Chirphymium
It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional
InformationRap
This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
Fleur
Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.
videorama-759-859391
For sickies, Fear City is much like a lot of other glitzy and not so glamorous sleaze type movies. You could compare it quite strongly to Angel or many other if it's type, only it's directed by Abel Ferrara, which has you wondering, "Why is he wasting his time doing this?" Now realizing this flick was made earlier, has made me having to change my verdict with that question, where he was still only trying to get started. But even before I pondered that question, Fear City still comes off better than a lot of other sleaze films. Yes there's boobs, other nudity, and some sick violence, something you don't underestimate with this New York based director, but it's quite a tight neck, and effective psychological thriller, but still cliché'd and very predictable. It has some great drawn characters, and the sort of actors you wouldn't suspect of acting in this, well most of them. Berenger gives a take note performance. He plays an ex boxer, harvesting much guilt who spent some time in the pen, on the account of manslaughter while in the ring. He's now an owner and co agent of a nightclub, hiring out strippers who are being nastily disposed of by a boxing psycho, so you know inevitably a show down is to ensue. Billy Dee Williams is great to watch as a hard nosed cop, who really has it in for Berenger, even at this end. Hate is a great attribute on screen. You will have to turn your eyes for about a minute, as one really overweight stripper does an act with a toy horse. If you're an AF fan, is for you, where if to looking along the line of an Angel/Streetwalkin' slasher of bit better quality, you'll be right at home with this one.
Woodyanders
A vicious martial artist psycho stalks and kills strippers in New York City. Hard-nosed detective Al Wheeler (smoothly essayed by Billy Dee Williams) investigates the case while moody former boxer turned booking agent Matt Rossi (well played with rugged conviction by Tom Berenger) makes it his mission to take care of the sicko himself. Director Abel Ferrara, working from a neatly seamy script by Nicholas St. John, relates the compellingly sordid story at a steady pace, maintains a tough lurid tone throughout, makes excellent use of the gritty Big Apple locations (it's a treat to see Times Square in all of its supremely seedy 80's glory), and pours on the sizzling sleaze with oodles of ferocious violence and tasty female nudity. Melanie Griffith positively burns up the screen as forlorn ex-junkie stripper Loretta (and, yes, Melanie does indeed bare her delectable body a few times). The sound acting by the bang-up cast helps a whole lot: Jack Scalia as Rossi's easygoing partner Nicky Parzeno, Rossano Brazzi as fearsome mob capo Carmine, Rae Dawn Chong as sweet lesbian Leila, Joe Santos as the short-tempered Frank, Michael Gazzo as irascible strip club owner Mike, and Jan Murray as Rossi's shrewd rival Goldstein. The big confrontation between Rossi and the killer delivers a handy heap of bloody brutality. James Lemmo's glossy cinematography provides a glittery neon sheen. But it's the vivid evocation of a dirty and dangerous New York City which sadly no longer exists that in turn gives this picture an extra raw edge and exciting vitality. While not one of Ferrara's best movies, it's nonetheless still worth seeing for fans of 80's grindhouse fare.
Michael_Elliott
Fear City (1984) ** (out of 4) Sleazy but pointless thriller has a man (Tom Berenger) whose job is to supply women to strip clubs coming under some heat when his girls start getting sliced by an unknown maniac. A cop (Billy Dee Williams) wants him to cooperate with them but he refuses as more and more girls end up dead. This is one of those movies where you sit there watching it and keep waiting for something to happen and then the end credits come up and you ask yourself what the point was. Having seen many pictures from Ferrara I know he's hit and miss but this thing here comes as a rather big disappointment. Apparently Fox gave the money for this picture but sold it off due to all the sex, nudity and violence but they should have sold it off just for the fact that it's rather pointless and goes no where. We learn that Berenger's character was once a boxer who killed a man in the ring. He just happens to be dating the best stripper in town (Melanie Griffith) who just happens to be having a lesbian affair with one of the victims (Rae Dawn Chong). Not only that but Berenger is having to deal with various crime figures, the police as well as strip club owners who aren't making any money. What's the point of all of this? You mention Ferrara on a message board and a fight usually breaks out as some think of him as nothing more than a bad exploitation maker while others see him as a talented filmmaker who refuses to play by the rules of Hollywood. I see him somewhere in between but with a picture like this I have to wonder if his only goal was to try and shocked people. The movie is full of nudity and most of the action takes place inside strip clubs except for when he wants a woman butchered and then we go outside to the dirty streets of New York. We go from one body to the next and in the end there's really no reason why. We don't get to know why the killer is doing this stuff. The Berenger character is never really explained either. Nothing in this movie gets explained and instead of any logic we just get nudity or violence. I like both of those things but after a while this thing just runs out of gas and has no place to go. For such a sleazy picture we at least get a nice cast with Berenger leading the way. I've always enjoyed him as an actor but I found him way too dry here. Griffith doesn't have much to do except show off her naked body but you have to give her credit as she also appeared in Brian DePalma's BODY DOUBLE the same year. Williams comes off pretty good and adds some sparks to the film as the hot-tempered cop. Ferrara is certainly someone you're going to either love or hate. While he's made a handful of good films I can't help but feel the majority are like this one. This certainly isn't the worst film ever made but it is a pointless one.
CcBlue62
The movie gives you the idea that everything takes place in Manhattan (particularly within the area close to Time Square) then you have an ending scene where the villain and hero fight it out in a long alleyway! (WE DON'T HAVE THOSE IN MANHATTAN – NOT EVEN CLOSE BY). I was born, raised and still live in this town; I recognized scenes of Little Italy and Times Square but found most of the scenes unreal and a great deal of the "acting" stiff and the dialog loaded with clichés.The cheap, fleabag motel scenes remind me of 1940's detective movies or scenes from "Miami Vice" TV episodes. The funny thing is it was shot in New York and they still got it all wrong! The only thing this movie reminds me of is the video game "Grand Theft Auto".
