Movies like The Exterminator (1980)
The best movies like The Exterminator (1980) are Vigilante (1983), Death Wish II (1982) and Death Wish (1974). If The Exterminator hooked you with its action and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDeath Wish (1974)6.9/10 from 1,006 votes
- NewestCitizen Vigilante (2026)Released 2026
Vigilante (1983)
New York City factory worker Eddie Marino is a solid citizen and regular guy, until the day a sadistic street gang brutally assaults his wife and murders his child. When a corrupt judge sets the thugs free, he goes berserk and vows revenge.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeath Wish II (1982)
Paul Kersey is again a vigilante trying to find five punks who murdered his housekeeper and daughter in Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeath Wish (1974)
After his wife is murdered by street punks, a pacifistic New York City architect becomes a one-man vigilante squad, prowling the streets for would-be muggers after dark.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMs .45 (1981)
After being attacked and raped twice in one day, a timid, mute seamstress becomes a violent agent of revenge for wronged women.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeath Wish 3 (1985)
Architect/vigilante Paul Kersey arrives back in New York City and is forcibly recruited by a crooked police chief to fight street crime caused by a large gang terrorizing the neighborhoods.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHandgun (1983)
Shortly after moving to Dallas, a young woman is raped at gunpoint. Her intense anger drives her to seek revenge, and she becomes a hunter on a vengeance mission.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987)
After the death of his girlfriend's daughter from a drug overdose, Paul Kersey takes on the local drug cartel.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisSavage Streets (1984)
Brenda, vivacious leader of the "Satins", a fun-loving group of pretty high school girls, searches for deadly vengeance against the gang members who assaulted her deaf-mute sister.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCode of Silence (1985)
A Chicago cop is caught in the middle of a gang war while his own comrades shun him because he wants to take an irresponsible cop down.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNaked Vengeance (1985)
After witnessing her husband's brutal murder, Carla travels to her parents' home in a small mountain town to start over. When she's repeatedly harassed by redneck locals, Carla seeks help from the town sheriff but is met with indifference. This continues until Carla's finally attacked, raped, and her parents executed by the twisted townies. Carla, after escaping a mental hospital, resolves to get bloody revenge.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
Defiance (1980)
Tommy takes up temporary housing in a New York neighborhood plagued by a violent gang called the Souls. Tommy is waiting for his next assignment as a seaman and though he tries to avoid the gang and his neighbors, it does not work. Soon he is battling the Souls and not only changing their attitudes, but the attitudes of his previously intimidated neighbors as well.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
Fight for Your Life (1977)
A minister dispenses justice on three convicts who take his family hostage.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisRaw Deal (1986)
Mark Kaminsky is kicked out of the FBI for his rough treatment of a suspect. He winds up as the sheriff of a small town in North Carolina. FBI Chief Harry Shannon, whose son has been killed by a mobster named Patrovina, enlists Kaminsky in a personal vendetta with a promise of reinstatement into the FBI if Patrovina is taken down. To accomplish this, he must go undercover and join Patrovina's gang.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Evil That Men Do (1984)
A former assassin (Charles Bronson) comes out of retirement to avenge the brutal murder of his friend at the hands of a sadistic torturer (Joseph Maher) employed by an oppressive foreign dictatorship.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisWalking Tall (1973)
Ex-wrestler and Tennessee Sheriff Buford Pusser walks tall and carries a big stick as he tussles with county-wide corruption and moonshining thugs.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHard to Kill (1990)
Mason Storm, a 'go it alone' cop, is gunned down at home. The intruders kill his wife, and think they've killed both Mason and his son too. Mason is secretly taken to a hospital where he spends several years in a coma. His son meanwhile is growing up thinking his father is dead. When Mason wakes up, everyone is in danger - himself, his son, his best friend, his nurse - but most of all those who arranged for his death
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSharky's Machine (1981)
Police officer Tom Sharky gets busted back to working vice, where he happens upon a scandalous conspiracy involving a local politician. Sharky's new 'machine' gathers evidence while Sharky falls in love with a woman he has never met.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKinjite: Forbidden Subjects (1989)
A brutal Los Angeles police lieutenant is determined to bust up an organization that forces underage girls into prostitution.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisEye of the Tiger (1986)
Buck is a Vietnam vet, recently released from prison. He returns home to discover the town being terrorized by a vicious motorcycle gang. When the bikers murder his wife and traumatize his daughter, Buck and his friends arm themselves to the teeth and wage war against the gang to destroy them once and for all.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisClass of 1984 (1982)
Andy is a new teacher at an inner city high school that is unlike any he has seen before. There are metal detectors at the front door and the place is basically run by a tough kid named Peter Stegman. Soon, Andy and Stegman become enemies and Stegman will stop at nothing to protect his turf and drug dealing business.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMessenger of Death (1988)
A Denver reporter investigates the mass murder of a family of Mormons in rural Colorado.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Force of One (1979)
Karate champion Matt Logan is enlisted by the police to train officers in self-defense after narcotics agents are killed by an assailant using the martial arts.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisWelcome Home Brother Charles (1975)
After wrongly doing time in prison for murder, a man seeks revenge on a racist law enforcement system and the detective who framed him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Sudden Impact (1983)
When a young rape victim takes justice into her own hands and becomes a serial killer, it's up to Dirty Harry Callahan, on suspension from the SFPD, to bring her to justice.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFighting Mad (1976)
An evil corporation tries to pressure a bunch of Arkansas farmers and ranchers to sell their land so they can strip-mine it for coal. The fiercely proud and stubborn Hunter family refuse to give in. This leads to a bitter conflict that results in several casualties. Eventually the take-charge no-nonsense Tom Hunter exacts a harsh revenge on the villains with the help of his bow and arrow.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
Blastfighter (1984)
An ex-cop, fresh out of prison, returns home to find it ruled by violent rednecks and must fight to protect himself and his daughter, using his combat skills and a powerful grenade launcher.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
SnoozefestMovies like this10 to Midnight (1983)
Warren Stacy, an office equipment repairman, begins murdering women after they reject his advances. To minimize the evidence, Stacy always kills while naked, wearing nothing but gloves, and further evades the law with his strong alibis. Veteran detective Leo Kessler is convinced of Stacy's guilt and begins using questionable methods to catch him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCitizen Vigilante (2026)
A man takes justice into his own hands, hunting down criminals. His vigilante crusade makes him a social media star but puts him at odds with the local police chief.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlley Cat (1984)
After her grandparents are savagely attacked, Billie uses her knowledge of martial arts to begin dishing out her own brand of vigilante justice.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisStick (1985)
After getting out of jail, car thief Ernest "Stick" Stickley witnesses the murder of his friend Rainy during a drug deal. To avoid getting killed by the same people, who work for mobster Chucky, Stick gets a job as a chauffeur for millionaire Barry Braham and lies low. As he gets used to his new routine, Stick woos Barry's financial consultant, Kyle McClaren, but must fight back when Chucky's men come after him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Exterminator?
The closest matches to The Exterminator are Vigilante (1983), Death Wish II (1982) and Death Wish (1974). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Exterminator?
People who watched The Exterminator most often go on to Vigilante (1983), Death Wish II (1982) and Death Wish (1974).
What is the highest-rated movie like The Exterminator?
Death Wish (1974), rated 6.9/10 by 1,006 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Exterminator?
Citizen Vigilante (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Exterminator?
Yes: Vigilante (1983), Death Wish II (1982) and Death Wish (1974).
How are movies similar to The Exterminator chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Exterminator, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.