The Executioner, Part II

Not one of those grind-house flicks that are so cheesy that they are enjoyable; this one is so bad that it is painful to watch.

A take-off on Charles Bronson's Death Wish, but without the class. The "executioner" has flashbacks to Vietnam and runs around grunting and saying "I'm the Judge and Jury" before he puts a grenade in someones pants after some pitiful chop socky.

There is no blood even though he cuts the throats of some of his criminals and there is only one brief flash of nudity - someone must have screwed up there.

The crime lord just spends his time blowing on lit cigarettes and telling his lackey to bring him more young girls - not for sex mind you, but to use as an ashtray.

The teens remind me of Reefer Madness the way they carry on when they are smoking, and they are always asking for coke.

Of course, the Executioner is sent out of town instead of being arrested, maybe to do Executioner I, which doesn't exist.

I wasted my time so you don't have too.

The Executioner, Part II (1984)

* (out of 4)

Lieutenant O'Malley (Christopher Mitchum) must investigate a group of killings where it seems rapists and murderers are being executed by someone wearing a mask. Before long O'Malley starts to think that he might know who is behind it and there (shock) might be a connection to Vietnam.

THE EXECUTIONER, PART II is a really, really awful film. It's a really awful movie on just about every level but thankfully it starts off campy enough to where you'll be able to get a few laughs out of it. The opening sequences in Vietnam are just downright laughable as I'm going to guess that they were actually filmed in California. The film really picks up through the first twenty-minutes or so because we see the masked avenger beating thugs over the head and best of all putting grenades on them, which is followed by the same stock footage use of an explosion.

For some strange reason the movie really falls apart during the final hour. Whereas the opening moments were campy and funny, the rest of the film is pretty darn straight and extremely boring. I'm really not sure why they decided to focus more on the police and the investigation because this really slows the film down and brings it to a crashing halt. Yes, the entire movie is pretty bad on a technical level but at least you can have some fun and laugh at the opening stuff.

Mitchum is mildly entertaining in his role and we've also got Aldo Ray in a supporting bit. Getting to see these two actors is always a plus but they're sadly in a pretty limp movie that doesn't have much going for it.

Is it a sequel? Is it a rip-off? Is it the biggest pile of crap you've ever seen or the most entertaining Z-grade exploitation movie ever made? Well actually, the answer to all of these questions (except maybe the first one) is a straight and simple YES! This is clearly a part two to *something*, only nobody knows exactly what the original film was. It's also a shameless cash-in on the contemporary very popular vigilante action movies, like for example "Death Wish" or more particularly "The Exterminator". The film is also irredeemably bad, with a totally unoriginal screenplay, an incoherent structure and awful … AWFUL acting performances. But, and for the exact same reasons, "The Executioner Part II" is simultaneously one of the most hilariously entertaining movies of its type I've ever seen! The movie opens with vague and random footage of the war in Vietnam, trying to dramatically introduce buddy soldiers Mike and Roger nearly getting killed by friendly fire. Back at home in the big city, Mike works as a mechanic in his own garage and Roger suddenly became a prominent police inspector. The rotten, depressing and crime-infested city is ruled by a perverted gangster known as 'The Tattooed Man", who rapes under aged drug-addicted girls and bribes the local politicians. There's also a bloodthirsty avenging angel prowling the streets, and it takes Roger an awful long time before realizing his buddy Mike is the one executing all the criminals like they're Charlies. The film isn't too gory (they probably didn't have the budget for fake blood) but the overall atmosphere is raw and very aggressive. I mentioned it before, but I simply have to mention the acting performances again! They should have handed out Oscars to everyone involved in this laugh riot production, particularly to the woman who plays the journalist and to the dope-smoking teenage girls. The journalist can hardly pronounce a word correctly and the girls act like Beavis & Butt-Head. "The Executioner Part II" is deliciously rancid 80's cheese, impossible to reward with a rating higher than five because it truly really honestly is terrible, but nonetheless highly recommended.

A Vietnam vet turned vigilante, called 'The Executioner' (oh, brother) is taking it upon himself to, well, to execute the scum and the vermin of LA while apparently under some type of hypnosis, or during flashbacks. Okay, well, that is mostly a subplot, as two thirds of the film seems to be taken up by moronic teenagers getting stoned and pressuring a girl to go into prostitution, and more Vietnam flashbacks.

Horrendous acting by a cast of mostly (deservedly) unknown actors, fight scenes seemingly choreographed by junior high school students, and awful dubbing dominate this zero budget Z-movie.

A slightly amusing exploitation flick with hilarious dialogue, but even with a run-time of one hour and twenty minutes, it goes on far too long.

If a sequel had ever been made, it probably would have been titled Executioner, Part I.

It seems to me that the majority of "bad movies" are pretty boring. Too often we bust a gut laughing when a critic shreds a lousy flick, but we then find that actually watching the movie is a grim experience with few laughs. Fortunately, Executioner 2 is a clunker that delivers.

In the early 80s James Bryan wowed the bad film community with Don't Go In the Woods. I found another movie of his, Hellriders, terribly dull. But with Executioner 2 he's back on track. It's your basic vigilante movie, with bad guys running scared and cops embarrassed at the public's support for the vigilante. As was the case in Woods, the dialogue was dubbed (even though the characters were speaking English to begin with). Some not so good acting, a pair of stoner high school girls who are constantly laughing ("oh, heavenly coke!"), and Aldo Ray (of the movie "Bog") make Executioner part 2 a must-see. Sure, some parts are boring, but overall it's worth it. Watch this movie, it will justify your having searched through dozens of other lousy films in your quest for B-Movie Nirvana.