Vigilante (1982) ****

Vigilante (1982) is not my favorite William Lustig film—that would be his 1980 debut, Maniac (review)—but it is his most well-made film. I actually think it's better than Michael Winner's Death Wish (1974), the film it most often gets compared to (and accused of ripping off)—though I should add that I still like DW a great deal. Part of the reason for that is that the DW sequels (as wild and fun as they are) dilute the power of the original while Vigilante remains a singular experience.

The two films are very similar in story—that of an initially peaceful everyman who seeks revenge for violence against his family, which resulted in the death of a wife or son, after the system fails him. The difference is that in DW, Charles Bronson's Paul Kersey goes on a killing spree, taking out would-be muggers after dark, while Vigilante's DIY vengeance squad (comprised of Fred Williamson, Richard Bright, and eventually the film's lead Robert Forster) dish out beatdowns to rapists and drug dealers. Both methods are illegal but there's a certain air of nobility present in the organized crew of Vigilante.

Vigilante is actually quite tame when it comes to on-screen violence (which is especially interesting after the brutality of Lustig's previous film, Maniac). Most modern action films (and plenty of other ones from the 80s) are far more gratuitous. There's a specific tone and dramatic weight (as opposed to solely po-faced gravitas) in Vigilante not present in a lot of vengeance films. Lustig accomplishes this and delivers the grindhouse exploitation—that's commendable. Lustig's direction on Vigilante is quite skillful—the cinematography and editing, along with the performances are all top notch. There is a grittiness and realism in Lustig and crew's guerrilla-style filmmaking that few films outside of his own (or those of fellow NYC directors Larry Cohen and Abel Ferrera) have ever captured. 

Jay Chattaway, whose debut feature score was Lustig's own debut, Maniac (another brilliant score), here delivers a thrilling, pulsing, Morricone-inspired soundtrack that perfectly suits the film's "urban western" vibe. Seriously, I can't get enough of his "Main Title" and its variations. Sadly, no soundtrack for the film has ever been released, which is a crime in itself. Apparently, the original tapes are lost and the music track cannot be satisfactorily separated from the effects track, which Chattaway discusses in a featurette on Lustig's own label Blue Underground's limited edition 4K UHD of Vigilante. 

That new release rivals the company's earlier limited edition 4K UHD of Daughters Of Darkness (1971) (my review here)—an impressive feat, as that disc looked and sounded incredible. The new Vigilante disc is a thing of beauty—I've seen the film on DVD, Blu-ray and now UHD and the 4K presentation is simply stunning. Blue Underground is truly leading the pack when it comes to 4K releases from boutique labels.

The ending of Vigilante finds Forster's Eddie Marino becoming what he fears throughout the film's running time, which blurs the moral lines, but makes for good cinema. Ripped from the headlines or not, a film like this should be seen and best enjoyed as escapist fantasy in this viewer's opinion.

William Lustig Films Ranked