The Zebra Killer

If there's one loss the worldwide community of cult/horror fanatics should continue to mourn, it's the untimely and accidental death of William Girdler. Girdler died in a helicopter crash when he was only 30 years old, but by that time he had already directed NINE films. Granted, most of those are low-budgeted rip-offs of more famous titles and his style was very rough-around-the-edges, but his entire oeuvre is versatile and very entertaining. Imagine, with his creativeness and high productivity, what he could have contributed to the genre in the 80s and 90s!

"The Zebra Killer" is not my favorite film of his - nothing beats "Grizzly" or "Three on a Meathook" - but it's nevertheless another solid thriller with suspense and a couple of shocking moments. It's part Blaxploitation and part "Dirty Harry" knockoff, but also 100% Girdler ingenuity given the plot of a white racist serial killer who disguises as a black hoodlum to commit his murders. Hence the title, by the way, no zebras were harmed during the making of this film.

Tough Louisville homicide copper Frank Savage knows there'll be trouble when he finds a note near a murdered body that says: "one down, thirteen to go". A sadist cat and mouse game unfold, and Savage's girlfriend even gets kidnapped before he realizes the killer is seeking payback for an old case. Girdler's filming style is rushed and unpolished as usual, and the plot features slightly too many dull conversations and a monotonous Blaxploitation soundtrack. The highlights of sheer brutal violence compensate for these flaws, though, including a scene in which the killer relentlessly pushes a lady down a flight of stairs in a chariot, or when he shoots a random woman with his sniper gun just to get Lt. Savage's attention. There's also a clever recurring action/suspense moment caused by the killer joking that he could even walk up to Lt. Savage and ask him for a match without him knowing he's the killer. Of course, this is put to the test.

There's a lot of misinformation regarding this film floating around. Zebra Killer (aka Panic City, Combat Cops) stars Austin Stoker and Hugh Smith as police officers on the trail of a serial killer in Louisville, KY. The murderer goes on to kidnap and rape Stoker's lady, which drives Austin to heavy drinking and chicken eating. James Pickett offers a truly stellar performance, and D'Urville Martin makes a guest appearance in his trademark pimpsuit.

Zebra Killer was originally rated PG but it received an R-rating upon release.

SOURCE: williamgirdler.com

A serial killer is loose in Louisville and even though he leaves notes behind each killing the police can't seem to make any sense of them as they are too brief and cryptic. Not only that, but each victim is killed by a different weapon and in a different manner so his motives are hard to figure out as well. Needless to say, the lead detective on the case "Lieutenant Frank Savage" (Austin Stoker) is under a great deal of pressure to find this maniac before he can kill again. And the pressure on him intensifies even more when the maniac kidnaps "Frank's Lady" (played by Valerie Rogers). To add even more fuel to the fire, all of this plays out in an area of the country where racial tensions run deep and the fact that Frank is black doesn't help matters in the least. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a fairly decent "Blaxploitation film" produced during a time when they were all the rage. Although times have changed and this movie is quite dated, it still manages to entertain to a certain degree and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Average.

Although this is classified as a "blaxploitation" film, it manages to be much more race-baiting than usual by having a white sniper (obviously modeled after Scorpio from "Dirty Harry" and thus indirectly modeled after the real-life Zodiac Killer)who disguises himself in black-face as he commits incendiary crimes against middle-class whites (which his why he is called "the zebra killer"--not because he kills any zebras). The good guy cop meanwhile is a black guy, thus giving the title its blaxploitation credentials. Still the plot was apparently pretty controversial which is no doubt why this film is pretty hard to find today even though it is probably cult director William "Grizzly" Girdler's best film.

It is obviously the kind of film that couldn't be made today, and that alone in my book makes it worth a look. Unfortunately, the version I saw looked awful suffering from both bad original film elements and tracking problems from one of the few remaining videotapes that is still circulating around. I'd like to see this film resurrected on DVD. Fat chance though probably since many of Girdler's early films (like the vastly inferior, but much less controversial "Three on a Meathook")have yet to see the light of a DVD player. Still they released the even more racially-insensitive "Fight for Your Live" (although that film had the advantage of actually having been banned in Britain)so maybe there is hope.

I was pleasantly surprised by the pacing and overall flow of this enjoyable blaxploitation flick by William Girdler. For the sake of argument, I would compare it to Marks' Detroit 9000 - though, lacking in budget (well...) and complexity, it is markedly (no pun intended) better. The highlight of the film is the maniacal baddie, again with the comparisons, who makes Dirty Harry's nemesis (name?) a gentleman in light of this deranged killer. The main character, Frank Savage, is also delightfully played with charisma and wit. Girdler's story is also interesting with generous amounts of dry humor.

Contrary to what I had heard, there are no (hard) twists in the film, but there are some disturbing moments. While the murders are not particularly gruesome or graphic, the killer is just such a freak that it gives ya goosebumps - or maybe I am just a chicken. The supposed "rape" scene is somewhat implied, i.e. not-graphic, and lends itself to some interpretation on behalf of the killer's mental state (that is, did it actually happen?).

There were some things that bothered me. As another reviewer here notes, Savage eats some fried chicken while investigating (the murderers and his girl's subsequent disappearance). I dont think the fried chicken was intended as a slur, BUT it becomes quite frustrating that Savage cant put together the clues (despite some given by mr.bad-guy himself) and furthermore, doesn't seem altogether too bothered by the situation at hand. Also, the brief appearance of D'urville Martin doesnt really fit into the story either. Perhaps it was meant to build the relationship between Savage and his partner, but I found it unecessary. The lack of any perceivable tension shown by the public (Kentucky seems pretty deserted, too!) doesnt really relay the (alternate) title "Panic City". AKA's aside, there's no real sense of urgency or panic demonstrated in anyone's (but the killer, really) actions. Perhaps a budget constraint??...

Anyway, these are ONLY minor gripes. As a blax era film, I would go with a high score, an 8 or 9 (outta 10). As an ordinary film, perhaps a 7.

Its only marginally what I would consider a blax flick - not just because it was good, which seems to not be a word in the blax reviewer's vocabulary - its more of "race film".

The score, by Jerry Styner, is a hot blax score. There's also a balld sung by Richard Williams (of TV fame?) 'You My Lady'.