It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

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.

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

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.

Abel Ferrara is one of the kings of gritty, urban cinema, and he's made some good stuff with flicks like Ms 45, King of New York and Bad Lieutenant; but when he gets it wrong, it's often disastrous; shown by boring films such as Cat Chaser and The Funeral, and unfortunately; Fear City is another not completely successful film from the cult director. I went into this one hoping for something like a Giallo-styled urban thriller set in New York, but it's more like a hodgepodge of cool and dodgy characters, with a bunch of murders that feel more like an afterthought than a well thought out plot line. The plot focuses on a strip club in New York. Matt Rossi, an ex-boxer who was forced to quit the ring after killing a man is working for a talent agency with links to the strip club, along with his friend Nicky. Strippers start being murdered, and cop Al Wheeler starts to exert pressure on Matt and Nicky in the hope that he'll be able to bring them down. This leads Matt to try and track down the murderer himself...The main problem with the film is the plot. Ferrara doesn't seem to want to just focus on one thing, and the result is a film that tries to do too much and ends up being a confusing mess. Furthermore, it's often completely predictable where the film is going and it's not even all that fun getting there. The murders are the biggest disappointment as despite the fact that the director has something of a flair for violence - these ones are very tame and some of them even happen off-screen! Very disappointing. The scenes inside the central strip club are nice and sleazy and, actually, my favourite thing about the film. The characters aren't particularly interesting, nor are the performances. The only notable actors in the film are Billy Dee Williams (better known for his role in the latter two Star Wars films) and a young Melanie Griffith. The most notable part comes at the end of the film in the form of a fight between the boxer and the murderer. Overall, Fear City has a good atmosphere and looks nice; but this isn't backed up by a decent plot, so the film isn't all that good.