Fear City

Fear City (1984) is a gritty neo-noir crime thriller directed by Abel Ferrara.

In the seedy underbelly of 1980s Manhattan, a brutal serial killer is stalking and viciously attacking strippers and exotic dancers, maiming and murdering them in neon-lit Times Square clubs.

Ex-boxer Matt Rossi (Tom Berenger), now a conflicted talent agent/manager with mob connections who books strippers for clubs, teams up with his business partner Nicky (Jack Scalia). They come under pressure from a hard-nosed detective, Al Wheeler (Billy Dee Williams), who forces them to help investigate while threatening to shut down their operation.

As the body count rises and his troubled ex-lover Loretta (Melanie Griffith), one of the dancers, spirals into drug abuse, Matt confronts his own demons from his boxing past and decides to take matters into his own hands to hunt down the killer.

The film blends sleazy 80s exploitation vibes, intense violence, and moody urban atmosphere with martial arts elements from the psycho killer.