note though – COOL Break dancing!

Warning -- stay away from this movie!

[chas77 · 2/10 · 13 August 1999]

Godawful sequel to a pretty damn good urban revenge thriller... Ginty is back but original director James Glickenhaus is not. And that's the problem right there, as the film's original producer, Mark Buntzman, thought he had what it took to write, produce AND DIRECT this misfire. Well, to be blunt, he DIDN'T.

Can a film be both boring and sadistic at the same time? Exterminator 2 answers these questions but not a whole lot more. Ginty's Exterminator is seen in the beginning of the film listening to a police scanner where a dispatcher is requesting backup to a liquor store that is being robbed. The hilariously evil perpetrators are seen torturing and killing the owners in a contrived scene that simply sets up what's next: a scene in the alley outside where our vigilante friend burns these guys with a flame thrower. From here on it's apparent that writer/director Buntzman decided to throw out the window any thoughts of social relevance and just make an urban action flick. Exterminator 2 fails at that as well. Ginty is partially to be blamed as he sleepwalks through this film though he isn't given a very good script. For instance, we aren't given any insight into why he wishes to continue his vigilante ways. The first film set these motives up well as he was prompted by not only his best friend getting crippled for life by a thoughtless group of thugs, but by the casual everyday crime he witnessed on the streets (not to mention the ineffectual response from the police). The viewer who did not watch the first Exterminator would have no idea as to why he wanders the streets killing people.

The rest of the cast looks uncomfortable with the exception of Mario Van Peebles as "X" -- a gang leader who gives a gleefully evil performance that looks like something borrowed from the script of Cannon's similar "Death Wish III" movie.

Well, you've been warned...

violent vigilante sleaze...

[b-man-1 · 4 June 2003]

Exterminator 2 (1984) tells the story of Vietnam vet John Eastland, the famous New York flame-thrower wielding vigilante from the first film (The Exterminator (1980)) In this sequel, John meets up with a new friend,Bee-Gee, a garbage man, and then gets a job as a garbage man, and starts to go out with a dancer from a night club. (John's life must be really good!) But, when his dancer-girlfriend is attacked by a ruthless street gang led by X, John decides he must take revenge. This is overall a remake of the first film, directed by Mark Buntzman (who produced the first Exterminator) As a whole, this is not a bad sequel. Original,no. Action packed,no. But it is a fun movie with actor Robert Ginty returning as John Eastland, and one of the first (if not the first) film role by Mario Van Peebles. Also look out for Arye Gross-star of House II:The Second Story. The movie appeared that it could have been very violent and fairly gory like the first one, but this seems unfortunately cut and toned down for the R-rating. They should have made another exterminator movie...

Atrocious and stupid sequel to action classic The Exterminator

[dworldeater · 3/10 · 14 January 2018]

As a big fan of the first film, this poorly put together piece of crap was a huge let down. The writer/director James Glickenhaus who put together the first film had nothing to do with this(which was a huge mistake). Enter Mark Buntzman(who produced the1st film) is to blame for this horrendous and really stupid sequel. Thankfully, for the movie watching world he was never allowed to direct a movie ever again. While the 1st film had its flaws(and a very low budget), the movie seems to have been taken seriously by the people that made it and has a story a that makes sense with a greater sense of realism and interesting characters. This film has an incoherent plot line, a silly tone and one of the most annoying(and cheesy film scores of all time). Robert Ginty returns as The Exterminator and barely resembles the dark anti hero from the original film. Mario Van Peebles is a really lame and stereotypical villan that stole Mad Max's wardrobe and has a hairdo like Grace Jones. The action scenes are pretty lame, there is no memorable dialouge and the film is poorly acted, directed and put together over all. Granted this was the 80's, but the film is painfully cheesy,and does not resemble the bleak and bad ass first film.

Hey Robert, got a light?

