Vigilante

Vigilante (1983) is a hard-edged action thriller from William Lustig that you can watch online on iFILM. A New York factory man loses everything in a single afternoon, then goes after the people the courts let walk.

Eddie Marino works a steady job on the line and asks for nothing more, until a vicious street gang storms his home, beats his wife and kills his young son. A crooked judge hands the attackers barely a slap on the wrist. Gutted and out of options, Eddie falls in with an underground crew of ex-cops and working men, led by a partner played by Fred Williamson, who hunt the criminals the law won't touch. Robert Forster carries the lead, and grindhouse mainstay Joe Spinell turns up along the way.

Lustig, the man behind Maniac, shot this mean, grimy picture right on the streets of early-80s New York, trading polish for real neighborhood texture. It's built for fans of that era's brutal revenge cinema, when the line between hero and villain ran awfully thin. Stream Vigilante (1983) online on iFILM.