Alicia I love this movie so much

Sabah Hensley This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Loui Blair It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

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.

breakdownthatfilm-blogspot-com When it comes to movies that are pure crime thriller in that genre, every component has to be the best. Top notch. And somewhat relative to another crime thriller called Nighthawks (1981), also starring Billy Dee Williams, Fear City (1984) just doesn't seem to add anything new. It is almost equal in entertainment; that is mediocre.Fear City (1984) is about a couple of individuals that get caught up in the middle of a killer's rampage. The individuals consist of Matt Rossi (Berenger), a retired boxer and his partner Nicky Parzeno (Scalia) who are affiliated with the Italian mob and own their own club where topless dancers are the main attraction. But soon things start to go haywire when a killer starts assaulting Rossi's and Parzeno's girls and then they stop showing up to work.It's hard to imagine Berenger with an Italian New York accent but he pulls it off okay. Rossi also has a girlfriend who works at his club, Loretta, played by Melanie Griffith. Griffith's character does play a significant role in the story (besides dancing topless) but the fact that there was a subplot that involved her regretting having sex with Rossi was irrelevant. Writer Nicholas St. John probably should have reviewed his script first before filming started. I also didn't understand how the background of Rossi connected to the current plot. It's great that it was included but there was never a clear connection to why he went from boxing to management of clubs. And for the killer, I don't understand why he was uncredited and if that was the case, why he didn't come out and say anything. His performance, although not spectacular, was the main reason why this whole movie was created! His style of killing was different to see than the usual psychopaths, even though half the time nothing was scene. I also don't understand the logic behind that. The film had some many cuts in it because it was too gory. How gory could it have been? I could sure think of some films that were much more graphic. The Evil Dead (1981) sound familiar?Also no background was given to the killer and every time he attacked someone, the blade he carried got bigger. First it was a scissors, a few kills later he used a katana sword. Strange. Finally, in the end though, it leads up to a rather entertaining fistfight between Rossi and the killer. Too bad I can't say that for the rest of film. This crime thriller is directed by Abel Ferrara, who would later go on to direct other more significant thrillers like King of New York (1990) and Body Snatchers (1993). Ferrara's direction of filming in some of the dirtiest looking alleys in the city was a nice touch atmosphere wise. There are also a few comical scenes in this film but that's only because of the time this movie was filmed. Dick Halligan's soundtrack to this film was a little more involving than some others I've heard but it wasn't memorable. It's just a dry thriller.The script was written with good subplots but it seems to forget how to connect them to the story at hand. See it more for nostalgia of a young Tom Berenger.

SeriousJest Take Melanie Griffith, Rae Dawn Chong, and Maria Conchita Alonso, cast them as strippers and show them dancing topless, add a young Billie Dee Williams and Tom Berenger talking smack to each other with some stereotypical 80s-NYC lines, insert a psycho ninja slasher (played by an actor who, curiously, was never identified in the credits), and set all of this amidst slummy, early-80s Times Square (before the New 42nd Street cleaned it up). Now you've got a fun 80s-NYC classic. Don't get me wrong, this is not a good film in terms of actual quality (other than the acting, which I thought was awesome). The story is not that creative or unique, the script calls for over-dramatization at times, the soundtrack is wack, and the fight stunts are not top-notch (along those lines, Berenger, who plays an ex-boxer, punches a wall in one scene, and his wrist is positioned in an improper way that would probably result in an injury). However, the cast, the setting, and my nostalgia for 80s-inner-city movies made this film a good way to kill 96 minutes…and just because I strongly suspect that director Abel Ferrara didn't mean for this movie to be campy doesn't stop me from enjoying laughing at it.