Paura su Manhattan

Disappointing follow up for Abel Ferrara to the excellent Ms. 45(1981) for a few reasons. One, there is not the same emotional or intensity level of the previous film. Two, the main character compared to Thana is almost not likable. Three, at times the film is fascinating to watch while other times the film bogs down to boring.

Doesn't know whether it wants to be a slasher pic, a mafia epic or both. The inclusion of the mafia in Fear City(1984) sort of reminds me of Fritz Lang's M(1931). Like in M(1931), the mafia is interested in finding the stalker/murderer because he's hurting their business. Part of Fear City(1984) is a warmup for King of New York(1990) and The Funeral(1996).

A ridiculous aspect of the movie is the idea of the karate killer. I wondered why this film was not named The Karate Killer which is a better title than Fear City(1984). The karate stalker/murderer seems out of place in Fear City(1984) for he is someone who belongs more in a Steven Seagal film and less in an Abel Ferrara feature. Major putdown that hurts the film a lot.

Matt Rossi is a character that's hard to pin down. In some scenes he is arrogant and unlikable. In other scenes Matt Rossi is guilt ridden and vulnerable. Its this guilt ridden quality of Matt Rossi that puts him in the line of Ferrara characters such as Thana(Ms. 45), Frank(King of New York), and the Lt(Bad Lieutenant).

The filming of the sleezy locale of Fear City(1984) is one of the film's saving graces. Abel Ferrara is terrific at showing a part of New York where sleeze, sex , and death are common and life or human flesh is cheap. Done before the current Mayor of New York City cleaned that part of the city up. In the style of many similar Italian erotic thrillers.

Fear City(1984) and Lucio Fulci's The New York Ripper(1982) have a lot in common with each other. One, both films take place in the sleezy parts of Times Square during the 1980s. Two, the two films have a killer whose on an insane mission for human purity. Three, the violence and the sex in Fear City(1984) and New York Ripper(1982) are depicted in an ugly and unpleasent fashion.

Like other Ferrara features except for Bad Lieutenant(1992), Fear City was badly cut for its theatrical release in the United States. It seems that the director's films are not well liked by the MPPA. I might see the movie in a different light if I ever saw the complete uncut version of Fear City(1984). Scenes that were cut or trimmed involved heavy graphic violence.

The first flashback sequence is a fantasic blend of realism and surreal. Done with the same horror quality as the dream of Thana from Ms. 45(1981). The second flashback sequence is even better. Shows how Matt Rossi got involved with Mafia Boss, Carmine.

The fight between boxer Matt Rossi and the Karate Killer is both entertaining and silly. A strange way for Matt Rossi and the Karate Killer to confront each other. This sequence loses some steam after a few minutes bcause of the one sided match. Pales in comparison to the Halloween party massacre sequence in Ms. 45(1981).

Tom Berenger is average in the role of the tormented Matt Rossi. The best acting in Fear City(1984) belongs to Michael V Gazzo who gives some unintentional comic relief as erotic dance club owner, Mikey. The attack on the first dancer is done with the same editing technique as with the first rape on Thana in Ms. 45(1981). Melanie Griffith plays the same kind of character here that she did on Brian De Palma's Body Double(1984)[She is extremely beautiful and sensual more in Fear City than in any other of her films].

This early flick from Abel Ferrara piles on the sleaze as it deals with a group of strippers being hounded by an unknown night-time assailant; from a surprisingly good cast for such cheap exploitation fare, Melanie Griffith scores best as the most popular stripper around, who also happens to be her moody boss (Tom Berenger)'s ex, indulges in a lesbian relationship on the side (with fellow stripper Rae Dawn Chong) and turns into a full-blown junkie when the latter dies at the hands of our good friend, the serial killer. Nice clean family fare, then, right? While the film remains watchable throughout and even has a handful of amusing sequences (most notably when, having been mistaken for the killer, the wrong guy gets beaten up in the kitchen of one of these clubs) and performances (in particular, Michael V. Gazzo as an irascible strip-joint owner), it is seriously damaged by a frankly dull hero (or rather anti-hero, since we're basically talking about an ex-boxer-turned-pimp here) and a very silly villain (a karate expert/fitness freak/budding writer). Billy Dee Williams also stars as an irate cop disgusted by all the squalor around him and Rossano Brazzi turns up for a free plate of pasta as the pre-requisite "respectable" mobster overseeing NYC's underworld. For the record, the film was originally bankrolled by Twentieth-Century Fox but they eventually sold the property to an independent company in view of its objectionable content and a cleaned-up, padded-out version eventually made the rounds on US TV and European videos; also, the actor playing the serial killer remains uncredited to the end, just as the killer's name is never known throughout the film.

Good film that doesn't get the same amount of respect as other Ferrara movies. Fear City(1984) is a precusor to Spike Lee's Summer of Sam(1999). The character Matt Rossei is the typical Ferrara person who is guilt ridden and is continously searching for the pain relieving rewards of redemption. Influenced heavily by Maniac(1980), New York Ripper(1982), and The Godfather(1972). Like most of Abel Ferrara's films, Fear City(1984) was horribly cut to prevent it from getting an X rating. The opening attack is reminscent of the first attack of Thana in Ms. 45(1981). Melenie Griffith has never before or since looked and acted with an erotic and sexy quality like she does in Fear City(1984).

This Abel Ferrara has some weaker aspects to it, however it also boasts some pretty impressive things within it. Honestly as far as these type of 1980's films go, this one is far superior in many ways to the average. The IMDb rating here on this film is crazy really. It does have some problems this film, for sure. As said however, when compared to the average police crime thriller of the time, this one really does have many great things going for it. Overall, it is a pretty good film, and well worth a watch for many.

There also may be many different opinions on how good the film is, because there actually is a number of differently cut versions out there. Many of them with a lot of censorship. So if you do have interest in seeing this, definitely make sure you're going with a version that is not too heavily cut. Apparently even the US R Rated version does contain some extra edits, but not as much as many other versions. To my knowledge only the Dutch and Greek video versions are fully uncut.

7/10.

Abel Ferrara has definitely done better things in his life. But I think this is just the uneasy transition point between the early gritty horror of Ms. 45 and the later high gloss of "King of New York." There are many points at which Ferara has rarely been as outrageous as such as the stabbing of a stripper montaged together with a sexy strip routine. I also think he deserves points for putting half naked women in almost every scene.

But the martial arts fighting serial killer was utterly ridiculous and in the ending fighht scene I didn't see why he had to be so tough if his aim in life was to beat up women half his size and weight.., This was made for cable by the way, they just decided not to air it.