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.
