"Fear City" reminded me of "Vice Squad", another '80s flick which is much better made than you would expect for a movie that comes under the "exploitation" category.
It's not a surprise that the movie is well made, because it is made by Abel Ferrara, an auteur who started in porn, moved on to bargain-basement exploitation, developed a conscience and a sense of style and at last, refused to not be taken seriously with his cinematic visions.
That vision wasn't fully fledged with "Fear City", though. Perhaps it wasn't until "Bad Lieutenant" that it really came through? "Fear City" feels like an exploitation flick at odds with its purpose, like Ferrara had something to say, but hadn't quite worked out what it was, yet.
The spiritual theme is sort of there, with a requisite scene in a Catholic church, but typically Ferrara contrasts that with a backdrop of sleaze. Here, there's so much sleaze that there's barely time for anything else. Most of the scenes take place in strip clubs, and it seems like every second shot is of a dancing, topless girl.
The movie tries for a plot about a guy slashing up woman but doesn't really get there. The killer is barely in it, and most of the movie just seems to be about running a strip-club in mid-Eighties New York. The movie not only doesn't name the killer, he isn't even credited!
What I must say about "Fear City" is that it nails the sleazy, pitch black, neon light and cigarette smoke infused atmosphere of a menacing city at night time. It nails it to such an extent that characters and plots are overshadowed and barely register. Tom Berenger as our hero, a boxer turned nightclub worker, is apparently tormented by the memory that he killed someone in the ring, but we don't care. When the movie flashes back to that, it's tiresome.
"Fear City" also has Melanie Griffith, one of the sexiest stars in film history, who was also a capable actress (she was nominated for an Oscar a few years later). Here, she's underutilised. The movie treats her like requisite sex appeal without talent: it lets us see her without getting to know her.
I still enjoyed "Fear City" for how well made it is. It's just that the plot and characters are lost somewhere amongst all the darkness, the neon lights, the booze, the cigarettes - and perhaps more than anything, the breasts.
It's not a surprise that the movie is well made, because it is made by Abel Ferrara, an auteur who started in porn, moved on to bargain-basement exploitation, developed a conscience and a sense of style and at last, refused to not be taken seriously with his cinematic visions.
That vision wasn't fully fledged with "Fear City", though. Perhaps it wasn't until "Bad Lieutenant" that it really came through? "Fear City" feels like an exploitation flick at odds with its purpose, like Ferrara had something to say, but hadn't quite worked out what it was, yet.
The spiritual theme is sort of there, with a requisite scene in a Catholic church, but typically Ferrara contrasts that with a backdrop of sleaze. Here, there's so much sleaze that there's barely time for anything else. Most of the scenes take place in strip clubs, and it seems like every second shot is of a dancing, topless girl.
The movie tries for a plot about a guy slashing up woman but doesn't really get there. The killer is barely in it, and most of the movie just seems to be about running a strip-club in mid-Eighties New York. The movie not only doesn't name the killer, he isn't even credited!
What I must say about "Fear City" is that it nails the sleazy, pitch black, neon light and cigarette smoke infused atmosphere of a menacing city at night time. It nails it to such an extent that characters and plots are overshadowed and barely register. Tom Berenger as our hero, a boxer turned nightclub worker, is apparently tormented by the memory that he killed someone in the ring, but we don't care. When the movie flashes back to that, it's tiresome.
"Fear City" also has Melanie Griffith, one of the sexiest stars in film history, who was also a capable actress (she was nominated for an Oscar a few years later). Here, she's underutilised. The movie treats her like requisite sex appeal without talent: it lets us see her without getting to know her.
I still enjoyed "Fear City" for how well made it is. It's just that the plot and characters are lost somewhere amongst all the darkness, the neon lights, the booze, the cigarettes - and perhaps more than anything, the breasts.