Vigilante

Plot synopsis:
Eddie Marino (Robert Foster) is a factory worker in New York City. He has a wife named Vickie (Rutanya Alda) and an eight-year-old son named Scott. Eddie's friend and co-worker, Nick (Fred Williamson), and two other co-workers, named Burke and Ramon, have formed a secret vigilante group because Nick and the group are fed up with the pimps, gangs, and drug dealers who keep taking over the neighborhoods. Nick and his group are also sick and tired of the police, because the police always fail to protect people who become victims. Nick's "group" has support of various residents of the neighborhood whom indirectly help them. In one example, a local thug stalks and chases a young woman to a rooftop of an apartment building where the thug robs and then kills her. An old lady who witnesses the thug says nothing to the police, but points out the thug to Nick and his group the next day. Nick and his friends forcibly grab the thug off the streets and place him in their van and drive away. The thug is later found dead in a vacant lot with all of his arms and legs broken and his head bashed in.One evening, Eddie returns home from work only to discover that Vickie has been stabbed, and Scott has been shot dead in a home invasion led by a street gang that Vickie encountered earlier. Frederico "Rico" Melendez (Willie Colón), the leader of a Puerto Rican street gang, is arrested for Vickie's stabbing and Scott's murder. Assistant District Attorney Mary Fletcher (Carol Lynley) plans to put Rico away for as long as possible, since New York doesn't have the death penalty. Nick tries to convince Eddie to join the vigilante group, but Eddie turns Nick down, preferring to let the courts handle Rico. Nick makes it clear that he has no faith whatsoever in the police and the judicial system. Nick turns out to be right; the case against Rico doesn't make it past the arraignment. After Rico's corrupt lawyer, Eisenburg (Joe Spinell), argues for the case to be dismissed after Rico pleads guilty to Vicki's assault, but not guilty to Scott's murder, the corrupt Judge Sinclair (Vincent Beck) sets Rico free with a two year suspended sentence. Eddie goes crazy and tries to strangle Judge Sinclair, who sentences Eddie to spend 30 days in jail. It was actually Rico's sadistic right hand man, Prago (Don Blakely), who had fired the shot that killed Scott while Rico was the one who stabbed Vickie. Prago also bribed Judge Sinclair, as well as Eisenburg, to set Rico free.With Eddie in prison, Nick and his group try to track down the source of drugs that have been sweeping their neighborhood. Nick chases after a small-time drug dealer named Blueboy (Frank Pesce) whom they rough up who points him to his supplier; a local Manhattan pimp. Nick and the group follow and confront the pimp and torture him to reveal his drug source and the pimp points them to a high-ranking member of the New York mayor's office. Nick and the team then assasinate the city counsulman as he leaves his office building the following night.In prison, Eddie befriends an inmate named Rake (Woody Strode) who saves him from being gang raped in the showers. As soon as Eddie is released from jail after serving his 30-day-sentence, he changes his mind about Nick's vigilante group. Eddie willingly joins the group so he can track down and kill Rico, Prago, as well as Judge Sinclair.Eddie, Nick, Burke and Ramon confront Rico in his seedy apartment where Rico denies killing Eddie's son and insists it was Prago. An unmoved Eddie shoots him dead, but narrowly escapes death when Rico's girlfriend attempts to shoot him, but wounds Burke instead, forcing Nick to shoot her dead in self defense. Upon hearing about Rico's murder, Prago takes over command of the gang and mistakenly assumes that dirty cops killed Rico. The following night, Prago and the gang ambush a police car and kill both cops in a hail of bullets.Another day or so later, Vickie is released from the hospital, but refuses to come home to Eddie and she leaves him, unable to be in the very house where their son was killed. Eddie decides to move away too, disgusted with himself over killing a man as well as in fear that the gang will track him down. Nick pays him a visit and persuades him to stay and help him and his group contine to fight against street crime in their own way. Eddie declines.As Eddie is driving through Brooklyn on his way out of town in his van, he spots Prago on the street and recognizes him from the courtroom that day of him being around Rico. Eddie parks his van and follows Prago on foot who soon spots Eddie and attemps to shoot him while Eddie returns fire. A climatic chase sequence begins where Prago hijacks a car and attempts to drive away while Eddie steals another car and chases after him through the streets, evading other cars and pedestrians alike. The chase leads to a local dockyard mill where both cars crash and Eddie chases Prago on foot again up a storage tower where he confronts him with being the person who killed his young son. Sadistic and insane to the last, Prago admits to killing Eddie's son and then dares Eddie to kill him, who responds by throwing Prago off the tower to his death without hesitating.In the final scene, Eddie targets the corrupt Judge Sinclair who sentenced him to jail by planting a bomb under the judge's car in the Brooklyn courthouse parking lot. That night, when Judge Sinclair gets in his car and starts the engine, it explodes, killing the judge. Watching from a distance in his van, Eddie drives away to an unknown destination and ending the movie on an ambiguous note.

