Vigilante (1982 film)

Vigilante, later released on video as Street Gang, is a 1982 American vigilante film directed by William Lustig and starring Robert Forster and Fred Williamson. Lustig came upon the idea for the film through a news article about "a group of blue collar workers in southern New Jersey who had organized to fight crime in their neighborhood".

Plot
Eddie Marino is a factory worker in New York City and has a wife named Vickie and an eight-year-old son named Scott. Eddie's friend and co-worker Nick and two other co-workers Burke and Ramon have formed a secret vigilante group because Nick and the group are fed up with the crime in their neighborhoods. Nick and his group are also tired of the police, because the police always fail to protect people. Nick's "group" has support of various residents of the neighborhood who indirectly help them. 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 which was in retaliation for Vickie aiding a gas station attendant who was being assaulted earlier.

Frederico "Rico" Melendez, who is the punk leader of a Puerto Rican street gang, is arrested for the crime. ADA Mary Fletcher seeks a lengthy prison sentence since the country does not 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's lack of faith in the system is proven correct when Rico is set free after his right-hand man Prago bribes both Judge Sinclair and Rico's attorney Eisenburg. Enraged, Eddie attacks the judge and is sentenced to 30 days in prison. With Eddie in prison, the vigilante group tracks down the source of the drugs in their neighborhood. After roughing up a small-time drug dealer and torturing his supplier, they are led to a high-ranking member of the Mayor's office.

Meanwhile, Eddie befriends an inmate named Rake who saves him from being assaulted in the showers. After getting released from prison, Eddie joins the vigilante group in order to track down and kill Rico, Prago and 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; she wounds Burke instead and Nick kills her in self-defense. Upon hearing about Rico's death, 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.

Vickie is released from the hospital, but refuses to come home to Eddie as she is unable to be in the very house where their son was killed. Eddie decides to move away after getting disgusted with himself over killing a man as well as in fear that the gang will track him down. Nick unsuccessfully attempts to persuade him to stay and fight. While leaving Brooklyn, Eddie recognizes Prago and follows him on foot. Prago soon spots Eddie and they shoot at each other. Prago hijacks a car and Eddie steals a car to follow him. The chase leads to a local dockyard mill where both cars crash. Eddie chases Prago and confronts him on a storage tower. Sadistic and insane to the last, Prago admits of killing Scott and dares Eddie to kill him; Eddie responds by throwing Prago off the tower to his death without hesitating. Later, Eddie kills Judge Sinclair by planting a bomb in his car and drives away to an unknown destination.

Cast

 * Robert Forster as Eddie Marino
 * Fred Williamson as Nick
 * Richard Bright as Burke
 * Rutanya Alda as Vickie Marino
 * Don Blakely as Prago
 * Joseph Carberry as Ramon
 * Willie Colón as Rico
 * Joe Spinell as Eisenberg
 * Carol Lynley as Mary Fletcher
 * Frank Pesce as Blueboy
 * Steve James as Ptl. Gibbons (as Steve W. James)
 * Raymond Serra as Court Officer
 * Woody Strode as Rake
 * Vincent Beck as Judge Sinclair

Release
Vigilante premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 1982. This was followed by a sneak preview in New York City on July 23, 1982 and a wide release in the United States on March 4, 1983. It grossed $5,091,888 in the United States.

Blue Underground released it on Blu-ray for the first time in September 2010, and again on Ultra HD Blu-ray in December 2020, boasting a new 16-bit restoration from the original camera negative, HDR10 and Dolby Vision, and a new Dolby Atmos soundtrack.

Reception
Dave Kehr of The New York Times wrote that Vigilante was "directed with classical, self-effacing skill". Kehr identified influence from New York street realism and stated that the film was only possible in the period between the collapses of the Motion Picture Production Code and grindhouse theaters. Randy Fox of the Nashville Scene called the film "a grindhouse classic". Rodney Perkins of Twitch Film called it derivative of Death Wish but memorable for its cast and nihilistic tone. Chris Claro of DVD Verdict called it an incoherent ripoff of Death Wish that is still entertaining. Stuart Galbraith of DVD Talk rated it 2.5/5 stars and called it "an undistinguished, forgettable throwaway".