When New York is caught in the grip of a sadistic serial killer who preys on patrons of the city's underground bars, rookie cop Steve Burns infiltrates the S&M subculture to try and lure him out of the shadows.
Directed by William Friedkin
new york city
police
undercover
homophobia
detective
fetish
cruising
exploitation
gay club
sadomasochism
sexual murder
murder
serial killer
whodunit
stabbing
interrogation
leather
subculture
nypd
bdsm
murder investigation
police interrogation
pretending to be gay
gay theme
ambiguity
american giallo
Rank
#15 in 1980·#3219 overall
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Letterboxd
3.6 / 5
Where to Watch
Cast
Al Pacino
Steve Burns
Paul Sorvino
Capt. Edelson
Karen Allen
Nancy Gates
Richard Cox
Stuart Richards
Don Scardino
Ted Bailey
Joe Spinell
Patrolman DiSimone
Jay Acovone
Skip Lee
Gene Davis
DaVinci
Barton Heyman
Dr. Rifkin
Arnaldo Santana
Loren Lukas
Larry Atlas
Eric Rossman
Sonny Grosso
Det. Blasio
Crew
William Friedkin
Director
William Friedkin
Writer
Jack Nitzsche
Original Music Composer
Jerry Weintraub
Producer
Mark Johnson
Production Executive
Sonny Grosso
Technical Advisor
Charles L. Campbell
Supervising Sound Editor
Popular Reviews
528 reviews
eva
6.0★ · 03/07/26
this was probably al pacino’s gay awakening
this was probably al pacino’s gay awakening
1
Jaime
8.0★ · 11/13/25
more like SLUTPICO
more like SLUTPICO
1
marcel
8.0★ · 08/23/25
was not expecting such an open-ended conclusion but alright. you will never catch me with a yellow bandana no shade.
was not expecting such an open-ended conclusion but alright. you will never catch me with a yellow bandana no shade.