What you have here with "City in Panic" was the 80s slasher movie reworked and attempting to fit the topical AIDS awareness inference to reach the horror crowd of the time. It's a pseudo-propaganda piece and it's boring beyond all sense of reasoning, but for the shear ineptitude in which it goes about relating it's "message" is enough to force a recommendation out of me.
"City in Panic" follows that urban slasher mood sort of like "Maniac" - a serial killer is prowling around the streets after dark, targeting HIV-positive victims. A sharp tongued radio personality passionately speaks out about the ferocity of the killer and his motives - which tend to include the letter "M" carved into the victim's flesh...
Things you may learn from "City in Panic" - 1. AIDS is spreadable. 2. Babies born from a mother with AIDS are certain to have AIDS and die. 3. Non-homosexuals can have AIDS. 4. Homosexuals are sexual deviants. Such timeless entertainment with a noble agenda that is so poorly executed in this stalk'n'slash setting. The killer's big reveal and explanation lends almost understandable sympathy to a psychopath who murdered gays, most of whom seemed to enjoy carousing the local bath houses, stripping, washroom sex and other forms of debauchery. Other than the confusing "point" of the film, "City in Panic", in terms of the genre, is an overly 'talky' and poorly acted slasher flick. The only scene I somewhat liked was the hilarious glory hole mutilation.
If you can get into hacky, forceful and confused PSA's within your laughably homophobic body count films, "City in Panic" is one you may get a kick out of.
What you have here with "City in Panic" was the 80s slasher movie reworked and attempting to fit the topical AIDS awareness inference to reach the horror crowd of the time. It's a pseudo-propaganda piece and it's boring beyond all sense of reasoning, but for the shear ineptitude in which it goes about relating it's "message" is enough to force a recommendation out of me.