Tags: neo noir, murder, violence, cult, flashback, tragedy, revenge, sadist

Review:
Directed by William Lustig in between his trash classic 'Maniac' and 'Maniac Cop', the movie greatly benefits from the strong performances of Robert Forster ('Medium Cool', 'Jackie Brown') and Fred Williamson ('Black Caesar'), two actors who unfortunately have generally been wasted in dull action movies and awful straight to video dreck.
Forster displays dignity and  depth of character as a working class Joe pushed to his limit, and Fred Williamson gives possibly his most impressive performance ever, as his buddy who shows him a way to get closure.
Both Forster and Williamson are supported by an above average cast of character actors including Richard Bright and Joe Spinell (both of 'The Godfather' as well as countless other roles), and veteran Woody Strode.
Vigilante (1983) is a revenge flick in the style of 70's Italian Crime films (He even shot it in Scope).
Robert Forester plays Marino, an average working joe who's family is attacked by an inner city street gang.
Featuring Fred "The Hammer" Williamson, Joe Spinell, Woody Strode, Carol Lynley, Frank Pesce and Rutyana Alda.Highly Recommended.Old school ultra violence, Lustig style..
The film is essentially a revenge thriller, which tips an over sized Barbisio hat to the Italian Euro-Crime flicks of the 1970s: A bitter protagonist; middle-aged hoodlums(who should know better at their age); corrupt judges; a car chase(or three); clichéd dialogue; mindless- slaughter, and Fred "That Man Bolt" Williamson.
The film stars Robert Forster playing an unremarkable factory worker whose life is suddenly beset by an inconceivable tragedy and (without giving too much of the plot away) he finds himself requiring little encouragement in joining a group of vigilantes led by his co-workers Williamson and two other colleagues.
Some class acting from Forster and Williamson keeps the viewer interested throughout and the climactic fight scene at towards the end of the film, wouldn't look out of place in an Enzo Castellari or Umberto Lenzi flick.
This is a well paced, well acted and thoroughly engrossing '80s exploitation film, with a compelling soundtrack and a nice little cameo from Italian director's favourite Woody Strode.Watch at (almost) all costs!.
Fred Williamson is magnificent as the leader of a group of vigilantes, and Jackie Brown star Robert Forster also stars.
Man with a vision - a man of action.The things I like about this movie are the raw realism - one can identify with the pain and suffering and initial reluctance on the part of the lead actor to join with the visionary vigilantes - until something happens to them personally.The corruption and unrighteous judgments in the court system are legendary and this facet of life in America is not left out - to this film's credit and a rebuke to so many other movies that leave loose ends hanging around to do more damage.A classic vigilante movie, actually better than Death Wish I think.
When a sleazball defense attorney (Joe Spinell) gets a lenient sentence for the leader of the gang who cut up the wife and killed the son of Eddie Marino (Robert Forster) he decides to take matters into his own hand, after her gets out of jail himself for contempt of court.
Sure this film is a tad on the cheesy side, but I'm a sucker for vigilante movies and a fan of Fred Williamson, Robert Forster, and Director William Lustig all.
