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Fear City is a 1984 American neo-noirAlain Silver; Ward, Elizabeth; eds. (1992). Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style (3rd ed.). Woodstock, New York: The Overlook Press. erotic thriller directed by Abel Ferrara, and written by his longtime collaborator Nicholas St. John. It stars Tom Berenger, Billy Dee Williams, Jack Scalia, and Melanie Griffith in the leading roles, with supporting parts played by Rossano Brazzi, Rae Dawn Chong, Joe Santos, Michael V. Gazzo and Jan Murray.
The film follows a former boxer turned mob-connected nightclub promoter (Berenger) and a fiercely driven police Detective (Williams), investigating a brutal serial killer targeting strippers in Manhattan. The title alludes to the Fear City pamphlets distributed by the New York Police Department.
Fear City was Ferrara's first to be produced by a major studio, 20th Century Fox. However, it was distributed by independent company Aquarius Releasing. It received mixed reviews.
One night, one of their dancers Honey is targeted by a brutal assailant who beats and mutilates her. Rossi and Parzeno immediately suspect rival promoter Lou Goldstein, but he vehemently denies any involvement. Vice squad Al Wheeler is put on the case, displaying nothing but contempt towards Rossi and his colleagues and their occupation, and convinced that they know more than they’re letting on. Soon, Leila is also attacked by the unknown stalker and is hospitalized with severe injuries, leaving Rossi and Parzeno’s clients unwilling to work for fear of being targeted. The movie spends time showing the killer, a young man with a cold expression on his face, writing about his attacks and going through martial-arts routines in his barren loft that has human anatomy posters on the walls (the doctors from his earlier assaults note that the slashes to the women avoided any potentially lethal arteries or organ areas).
Rossi and Loretta slowly begin to rekindle their relationship, while Wheeler begins to suspect that the attacks may not be gang-related, but instead the work of a single person. When another dancer is killed in her own apartment, and one of Goldstein's dancers is murdered in a park, Parzeno and Goldstein reach an agreement to provide security and transportation for their dancers. But after another dancer is decapitated by a sword, Rossi and Parzeno’s business is left effectively destitute. Loretta begins a downward spiral into drug addiction after Leila dies of her injuries in the hospital. Rossi and Parzeno stalk and attack a man in one of their clubs, mistakenly believing he’s the killer, and drawing the ire of Wheeler in the process.
While Matt is harshly interrogated by the Detective, Parzeno and his girlfriend Ruby are ambushed by the killer. They manage to fend him off long enough for help to arrive, but Parzeno is severely injured and hospitalized in the process. Hungry for vengeance and seeking guidance, Rossi visits a local American Mafia named Carmine, with whom he built omerta many years ago when he witnessed him kill someone in a drive-by shooting and didn't report it to the police. Carmine tells Rossi in no uncertain terms to find the assailant and kill him, and Rossi begins preparing himself for the inevitable encounter.
When Loretta asks Ruby for money, Ruby gives her cab fare, and directs her to go straight home. However, Loretta takes the money to her dealer, where she discovers his body hanging in an alley. The attacker, laying in wait, stabs Loretta in the leg before Rossi arrives, and a fight ensues. Loretta goes for help as Matt takes several hits. Matt then taps into his boxing memories and begins landing bunches of punches against the killer, leaving the man's face bloody and swollen before winding up for a final belt that sends the guy crashing unconscious to the pavement. Wheeler and his partner show up, confirming that the killer has now been killed. Loretta is brought back to the scene by patrolmen whom she told of the attack and embraces Rossi. Wheeler softens towards Rossi, saying he just might be a hero, and letting him leave the area with Loretta.
The killer was played by a John Foster, a New York City karateka, in his sole acting role.Brad Stevens, Abel Ferrara:the moral vision, Fab Press, 2004, page 78 This was also the feature film debut of both Jack Scalia and Tracy Griffith.
On July 17, 2012, the film was released in the United States on Blu-ray Disc by Shout! Factory and includes the approximate 97-minute uncut version and the 95-minute theatrical film release. The sole extra feature is a theatrical trailer.
It is currently available on a special edition blu ray from 101 Films (both the theatrical and uncut versions), which includes a commentary with film critic Kevin Lyons.
A retrospective review in Tilt Magazine described the film as "Ferrara’s transitional work.... from a mind of schlock-aesthete, an answer to Taxi Driver as well as a foundation to Ferrara’s more self-serious works."
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