Fear City was Abel Ferrara’s follow-up to his exploitation/art-house cross-over classic Ms. 45 (1981). Rarely has a
filmmaker found himself in such perfect time and place to make exactly the kind
of films that suit him. New York City in the 1970s and 80s was just dangerous
and sleazy enough to accommodate the violent, neo-noir scenarios that we associate
with Ferrara. Written by longtime collaborator Nicholas St. John, (who wrote
all of Ferrara’s major films except for Bad Lieutenant), Fear City tells
the story of two partners (Tom Berenger and Jack Scalia) who run an exotic
dancers agency, and whose business suffers when a martial-arts practicing
serial slasher starts assaulting beautiful women, including strippers. The
pair, who at first suspect their competitors are behind the attacks, find
themselves under pressure from a surly police detective (Billy Dee Williams)
and a mafia chieftain (Rossano Brazzi) to solve the problem before more girls
are hurt, and before the entire industry suffers further. Berenger is a former
boxer who retired after killing an opponent in the ring. Melanie Griffith and
Rae Dawn Chong play two of the dancers. In lesser hands, the plot points would
seem like nothing more than crime drama clichés, but Ferrara respects his
material and compliments character-driven scenarios with arresting visuals. The
characters aren’t simply in service of the plot; they have their separate paths
and reach conclusions that make sense for each of them, especially Berenger’s
ex-boxer looking for redemption. Fear City is a satisfying thriller made
by an auteur clearly on the fast track from low-budget exploitation to more serious
and professional work.
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