Director William Girdler (Abby, Grizzly, The Manitou) helms one of his most obscure, hard-to-see exploitation pictures. Austin Stoker is a hardnosed Louisville cop tasked with finding an out-of-control serial killer on a mysterious revenge quest who leaves taunting notes at the scenes of his crimes. Filled with fresh, unfamiliar location work and a catalogue of some of the most absurd hardboiled dialogue in any crime film, Combat Cops (aka The Zebra Killer)engages the audience from the start and never lets up. Girdler’s trademark energy and enthusiasm for his material shine through, delivering some of the purest grindhouse pleasure to be found from the 1970s.
“This urban thriller is crude, violent, lovably vile, and the type of flick I wish I could’ve first enjoyed in an old 42nd Street grindhouse…its ballsy, anything-goes sensibilities continually makes up for any shortcomings.” – Steven Puchalski, Shock Cinema