[Coventry · 5/10 · 11 March 2015]

I don't suppose that anyone was desperately waiting to see a sequel to James Glickenhaus' modest exploitation cult-hit "The Exterminator", but it sure is more than welcome! Besides, can you honestly blame director Mark Buntzman and the good people at Cannon Film Group for wanting to cash-in further on the still immensely popular trend of violent and rancid early '80s vigilante movies? Of course not! Charles Bronson kept on making inferior sequels to "Death Wish", the theme got used in a sequel to the "Dirty Harry"-series ("Sudden Impact") and there were numerous other vigilante flicks being unleashed on the market ("Vigilante", "Fighting Back", "Suburbia"…), so why shouldn't "Exterminator II" have the right to exist? The problem – or the coolest part, it depends how you look at it - with this film is that it doesn't have an actual plot. Protagonist John Eastland, a former Vietnam veteran living in New York, still roams the streets at night with his indispensable flamethrower and barbecues all the criminal scumbags that he encounters. His main opponents now are the self-declared drug lord X and his posse. X is a flamboyant psychopath slash aspiring ballet dancer – or so he behaves – and murders innocent people for fun! John finds a new best friend and partner in crime in the persona of garbage truck driver Bee Gee and he falls in love with nightclub dancer Caroline. You can imagine that John gets very, very angry when they are both annihilated by X and his gang… Obviously "Exterminator II" is a worthless and totally redundant piece of '80s trash, but it is incredibly fun to watch with friends and plenty of beer & pizzas! The film is utmost politically incorrect, racist and sexist, but that's exactly why it guarantees unforgettable entertainment! Robert Ginty is the action-movie hero with the least charisma and worst acting skills in cinematic history, but I inexplicably love him and all his work. There are awesome supportive roles for Mario Van Peebles, Frankie Faison and familiar face Irwin Keyes, while actress Deborah Geffner has the questionable honor of appearing half- naked most of the film and share a very anti-erotic sex sequence with Ginty. There's blood, nihilistic violence and sadist burning aplenty, while at the same time there is absolutely no emphasis on suspense, dialog or character development. The ideal late-night entertainment, in other words!

Too bad movie and too good to watch!!!

[elo-equipamentos · 5/10 · 20 May 2017]

It's those trash movies that are enjoyable and pleasant to watch, all elements are here, the casting is second step, the plot is the same of the previous one, the bad guys are weird and crazy, mix up and you have this amazing trash movie from the eighties in fact this sequel is a blaxploitation, leading a gang Mario Van Pleebles as X in a priceless acting, another interesting character is Frankie Faison as Be Gee a Negro too on a stunning performance and finally Robert Ginty a lonely guy who get revenge against the the evil ones, a little inferior than The Exterminator but still good, l love this kind of trash movies!!

"Like back in Nam 2..."

[RodrigAndrisan · 1/10 · 17 June 2016]

The man with the flamethrower, vigilante John Eastland (Robert Ginty) returns to drink a beer in a bar and to fry some more villains. Between two fries, he finds some time to make love with a very tender dancer at the bar, Caroline(Deborah Geffner). "Attractions" this time: a garbage truck that makes cleaning among villains, a coffin with drugs and others not so very well inspired. It has a lot of music in it, it is clear that the director (Mark Buntzman) or the producers liked 80s music, especially the breakdance genre. In fact, all the film can be considered a long music video with some action (fries) in between. The actors are questionable if not lamentable. Deborah Geffner is most compelling. Noted John Turturro in a minor role. Just to have a sequel, as usual, much lower than the first part.

Less Dark, More Cheese

[refinedsugar · 5/10 · 9 October 2023]

I'll give them credit - unlike the original 'Exterminator' - he actually wields a flamethrower here and roasts bad guys. Robert Ginty returns from the first film and this is more of a straight up vigilante flick. Not the same level of creepy sleaze, but it will please low level action fans. It also has an interesting production history.

John Eastland (Ginty) is still roaming the streets of New York battling crime. He ends up dating a dancer (Deborah Geffner) and gets a job from friend Pee-Gee (Frankie Faison) as a fellow garbageman. Gang leader X (Mario Van Peebles) is looking to take things to the next level. Amongst their acts they rob an armored car to fund a drug buy from the mob. Of course, it won't end without a final confrontation between the two.

'Exterminator 2' delivers on what it's selling, but that doesn't stop certain beats from being boring. Knowing the film's troubled history beforehand explained some of the plot roughness, but Cannon Films also did a halfway decent job of salvaging the picture when they couldn't get Ginty for reshoots. It also features some break dancing which they had struck gold earlier in 1984 with.

