As the 1980s rolled on, a new, bullish attitude to war took hold in America, the weary cynicism of the previous decade giving way to an unabashed celebration of military might. Numerous filmmakers and producers sought to capitalise on the emerging mood... among them New World Pictures, the company founded by the legendary Roger Corman. In The Annihilators, the war comes home as a group of army vets, battle-scarred from their travails in the jungles of Vietnam, are forced to dust off their combat moves once again when one of their own meets his demise at the hands a violent criminal gang. Deciding that enough is enough, the self-styled Annihilators, led by the redoubtable Bill (Christopher Stone, The Howling, Cujo), set out to equip the beleaguered citizens of downtown Atlanta with the skills they need to rid their streets of crime and vice. Directed by Charles E. Sellier Jr. (Silent Night, Deadly Night) and co-starring Gerrit Graham (Phantom of the Paradise) and Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs (Death Wish), The Annihilators is a brash, no-holds-barred slice of vigilante justice from the golden age of B-movie action.
