The Exterminator is a 1980 American vigilante action film written and directed by James Glickenhaus. It stars Robert Ginty as Vietnam War veteran John Eastland, also known as "The Exterminator". When a group of thugs paralyze his friend, Eastland becomes a vigilante, embarking on a mission to cleanse New York of organized crime. The film also stars Samantha Eggar, Christopher George and Steve James. It has gained a cult following since its release. Plot During a firefight in Vietnam, U.S. soldiers John Eastland and his best friend, Michael Jefferson, are captured by the Viet Cong. They are tied to wooden stakes with several other men, and tortured for information. When Eastland refuses to answer, the VC commander decapitates the soldier beside him with a machete. Jefferson escapes moments later, kills the remaining VC soldiers, and unties Eastland, who then kills the commander. The film then shifts to New York, where Eastland and Jefferson work in a warehouse. One day, Eastland catches a group of thugs, called the Ghetto Ghouls, trying to steal beer. He is attacked, but Jefferson comes to his aid. They defeat them, but the gang return to cripple Jefferson, gouging his spine with a meat hook. Eastland, after this incident, captures and interrogates one of the gang members with a flamethrower. He then attacks the gang's base of operations with his rifle, shooting one gang member and leaving two others tied up in a basement (also shooting one of them afterwards), which is full of hungry rats. Eastland's vigilante justice doesn't end there. The warehouse where he works has been forced into paying protection money. Gino Pontivini, the mob boss behind the scheme, has even taxed the workers' paychecks. Eastland kidnaps Pontivini, and chains him above an industrial meat grinder. Eastland then demands information to get to Pontivini's safe, which Pontivini reluctantly gives. Eastland barely survives an attack by Pontivini's Dobermann, so upon returning, he lowers Pontivini into the grinder for lying about the dog. Jefferson and his family are given Pontivini's money to help pay their bills. Detective James Dalton begins investigating the attacks, while the press dub Eastland the "Exterminator". Meanwhile, Eastland kills the ring leader of a child prostitution ring, as well as a state senator from New Jersey who sexually abuses children. He also kills three more members of the Ghetto Ghouls (one of which being the gang member he interrogated earlier), after