Great 80's Action Flick!

[pugsarecool19 · 7/10 · 24 March 2013]

As a movie itself, Exterminator 2 is pretty bad. But, that doesn't stop it from being an awesomely awful 80's action flick. Thanks to the Action Movie 4 Pack that was just released, Exterminator 2 has come to DVD. I'm a huge fan of the first movie- it was a great, brutal, visceral vigilante flick. The Exterminator was taking out the trash of the streets in crafty, violent, and satisfying ways. This time around, he has somehow donned a flamethrower.

The plot is fairly simple: Baddies are back at it in New York and the leader of a gang, X, wants to take over the city. The Exterminator, of course, gets involved and exterminates all the bad guys.

The movie has it's moments, but for the most part loses the gritty and grimy feeling the first had, and was so well known for. The soundtrack is hilarious; if I had been in a different room I would honestly think someone was playing Super Nintendo. I'm one hundred percent serious about that too, the soundtrack sounds like it was ripped *straight* from a Super Nintendo game, and I guarantee anyone who's played Super Nintendo will agree with me.

Though what the movie lacks compared to it's predecessor, it makes up with how fun it is. Robert Ginty all mocked up in a over-sized welder's mask and massive flamethrower frying the street scum for 90 minutes works well, but it becomes slow at times. The end showdown between The Exterminator and X is awesome, and makes up for the boring portions. Oh, and there's also a random, totally unnecessary sex scene, pushing the movie into the boundaries of "Stereotypical Action Movie" category.

Overall, this movie is fun by itself, and I'm sure a lot more fun with a couple buddies who are ready and willing to rip on it. I will certainly be bringing this flick to my next get together with friends, and I'm sure great times are to be had.

A much more poorer variation of "Death Wish"

[jordondave-28085 · 3/10 · 26 June 2023]

(1984) Exterminator 2 SOCIAL COMMENTARY THRILLER

Upon looking at the poster alone, it appeared to look like a futuristic action movie, but it's like, as soon as you watch it, it's nothing more but another "Death Wish" inspired movie. Co-produced, co-written and directed by Mark Buntzman that has Robert Ginty returning to his character as John Eastland who while wearing a mask/ helmet burn a couple of murdering culprits after they were attempting to run away in the back alley of a convenience store, killing in cold blood an elderly couple. And of course, what the NY media cares more about are the name of the vigilante than the victims the criminals who killed the elderly couple. And apparently, one of the culprits John the Exterminator had burned alive from the back alley of a convenience store also happens to have a brother, and he happens to be a leader of a criminal gang who calls himself "X" played by Mario Van Peebles, and he is seeking retribution. Cops are killed from a blatant robbery of an armored truck, and again the most important media coverage is the name of the unknown exterminator than the victims the gang had killed, with the intention of using the money they had stolen to deal with gangsters. Then the next thing you know, John the civilian happens to also is looking for a job, and he gets it from a VA friend name Be Gee Bear (Frankie Faison) who runs his own garbage truck, while John is dating a go go dancer inspired to participate in a ballet, Caroline (Deborah Geffner). Depicting a time when NYC police are worthless and do not do anything to curb the violence as some of the NY police are corrupt themselves. It is more "Death Wish" than it is "Taxi Driver", and a very poor job of it and a step down from the first "Exterminator".

Exterminator 2

[Rautus · 10/10 · 23 September 2007]

Exterminator 2 isn't that bad, it's a great low budget vigilante flick. It's got action, violence and more of the Flamethrower, in the first movie he only used it once and that was just to scare someone while in Exterminator 2 he uses the Flamethrower to kill. The film sees John Eastland still being a vigilante known as The Exterminator but he's also now got a girlfriend who dances at a club, meanwhile a gang is trying to take over the streets and the leader's name is X, John Eastland soon meets up with another old Vietnam war buddy. Soon after killing X's brother he wants revenge and after following him they cripple his girlfriend, John and his friend then go out to get revenge for this so after capturing one of the members they plan an attack by turning the garbage truck into a fully armed battle tank. John then must take on X and his gang before they take control of the streets in New York.

