Vigilante

Ever since I was a kid I've been a fan of Robert Forster. Thanks to films like The Black Hole and Alligator I was able to see what a terrific, albeit underrated, actor Mr. Forster is. And he's been popping up everywhere lately. From the new season of Twin Peaks to Mystery Science Theater 3000 riffing on his disaster flick Avalanche. So I thought it was a good time to catch up on some of his movies I might have missed.One of those that I remember seeing in the video store back in the day but never rented was 1983's Vigilante. Last week I ammended that and caught up with this revenge tale.

After his son is murdered and his wife tortured, a blue collar worker, Forster, tries to go thru the legal system and see that justice is served and that the gang leader who orchestrated the violence towards his family is served some hard time. But when a crooked judge on the take let's the gang leader walk and sentences Forster to time in the pokey due to an outburst in court, the mild mannered family man has revenge on his mind. He turns to his coworkers, who have started their own brute squad, led by none other than Fred "The Hammer" Williamson, for help.

Sure this is a knockoff of the Death Wish films, but it is just as strong and unsettling as the Bronson franchise. Both Forster and Williamson turn in great performances and are aided by some familiar faces including Rutanya Alda, Joe Spinnell, Frank Pesce, and Steve James.

This is definitely one of the better movies from the vigilante genre.

It's available on dvd and blu ray.