The original Exterminator film was a down and dirty exploitation film that didn't pull any punches and introduced us to the wonders of the flamethrower (amongst other things) Exterminator 2 brings back the star of the first film, but doesn't have any of the charm of the first film.
THE FEATURES ⭐⭐ 1/2
Audio Commentary with Director Mark Buntzman and Actor Mario Van Peebles (Found in Audio Menu)
Fantastic track. Buntzman and Peebles get on splendidly and make for good conversation throughout the track.
Radio Spots (1m 8s, HD)
We get two radio spots that sound very much the same.
Photo Gallery (4m 12s, HD)
No music plays in this very silent photo gallery.
Trailers (3m 58s, HD, 1.85:1)
Two trailers found here, both in the film's original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 while the film is opened up to a 1.78:1. I wish that Shout! Factory had kept the same aspect ratio for both. I like any aspect ratio that isn't the same as the T.V., even if it is a small difference like what would be found on this film. It reminds me that I am watching a film and not a tv show. It is a minor gripe, but it is my own.
THE PACKAGING ⭐⭐⭐
The front cover displays the film's original theatrical poster with the awesome art of the Exterminator using his flamethrower. This poster is much better than the film and I am glad that Shout! Factory used it for this release.
The back cover gives us a few stills from the film along with the normal tech info and special features list.
The inside of the cover shows what looks like a German lobby card with the exterminator shooting his flamethrower.
The disc art is the same as the front cover.
The disc is REGION A (locked)
THE PICTURE ⭐⭐⭐
I found the picture quality to be very good overall here. Colors are arcuate and there some grain that shows up from time to time. There isn't very much damage to the print except for a few shots where the print seems a bit worn down. I did not detect any digital manipulation and detail can be excellent for the most part. This is definitely worth an upgrade.
THE SOUND ⭐⭐⭐
Shout! has given us a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track and it is really good. Dialogue is clean and clear and the score sounds great. I don't really have any problems with this track.
THE FILM ⭐ 1/2
John Eastland (Robert Ginty) is back! The torch-wielding outlaw vigilante is cleaning up the urban jungle again. Drug lord X and his army of thugs have declared war on New York City, but they have yet to meet someone like The Exterminator. This fiery sequel also stars Mario Van Peebles (New Jack City), Frankie Faison (Banshee) and Deborah Geffner (All That Jazz).I really like the first Exterminator film that was released in 1980. The film has a gritty, sleazy feel that lends itself to the plot of the film. The film followed John Eastland who goes out for revenge against those who hurt his friend. He picks a flamethrower as his weapon of choice, although he seems to use other means of killing (he lowers a guy into a meatgrinder). The film is filled with graphic kills, nudity, drugs, violence, and anything else that one would see in a film like this. It was so on the nose with what is was doing that Roger Ebert gave the film zero stars, stating that the film "is a sick example of the almost unbelievable descent into gruesome savagery in American movies." Some tough words from the man who thought Cop and a Half was a good film.
Exterminator 2 was released four years later and the film pales in comparison to the original. Sure, the original film's star is back, and he has brought his trusty flamethrower, but gone is the grit and sleaze of the first film. The worst thing that the Exterminator does to someone is blow them up and that was one time. The rest of the people that he goes against he uses his flamethrower (which results in some nice fire stunts) or his armoured and armed garbage truck. He never does any of the things he did even remotely close to what he did in the first film and this film suffers a bit because of that.
There are more plot strands in this film, like his girlfriend who is attacked by gang members are left paralysed. Eastland tries to help here and she tells him to get out and that is the extent that this film goes with the character. There is also the black friend who drives a the aforementioned garbage truck (which isn't armoured until the climax of the film.). I mention his race because the friend in the first film was also black. It doesn't really matter what the guy's race is because why should it. I just thought that I would point this out because this is a sequel that follows the first film's plot and characters very closely. The only thing missing from this film is Christopher George who played the cop trying to track the Exterminator down. In this film, besides one cop on a horse, the police couldn't give two shits about what Eastland is doing. No one investigates anything that he is doing and he is a vigilante from the get go.
The film's villain is played by Mario Van Peebles who does his best impression of Grace Jones from A View to to a Kill who dresses like he is from a post-apocalyptic future. Peebles does a decent job with his role, but I wish that he had hammed it up a bit. The film's villain shouldn't be on the same wavelength as the hero in terms of acting, but Peebles never goes over the top. In fact, he doesn't even really go to the top. He is an acceptable villain who could have been great.
Exterminator 2 is what the first film would have been if it were funded by a studio. The violence here is pretty tame and the film feels more like a mishmash of scenes rather than a full complete story. The film doesn't take any chances and, for that, becomes a fairly bad sequel to a really good film.
OVERALL ⭐⭐ 1/2
Exterminator 2 is not a good film. The violence is toned down and nothing feels right. It is a pale imitation of the first film.
The blu-ray from Shout! is very nice. The picture is great and the audio is nice for the film. The special features are very lackluster except for the commentary which is really good. Overall, I would recommend this film only to those who really, really want to see this and even then I can't recommend the film. The blu-ray is nice, but only fans and completists are going to want it. If the film had been better than the audience for this blu-ray would have been bigger.
CHECK OUT PAGE 2 FOR MORE SCREENSHOTS!! SOME OF THE SCREENSHOTS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS, SO PROCEED WITH CAUTION.
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 Blu-ray Review + Screenshots){kind=link}
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