And this film may not as good as "Death Wish", it's still enjoyable enough for repeated viewings.My Grade: B+ DVD Extras: Commentary by William Lustig, Robert Forster, Fred Williamson, and Frank Pesce; 7 Theatrical Trailers from around the world; 4 TV spots; 4 radio spots; promotional reel; and still galleryEye Candy: Hyla Marrow provides both the T&A.
This is not Bronson-like stuff, since the "Vigilantes" doesn't seem to enjoy violence at all - they just do what seems to be right, even if they know it's wrong (Fred Williamson's magnificent, ambiguous attitude seems to sum it all - this is perhaps his best role.) And when it comes to action, Lustig delivers.
Robert Forster stars as a father and husband who gets driven to the point of vigilantism after his son is killed and his wife deformed.
Director William Lustig (who also directed the trashy and gory Maniac) adds a sense of realism and desperation to the film and the violence seems very authentic.
What Fred Williamson and company do in this movie is what a lot of people would like to do but can't because the law doesn't allow it.
Director William Lustig's stirring low-cost vigilante picture is something a little more than your exploitative gung-ho revenge story, as while the material is lank and far-fetched its still implodes with some minor goods.
On one side of the coin has a small group of local vigilante's led by Nick (an inspired Fred Williamson) cleaning up punks that the law doesn't seem to want to touch and on the other side of the coin follows that of Eddie Marino (Robert Forster), a working class New Yorker coming home to find his wife has been brutally beaten and toddler killed.
In brief, but welcoming inclusions are Woody Strode and Joe Spinell as a scummy lawyer.The material is quite heavy-handed in what it's got to say on a flawed justice system, as Williamson spits out speeches about not living in fear and eventually the line between right and wrong is blurred.
The main charachter Eddie Marino (Played by Robert Forster) was ordinary citizen, who believed in justice and never had touch wih police and crime through his whole life till the moment when the local gang kill his son and injured his wife, and than he sees that for ordinary citizen the system is not functioning, and that he must take justice in his hands, with the help from his work mates who are doing that kind of things for long time.
Fred Williamson is definetely the main star in this movie, this role for him is perfect, i really loved Fred in some Italian B-Movies and other exploitation stuff but in this one he takes the show, he is just fighting for the rights of ordinary people, i would really like to have one Fred in my neighboorhood to clean the streets of scum.
Cult Director William Lustig's Follow Up to Acclaimed B-Horror-Movie, Maniac (1980) is Another Welcomed Power to the People, Cathartic, Revenge Flick.
Unpretentiously Titled, this One Delivers What it is Selling in No Uncertain Terms.With Iconic Performances by Robert Forster and Fred Williamson, and a Gaggle of Gang Movie Favorites, Including Joe Spinell as a Sleazy, Slimeball Lawyer.
It has Lustig's Trademark Ultra-Violence and Striking Sound Stings, and is One of Genre's Best.The Director Takes All the Clichés of This Type of Thing and Makes it His Own. It is a Film, that Once Viewed Rises Above Expectations and Becomes a Never To Be Forgotten Experience.
Vigilante (1983) *** (out of 4) Working class Eddie Marino (Robert Forster) has his child killed and wife severely beaten by a group of thugs.
He believes in the law so he allows the courts to handle it but the criminal gets off without any time so Eddie joins a vigilante group led by his friend (Fred Williamson) and goes out for revenge.
If you're looking for art then I'd recommend staying away from this but if you like "B" exploitation movies and are a fan of the vigilante genre then you should eat this one up.
William Lustig delivers the goods again (I love the Maniac Cop movies, too) and Fred Williamson delivers The Hammer to the bad guys and the creeps who have taken over Our Neighbourhoods!
Fred Williamson plays Nick, a factory worker who was so fed up with criminals getting away with hurting people that he formed his own vigilante group to do what the law couldn't or wouldn't.
Robert Forster plays his friend Eddie who wants nothing to do with vigilantism, even after his young son is killed by a street gang led by Puerto Rican tough guy Rico (Willie Colón).
