10 Things to Know About 'The Exterminator 2' (1984)

10 Things to Know About The Exterminator 2

10 September 14th was a Huge Day for Robert Ginty

The Exterminator star Robert Ginty had the biggest day of his career on September 14th. That was the day that The Exterminator 2 arrived in theaters and, by sheer coincidence, it was the same day that his television series, Hawaiian Heat debuted on ABC.

Hawaiian Heat starred Ginty alongside Jeff McCracken as a pair of Chicago cops who traded the Windy City for sun and fun of Hawaii, joining the Honolulu Police Department. Tracy Scroggins and Mako co-starred on the show which lasted 1o episodes and was cancelled in December of 1984.

9 The Original Rough Cut was 40 Minutes Long

It’s rare when someone out Cannon’s Cannon Films but it seems director Marc Buntzman holds this distinction, wasting Cannon’s money and delivering a cut of the film that was not even feature length.

Well, that's Cannon's story anyway. Golan and Globus alleged that only 40 minutes of the film cut together by director Marc Buntzman was usuable, the rest wasn't good enough.

And that usable 40 minutes somehow cost over $3 million dollars. Twice the planned budget The Exterminator 2.

8 The Movie Doctor

William Sachs was known in the 80s as a movie doctor. Sachs was the guy to call if you had a movie in trouble. Sachs was brought in by Cannon Films to finish The Exterminator 2 and to do so without star Robert Ginty.

7 Robert Ginty Did Not Return for Reshoots

Watching The Exterminator 2 you may notice a distinct lack of star Robert Ginty. It’s because Ginty was on location making his television series, Hawaiian Heat. In order to work around this and get the movie to an actual feature length, the scenes of The Exterminator doing his exterminating, flamethrower and all, were made with Ginty’s stand-in, wearing a welder’s helmet.

6 Weaponized Garbage Truck Madness

While most people don’t have many good things to say about The Exterminator 2, fans have praised one aspect of the movie, the garbage truck. No, I’m not kidding. The weaponized garbage truck featured in The Exterminator 2 has been praised by fans as cool looking and an innovative weapon of movie destruction.

5 Who Really Directed The Exterminator 2?

The Director’s Guild of America states that The Exterminator 2 was directed by Marc Bunztman with additional scenes directed by William Sachs. But, Sachs disputes the credit. He claims he directed most of The Exterminator 2 stating in an interview:

“I would like you to know I was not only the c0-writer of Exterminator 2, I also directed over half of the film and remade the other half.” William Sachs speaking to science-fiction-filme.com.

4 The Original The Exterminator made More than $34 Million Dollars?

A number of reviews of The Exterminator 2 note that the original The Exterminator made more than $34 million dollars. However, if you look at modern box office reporting, you may notice a much smaller number, around $5 million dollars. That’s still profitable against a $1.5 million dollar budget but not the massive hit that $34 million dollars would have been against that budget.

So why the discrepancy? It’s Cannon Films, of course. Cannon floated the $34 million dollar box office gross for the original The Exterminator as part of the guerilla marketing of the sequel. Getting newspapers to write about a cheap exploitation film was a challenge but tell people the original was an underground, underdog success story and suddenly critics begin accepting invitations to write about it and further market the movie. Even bad reviews can be good for telling people the movie exists without having to spend much more on the marketing campaign. Cost cutting The Cannon Way.

3 Mario Van Peebles Designed the Look of X

Though he eventually played the villainous gang leader X, Mario Van Peebles initially read for the part of the sidekick, Be Gee. Director Marc Buntzman felt Van Peebles possessed far too much screen presence for a secondary role, leading to his casting as the primary antagonist. Taking a hands-on approach to the character, Van Peebles personally curated his wardrobe, blending the aesthetic of The Road Warrior with the striking style of Grace Jones. Frankie Faison eventually stepped into the role of Be Gee.

2 The Original Idea Was Far Different for The Exterminator 2

What hit theaters was a far cry from the footage Buntzman initially assembled. In an effort to save the production, new flamethrower sequences were added, the finale was completely reworked, and significant portions were reshot from scratch. Evidence of what was lost survives in the original promotional materials; the theatrical trailer and vintage lobby cards tease deleted moments, including a spectacular helicopter crash into a nightclub and an entirely different showdown between John and X. Despite fan interest, Buntzman's original rough cut remains unreleased and locked away.

1 Caroline was Supposed to Survive and Kill X

Spoiler alert for The Exterminator 2 Deborah Geffner’s Caroline dies at the hands of X’s gang. But that wasn’t going to happen in the original script for The Exterminator 2. In the original version of the film, Caroline would survive and, following the final showdown between X and the Exterminator, as X is preparing to give himself up to police, Caroline shoots and kills him.