Tom's Corner:
Fear City
(1984, Abel Ferrara, dir.)
Abel Ferrara does some great movies. He directed Bad Lieutenant and King of New York. He also directed Fear City, which came out in 1984. This movie primarily takes place in old, filthy Midtown Manhattan, before it was cleaned up and sanitized, and it shows. Filmed on location, Fear City is a gritty, and sometimes unintentionally funny look at what happens when a killer whose motives are never clearly defined decides to go to war against strippers, and it's up to the heroic mafioso and Officer Billy Dee Williams to protect them.
We open to the strains of David Johansen's “New York Doll (you can listen to it here:).” Meanwhile, Ferrara knows we really came for the T&A, and he showers us with it. Man, that opening was sleazy and creepy. After pausing the movie and showering, I was ready to watch the rest.
Hey look, it's Ola Ray! What, you don't recognize the name? Well, she walked with Michael Jackson and was danced at by zombies in the “Thriller” video. Here, she walks and gets stabbed. Girl can't catch a break.
Soon we meet Nicky (Jack Scalia) and Matty (Tom Berenger). They're two nice young men who work for the mob, making sure strip clubs are fully stocked with women. And THESE, ladies and gentlemen, are our heroes. Matty is our main hero; he was a boxer who killed a man in the ring. We also meet Loretta (a young Melanie Griffith, who I am sure wishes she NEVER did this movie), and Leila (Rae Dawn Chong) who are strippers. In fact, every woman in the movie is a stripper. I don't think there are ANY who aren't.
Soon, Leila is attacked by the New York Knifer (yes really, I wish I was making that up). Hey, guess what? They NEVER reveal who plays the killer, and it's still up for debate on the Internet. Personally, I hope they never find out, as this guy is only an effective actor when he doesn't speak. As soon as he opens his mouth, the giggles start. Also, our first moment of unintentional hilarity is when he stalks Leila. She's dancing at the Club Latino, which is filled with stereotypical men of Hispanic descent...and this one white guy in a hoodie. Nothing suspicious here.
So, he goes on killing, and the mob...adds more men to their clubs to protect the girls, despite the fact that ALL the attacks happen when the girls have left the clubs. Genius. Also, at random points, the killer writes in his journal and practices martial arts. But the posters promise Billy Dee Williams. Where is he, you may ask. Fortunately for you, I have the answers.
All throughout the movie, homicide detective Billy Dee Williams (come on, you know no matter who he plays, you either think of Lando Calrissian or Billy Dee when you see him, so telling you he's named Al Wheeler in this will make no difference) and his mostly silent little Spanish pal Sanchez (played by Daniel Faraldo) are trying to solve the murders. Billy Dee gets the best line in the whole movie, 'Don't rock n' roll with me! I'm not here to get jerked off!' This is about all you need to know about his character.
In the climactic climax, Matty faces off with our killer, a wounded Melanie Griffith limping away. It's martial arts mayhem versus Matty's boxing prowess. Three guesses on this one.
Some other funny scenes:
* Melanie Griffith stripping (yeah, she does get topless in this) looks like interpretive dance at one point.
* The killer hangs out on the street with a samurai sword waiting to behead a girl. In 1984, apparently, one could walk the streets of the city wielding a large piece of steel with no one batting an eye.
* After Matty hits his lowest point, his Mafia boss gives him a pep talk that leads to a training montage. Remember kids, whenever you're down, only your local crimelord can give you the best advice.
* The sketch of the killer makes him look like a young Richard Dean Anderson of MacGuyver fame.
We need to wrap this up with a moral, so here it is: When your city is threatened by a man who kills strippers, all you need is a slightly psychotic ex-boxer low level mafioso to take care of the problem.
That's all from me for now.
- Tom
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