City Streets

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Allan C Sleazy 80s thriller can’t decide if it’s serious or exploitation Streetwalkin' (1985) **1/2 I went on a jag a while ago watching sleazy 80s thrillers, such as ANGEL, BODY DOUBLE, and 10 TO MIDNIGHT, ahead of MAXXXINE coming out to get in the mood. I’d never seen this STREETWALKIN’ before, but remember seeing the VHS box at the video store, so when it showed up in Prime Video, I decided to give it a watch. Sadly, it’s nowhere as good as those aforementioned films. The story follows a teenage runaway, Cookie, and her younger brother. She’s seduced by a pimp named Duke who offers to take care of her. Cut to weeks later, Cookie is turning tricks for Duke, only to find out he’s not the nice guy she first thought after he savagely beats a hooker friend of hers. The film starts as a fairly serious dramatic exposé about sex workers in NYC, presenting what seems a very real and unglamorous look at what’s happening on the streets. However, the film takes a turn towards exploitation when Cookie turns to another pimp to send his goons to make Duke leave her alone. Duke kills the goods and then spends the rest of the night hunting down Cookie with his junkie friend “Creepy.” This plot is almost exactly the same as VICE SQUAD, where a killer pimp hunts down a hookers over the course of one night who done him wrong. Where VICE SQUAD is a vastly under-appreciated 80s thriller (it even had Stanley Kubrick’s regular DP shoot the film!), STREETWALKIN’ can’t make up its mind whether it’s a dramatic exposé or a Roger Corman exploitation flick. The first act of the film is quite strong. Oscar-winning actress Melissa Leo (THE FIGHTER and THE EQUALIZER reboot franchise), in her film debut, plays Cookie. The film’s opening scene is legitimately heartbreaking, with her and her brother showing up in a subway station and Cookie making a tearful phone call to her alcoholic mother, begging her to let them come home. This scene is so good, and Leo completely foreshadows the actress she’d become, it’s as if this scene were from a completely different film. Nothing in the rest of the film lives up to that moment, but there are a few other bright spots in STREETWALKIN’. The film also featured the film debuts of several other actors. Dale Midkiff, best known as the dad in PET SEMETARY, also in his film debut, is very good as Duke, at times tender and seductive, and convincingly flipping a switch to violence and terrifying. Greg Germann (ALLY MCBEAL) also made his film debut as the drug addict Creepy and is memorable in his part. You also get Leon (CLIFFHANGER, ABOVE THE RIM), billed as Leon Robinson, as the rival pimp who’s trying to help Cookie. Khandi Alexander (NEWS RADIO, CSI: MIAMI) also had her film debut here. Even Cookie’s little brother, also in his film debut, is still a working actor to this day. The film also features Julie Newmar, Catwoman herself, playing an older street-walker named Queen Bee who helps out Cookie, and also Antonio Fargas, Huggy Bear from STARSKY AND HUTCH, as another pimp who runs afoul of Duke. There’s also a bunch of other character actors whose faces you’ll recognize, so it’s an extremely well-cast film. But where the film falls apart is when it abandons its dramatic and realistic opening and then drifts into dull exploitation. If the execution of the exploitative elements of the story had been done with more flair, this might have been a classic. Instead, it’s simply a diverting piece of 80s sleaze, so stick with VICE SQUAD for a better version of this same story.  AI CAPSULE REVIEW: Streetwalkin’ starts strong with a gritty, emotional performance by a young Melissa Leo, hinting at a hard-hitting drama, but quickly loses its footing as it veers into bland exploitation territory. Despite a solid cast and promising setup, it never matches the punch of sleazy 80s thrillers like Vice Squad, making it more curiosity than classic. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 07/16/25 Full Review Audience Member If you are feeling a little nostalgic, City Streets, aka Street Walkin is a great early 80's film. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member Cookie (Melissa Leo) spends the movie trying to get away from her pimp. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Seedy and gritty fare from Producer Roger Corman featuring a runaway teen forced to the street and her abusive, hot-headed pimp who exploits her. Variety magazine hailed the film as delivering 'more than its share of sex and violence' and does have, for the most part, credible characters. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member Okay, if I'm being completely honest here this all screams of Reagan-era hysteria over what would happen to the children if you let them out of your sight for a second, but it has some amusingly sleazy moments and builds to a decent enough stand-off between the newly minted teen whore and her 'vicious' pimp, though I never fully bought someone as milquetoast as Dale Midkiff as a streetwise thug. Rent that mother. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member Recommended for fans of violence against prostitutes and fans of catchy theme songs about prostitutes. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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