When it fails to do so, he realizes the only way to get justice is to take the law into his own hands.Movies like this were all over the '70s and '80s, most notably with Charles Bronson's Death Wish series.
An ordinary Joe called Eddie Marino disapproves but later changes his mind after a gang murder his son and assault his wife and then are subsequently let off by the courts.This William Lustig flick is a direct descendant of Death Wish and the Italian Poliziotteschis.
It's an exploitation crime thriller pure and simple, even if like the other vigilante movies from the time it clearly tapped into something relevant.
It also boasts a really good cast including Robert Forster, Fred Williamson and Woody Strode.
You have to admire that.This simple tale of vigilantism stars Robert Forster and Fred Williamson and feels like 70's exploitation.
In many ways, it is, because director Lustig is all over films of that era.Unlike the vigilante depicted in Michael Winner's masterpieces of sleaze cinema, these vigilantes are matter-of-fact about their murders and don't lie in wait for the next opportunity.Everything moves quickly and one of my all-time favorites Woody Strode even puts in an appearance.Several miles south of Lustig's classic MANIAC, so don't expect too much.
Robert Forster plays a man whose family was brutally assault by a street gang and the system lets him down.
He eventually joins Williamson's vigilante group to wipe out crime and revenge for what they did to his family.
So is Robert Forster, playing an ordinary working man.At the base, this is a good story: Guys who want to take back the neighborhood from pimps, punks and all sorts of criminals.
Judging from the sense of "deja vu" this film gave me, Lustig had watched "Death Wish" several times too many before making this!
You might demur that it is, after all, a little action flick snack, but the film won't let you get away with that: You can't have it both ways.It obviously attempts to cop some fire from the "hard" reality of urban crime.
Robert Forster, normally a very strong character actor, is lost at sea here cast as a New York family man seeking revenge on the thugs who murdered his son and attacked his wife in a home invasion.
It's still a great flick, especially for those who like the Bronson DEATHW WISH series or that other vigilante film from the same period that fell into obscurity, THE EXTERMINATOR.The film suffers a bit from the liberal lie syndrome, otherwise known as the transparent, rapidly dying cult of "political correctness." It tries to represent the street trash who go around wreaking havoc as some kind of equal opportunity delinquents: one is black, the other is white, the other is Asian.
Much more realistic would have been to have made the gang all black with a few Mexicans, that would've been the real world of early '80s crime-ridden New York City but, as we all know, we are supposed to pretend the so-called "civil rights" movement that ended segregation and brought a black wave of crime on the heads of every white American was a GOOD thing.Aside from this typical silliness, the movie is great.
After the murderers get off scot-free thanks to a corrupt judge and he himself is jailed for 30 days for contempt of court, he decides to take matters into his own hands by joining a group of vigilantes led by a grizzled looking Fred Williamson.
And while it's by no means perfect, this gritty revenge flick pleases those whom it was designed to please.Fred Williamson is at his best as the leader of a working class group of friends who just want a safe neighborhood.
Straight-laced Robert Forster reluctantly joins this crusade after a brutal (and hard to watch) attack on his family.Williamson is definitely the high point here, but Forster and the other vigilantes have their moments.
The eighties were the nadir of the seventh art.The ideology which was rampant at the time really sucked.Better than the average Bronson material,someone says.Not better,a shoestring budget when "death wish" and other despicable stuff had huge ones.That's no excuse for botching such a harrowing subject.It' s unforgivable that a child's death is only a detail in a story of violence.Robert Foster's performance is monolithic,in the grand tradition of the tough guys of this dreadful era.How can we believe that this man has lost his dear little boy and that his wife has been savagely tortured?And the trial!the judge and the lawyers (the good and the evil) are cardboard characters.The story is full of implausibilities:Foster gets a two-year jail sentence(the jail sequences are pure routine),and when he's released,his wife is still in the hospital!The unfortunate prisoner is just out of jail,and presto!he meets his criminals!
Robert Forster offers an interesting, low key portrayal of Eddie Marino, a blue collar guy whose wife and son are savagely attacked by loathsome punks.
