Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

SpecialsTarget Disturbing yet enthralling

Bessie Smyth Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Sanjeev Waters A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

callanvass Ah. The 80's; It had many movies I loved, but it also produced a lot of stinkers like this one. It's set in downtown Manhattan which is a good place for a setting, but what follows couldn't be more mundane if it tried. I liked the idea of strippers being knocked off. It's rather enticing and slightly controversial, but they didn't do enough about it for my liking. You know what really astounds me, though? The fantastic cast that this has assembled; how did Abel Ferrara manage this?! It's not like Abel is a bad director. He made this solid Mrs. 45, the excellent Bad Lieutenant, among others, this is just one of those misfires that doesn't work. Tom Bergenger & Billy Dee Williams are solid actors, but they bored me here. The chemistry is OK, but they just weren't that interesting. Stars like Melanie Griffith & Rae Dawn Chong do what they have to do adequately. Final Thoughts: Leave this where it belongs; collecting dust on some shelves, because that is where this turkey belongs. I didn't see the whole thing due to boredom, so good luck!2/10

jjnxn-1 Highlighted in the book Bad Movies We Love which is just the place for it and an apt description. Super cheesy mid 80's crime drama played straight but good for many unintentional laughs. Cast full of B actors this suspense thriller is loaded with dialogue that will have you laughing out loud especially since it is said in deadly earnest. Berenger is a decent actor and gives the best performance, not that the bar has been set too high. Melanie is horrendously bad. The opening and closing title sequences including the music are classic examples of 80's techno-pop excess, that does however contribute to the squalid, trash wallow feeling of the entire enterprise. This is only for when you're in the mood for a guilty pleasure viewing experience.

lastliberal There are a lot of familiar and interesting characters in the film: Tom Berenger (Platoon), Billy Dee Williams (Brian's Song, Star Wars V & VI), Melanie Griffith (Working Girl, Body Double), Rae Dawn Chong (Quest for Fire, Commando), Michael V. Gazzo (The Godfather Part II), and Maria Conchita Alonso (Running Man, Predator 2), to name a few.Abel Ferrara (Body Snatchers, Bad Lieutenant) is a very good director. This was not one of his best, but you really can't judge it fairly after the MPAA made them cut it so much just to get an R.If you like skin, there is plenty, even from the young Melanie Griffith.This is the seedy side of New York City before it was supposedly cleaned up. Strip clubs are screaming because the supply is getting low with a serial killer on the loose. t one point, it was really hard to watch what they were forced to use.The mob decides they can't wait for the cops and start looking on their own.I really didn't get this karate slasher. First time I saw one. Kind of silly.

rosscinema I think the reason that a good director like Abel Ferrara made this predictable film was that after making such low budget films he would branch out and make something more commercial. After gaining good notices for the cult hit "Ms.45" Ferrara probably was given an assignment by a decent studio with a decent budget. Well, "Fear City" is a violent and raunchy thriller that goes from being predictable to downright silly! Tom Berenger who is about two years from "Platoon" plays an ex-boxer who along with his pal Jack Scalia run an agency that sends strippers out to work in dance clubs. Unfortunately, they're is also a psycho who is killing strippers and its creating havoc in the clubs. The woman are afraid to work and the cops are coming down hard on the clubs trying to find the killer. Billy Dee Williams plays a cop that is so racist and sleazy that he becomes a cliche'. Melanie Griffith appeared in this film the same year that "Body Double" was released so this was the year that her career really started to blossom. She appears nude here and so does her friend in the film Rae Dawn Chong. There is an abundant of nudity in the film as most scenes take place in the strip clubs. The ending is preposterous as... ***SPOILER ALERT*** I'm about to describe the ending as Tom Berenger gets in shape ala' Rocky and takes on a psycho who knows karate. You can guess the outcome! Good shots of authentic New York locations before that section of the city was cleaned up. Ferrara is a very good director but at that time I think he was just trying for a more mainstream audience and the result is a cheesy thriller. The raunchy settings make it somewhat watchable and seeing these actors in early roles is interesting but its clearly a misfire.