Leofwine_draca A typically brutal and hard-edged thriller from William Lustig, the man mainly known for his video nasty epic MANIAC. This follows the same path as DEATH WISH and THE EXTERMINATOR in its depiction of a man pushed over the edge by street gangs, who goes out on to the street himself to enact a hideous revenge on those responsible for the death of his loved ones. Although this is a film very rough around the edges (sometimes dialogue is muffled when background noise comes through), the pacing and well-staged chase sequences are spot on and the film has a vibe of realism which makes it more than viewable. It also concentrates less on the violence towards the innocent than other films of the genre which makes it a little bit less tasteless than most, and indeed more enjoyable.Although the plot will be largely familiar to anybody who has ever seen a 'vigilante' movie, the story keeps on moving and is careful to stick with characterisation at the expense of action, turning it into something more than another blood-and-bullets high-octane thriller. Saying that, the action keeps on coming and is well-portrayed, my favourite scene being the chase between Williamson and the drug dealer. Although the ending of the film can never be in doubt, Lustig makes some ponderous comments about justice and the handling of crime along the way.Robert Forster takes the lead role of Eddie Marino, forced to become a killer to get revenge for his family. Although not a brilliant actor, Forster is nonetheless likable AND understandable (that's the key) in his portrayal of the man, and doesn't go over the top - instead his subdued performance adds to the realistic feel of the film as a whole. In comparison, Fred Williamson gets to bag another hard-as-nails tough guy role for his screen career, and plays one of the coolest, iciest and just plain strongest roles of his career. Familiar faces appear lower down in the cast list, such as the British Carol Lynley as a district attorney, old-timer Woody Strodes tough as ever as a prison friend, MANIAC himself, Joe Spinell, as a corrupt lawyer and Steve James as an investigating cop. Ultimately, however, it's the unknowns who do well, particularly the guys playing the street gang members who create some of the most hateful and believable thugs you'll ever see on screen.

sol- An outburst in court ironically lands a factory worker in prison while his son's killer walks free in this familiar tale of an upstanding citizen driven to vigilantism out of desperation. Appropriately grim and gritty, 'Vigilante' almost equals director William Lustig's prior 'Maniac' in atmosphere and Jay Chattaway's throbbing synthesiser music score does wonders for setting the mood. The violence is also quite graphic, with certain moments (particularly the son's grisly murder) still shocking by standards today. As a narrative though, the film has several shortfalls. The resemblance to 'Death Wish' is not problematic itself, but the formula is so simplified here that comparisons hurt. There is no gradual progression of Robert Forster's protagonist from passive to active, with being sent to prison offering a simple snap for him to join the local vigilante movement in his area. There are some strange, unresolved subplots too, such as Woody Strobe going out of his way to help Forster in prison. The film could have also benefited from spending more time debating the ethics of vigilantism, which the movie seems to promote as a flawless solution without really focusing on the corruption, red tape and politics that have driven a culture of vigilantism (a single corrupt lawyer and shady judge aside). Never to mind, the film survives fairly well purely on account of convincing performances, uncensored violence and an unshakable grim air. Suffice it to say, it is a hard to film to exit not feeling something, even if it is ambivalence towards an endorsement of vigilantism.

dworldeater Vigilante is a grim and hard hitting revenge themed action flick in the vein of Deathwish. Robert Foster is father and husband who 's wife and son were victims in a home invasion . He looks to friend Fred Williamson for help in seeking revenge. Directed by William Lustig of Maniac fame. Vigilante is real nasty and ultraviolent. It also looks great and sound great with a score that is like a spaghetti western from hell. Acting performances are excellent across the board. Fred Williamson 's acting is the best I've seen from him .He is absolutely menacing and brutal here. Robert Foster is great also and shows a great range of emotions in this piece .Vigilante in tone is a very bleak film that is very well done and played serious . Expect little humor and watch Fred and company to take out the trash. Great cameo from Joe Spinell as sleazy, scumbag lawyer.Excellent.

theskulI42 "Vigilante" (1983, William Lustig) Ah, the vigilante thriller. I'm a bit critically underqualified to speak on this sort of film. I haven't seen "Death Wish", nor any of its sequels. But here is a film that is so upfront with its intentions that it doesn't even come up with a title. It named itself after the genre, equivalent to a film coming out called "Slasher" or "Romantic Comedy" and somehow not being an ironic joke/spoof on said films."Vigilante" is a film far more honest than much of its revenge thriller brethren in that it doesn't attempt to make any grand statement about the plight of modern life. It's not functioning as social criticism, and it's not trying to defend its actions (It does have a marvelous opening monologue by Fred Williamson, and there's a har-har scene about a pimp complaining about the recession and the plight of the working man, but that's all). It's simply presenting a tale of a bad guy falling through the cracks, and a man making sure he catches him, but it doesn't want you to think. It just needs an excuse to begin the bloodshed.Amazingly for a film so honest about its desire for bloodlust, it's remarkably restrained and intelligent about its kills. It doesn't just have death after squib after murder, it knows the definition of tension and building, and it spaces them out to marvelous effect. The shotgun murder of Foster's son is brutal even for this sort of film, and the way it's shot frames it for maximum effect without being uncomfortable or direct. There's only about seven kills in the entire film, but they come along at perfect distances, and as filmed in lovely slow-motion, with the squibs here being filled to the brim, and it's just damn satisfying.There are some wonderfully framed shots, and the car chase late in the film is great fun, but on the whole, the direction is sort of choppy and the film feels strangely empty, and doesn't end where it really should. Acting-wise, Forster is mostly a blank slate, with most of the juicy dialogue going to Fred Williamson. The rest of the cast is a great who's who of NY ethnic hood stereotypes, but it's fun. Another thing working for the film is the insane John Carpenter's "Halloween" score. I imagine it would work better in an actual horror film, but it's definitely got the over-the-top '80s synths working overtime. The synth is versatile though, switching to triumphant '80s glory when Forster just ain't takin' sh-t anymore.By the way, I wonder if Dave Chappelle saw this film, because not only does the pimp's scene bring to mind the Wayne Brady sketch from "Chappelle's Show", but the prison scenes with Robert Forster have an eerie resemblance to similar scenes in "Half Baked", including its own Nasty Nate that attempts to accost our hero in both the cafeteria and showers, and its own Squirrel Master spiritual guru. Tarantino ain't the only one. {By the way, this was nominally for the Tarantino Quest, but I've learned that if the reference isn't obvious, it probably isn't there (and it wasn't). I just wanted to watch the film regardless.} Overall, a surprisingly restrained yet satisfying film, and although I am far from being well-versed in the genre, I don't know that I'll ever find a better vigilante thriller than "Vigilante".{Grade: 7.75/10 (B/B-) / #15 (of 25) of 1983}