When Eddie realizes that he cannot rely on the "justice" system - including a crooked defense attorney ("Maniac" star Joe Spinell, in an amusing cameo) and an incompetent judge (Vincent Beck), he finally takes a friend, Nick (Fred "The Hammer" Williamson), up on his offer to help clean up the streets.
The good supporting cast is also a big help, featuring such performers as Rutanya Alda as Eddie's wife Vickie, Don Blakely as despicable lowlife Prago, salsa music legend Willie Colon as gang leader Rico, Carol Lynley as the ineffective district attorney, the awesome Woody Strode as imposing convict Rake, Frank Pesce as drug dealing scum "Blueboy", Peter Savage (to whom the movie is dedicated) as big shot gangster Mr. Stokes, and busy 80's action movie regular Steve James as Patrolman Gibbons.
(Keep an eye out for the walk on by Lustig as he exits an elevator.) The Hammer is especially fun to watch in one of his best ever roles; overall, "Vigilante" is good of its kind and packs a pretty mean punch.
Eddie Marino (Forster) is a blue-collar guy who goes to his factory job, then goes to the local dive bar with his friends (Nick, Burke, and Ramon - Williamson, Bright and Carberry, respectively), then comes home to his loving wife (Alda) and son.
It's while he's inside that he meets Rake (Strode)...but when he gets out, he decides to join Nick's group after all and it's then that the truth that he initially denied comes out: if you want justice, you have to do it yourself.Why, oh why aren't there more movies like Vigilante?
Unfortunately for Marino the law is corrupt, the system doesn't work and the gang member gets off, you know what happens next.This movie could only have been made in this era really, New York in the late 70's and early 80's was a dirty crime ridden place.
Actually most of the prison scenes are slightly amusing really, its all so clichéd as I'm sure you can guess and seeing old man Strode beat up this gigantic inmate is both awesome and hilarious.The one thing I don't get is these vigilantes that clean the streets of scum and eventually end up killing off some people including a corrupt member of the mayor's office, don't get caught.
William Lustig, the director most famous for the gritty serial killer shocker "Maniac" (1980) and his "Maniac Cop" films, created a cult flick with this "Vigilante" (1983), a film that easily surpasses all the "Death Wish" sequels in political incorrectness and shamelessly legitimizes self administered-justice as the only possible way.
The film is outrageous in its promotion of vigilantism - and this is exactly what makes it such great fun to watch!
When his co-workers found a vigilante group lead by his buddy Nick (blaxploitation icon Fred Williamson), Eddie Marino (Robert Foster) does not approve at first.
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.
William Lustig's follow-up to MANIAC concerns a blue-collar worker (Robert Forster) whose wife and child are attacked by a gang of punks (right out of John Carpenter's ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13), with a crooked judge allowing one of them (the one who knifed the wife) off without time served.
Instead, Forster is sentenced to 30 days in prison (Rikers, presented as if Hell behind bars) for trying to strangle the judge (and rightfully so) while his co-workers (led by Fred "The Hammer" Williamson) have formed a vigilante trio after the head honcho behind the drugs trafficking to teenagers on his street.
When Forster gets out of prison he wants revenge on those who have wronged him, joining up with Williamson and his men.This movie is essentially Lustig's DEATH WISH; Forster stepping into the Bronson Paul Kersey role.
***SPOILERS*** One of the better "Death Wish" clones that came out of Hollywood in the 1970's & 1980's has hard working family man Eddie Marino, Robert Forster, take the law into his own hands and exact justice against those low lives who murdered his four year old son Scott, Dante Joseph, and brutally raped and put into a coma his wife Vickie,Rutanya Alda.
As things turned out it was Quinn and the degenerated prison guard who arraigned all this who ended up getting belted by Eddie's good friend and cell-mate Rake, woody Strode, who was there in the shower room, with his clothes on, watching Eddie's back.Now back home Eddie joins up with this local vigilante group headed by angry black man Nick, Fred "The Hammer" Williamson, to do the job on Rico and his gang together with Judge Sinclair who made his life a living hell.