Exterminator 2 is a great sequel to the 1980 classic The Exterminator. Check it out. 10/10

Fans of revenge movies or 80's nostalgia will like Exterminator 2.

[tarbosh22000 · 6/10 · 28 April 2011]

Troubled Vietnam vet John Eastland (Ginty) returns in this Cannon-made sequel. For those that don't know, Eastland has been dubbed by the media as "The Exterminator" because he goes around the streets of New York City with a flamethrower, taking the law into his own hands and roasting street punks into a pile of ash. His friend Be Gee (Faison) drives a garbage truck for Knight Waste Removal and offers John a job. Plus he and his dancer girlfriend Caroline have a budding romance. It seems all is looking up for the termina...er..I mean EXTERMINATOR, but there's a problem: the charismatic leader of a criminal underworld named simply X (Van Peebles). This guy has messiah-like delusions and is a ruthless commander of seemingly every punk in the city. X doesn't take kindly to Eastland barbecuing his compatriots, so all-out war is declared. Eastland is putting a serious dent in X's ambitions to control the city entirely, a lot of which is dependent on his drug dealing involving the local Mafia. When Caroline is assaulted by X's gang, shattering her dreams of dancing on Broadway, John and Be Gee soup up the garbage truck Gauntlet-style and go for the ultimate revenge yet: X himself.

Exterminator 2 is the only directorial credit for Mark Buntzman, and there is a certain lack of confidence behind the camera that that would imply. Plus different countries have different cuts, many have the more violent scenes trimmed. It is said the Greek VHS is the most intact to date. But despite some of its technical flaws, the movie has great 80's atmosphere and music that cannot be duplicated today. X and his gang wear some of the best outfits since Knights of the City (1985). Interestingly, there are some great break dancing scenes in the movie too, which bring up the level of interest for the viewer.

Faison as Be Gee is lovable and sympathetic, especially for this down-and-dirty type of exploitation film. The name of his truck, "Knight Waste Removal" is a not-too-subtle representation of the movie itself: He and/or Ginty is the "Knight" in shining armor (or some kind of armor) that will save the day, and "Waste Removal" clearly implies X's gang of no-good-niks. They even put one in the trash compactor, and at one point while they are cruising around in the truck, and they spy some baddies, Be Gee says "looks like there's some trash right there".

Ginty is as taciturn as ever but that's why we love him. Plus his alter-ego "The Exterminator" is just too awesome for words. You want to stand up and cheer every time he appears on screen with his metal mask, brandishing his flames of death. Playing a complementary opposite to Ginty's phlegmatic nature is the bombastic, over-the-top Van Peebles as X. His big line, which he says more than once, is "I am the streets!" He makes a great bad guy because of his energetic performance.

Pretty gritty, fans of revenge movies or 80's nostalgia will like Exterminator 2, and if you are a big fan of both, like me, any flaws the film may have are glossed over nicely.

NOTE: It was released on VHS in the U.S. on one of those silver MGM-Cannon big boxes, with a stated running time of 88 minutes. Presumably due to the aforementioned cuts, it just barely reaches that time even after the slow-moving end credits.

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A pretty forgettable sequel that is nowhere near as satisfying as the first movie.

[mwilson1976 · 4/10 · 11 June 2020]

Four years after the release of the original move, The Cannon Group put together this more action based sequel, this time directed by the original's producer Mark Buntzman, with some online reports crediting cult director William Sachs (The Incredible Melting Man) with additional scenes and co-scripting the film. Once again troubled 'Nam vet Johnny Eastland (Robert Ginty) has to pick up his trusty flamethrower when his dancer girlfriend (Deborah Geffner) is first badly beaten and permanently crippled and later murdered by a gang of street thugs led by "X" (Mario Van Peebles). This time round Johnny is aided by Be Gee (Frankie R. Faison), a former vet turned garbageman. This being a Golan-Globus production, and given their reputation for cutting corners you can see the compromises throughout the film, with Cannon more concerned on chasing the big bucks at the box-office rather than creating a sequel that would be as equally satisfying as the first movie. This just feels like an extended episode of TV's The A Team, and there's even an extended breakdancing sequence thrown in for no reason whatsoever. Pretty forgettable stuff.