City in Panic is a 1986 Canadian crime horror film directed by Robert Bouvier and written by Andreas Blackwell and Peter Wilson.
In the city of Toronto, Canada, a Serial Killer roams the streets at night looking for people to murder and carve the letter "M" into their body. With four victims claimed and a city in panic, a detective works together with a radio talk show host to figure out the motive and stop the maniac.
This film provides examples of:
- Big Bad: The main focal point of this film is M's murders.
- Calling Card: The victims are all found with the letter "M" carved into either their chests or backs.
- Cast as a Mask: Since they don't wear a mask and there are some scenes where viewers could catch a glimpse of their face, two people were hired to play M during the stalk and kill scenes.
- Car Fu: M injures one of their victims by ramming him with a van.
- Conspicuous Trenchcoat: While on the hunt; M dons a large black trench coat with a high collar, fedora, and sunglasses to conceal their identity.
- Crippling Castration: A security guard has his genitals cut off after attempting to receive oral through a glory hole in a men's bathroom.
- Evil Wears Black: All of M's clothing while in disguise is colored black.
- Freudian Excuse: M kills because: her baby came out stillborn due to AIDS that she unknowingly contracted from a former lover.
- Giallo: The film is a murder mystery thriller with horror elements, revolving around an Amateur Sleuth investigating a series of murders committed by a black-gloved, trench coat and fedora-wearing killer. So, even if it's not an Italian film, it was definitely at least inspired by the genre.
- Homophobic Hate Crime: While M does kill a woman, most of their victims are homosexual males. It was also speculated by police that the female victim was a lesbian.
- Jerkass: Chilco, one of the cops working the case, repeatedly refers to the victims as faggots and makes no attempt to hide his contempt for homosexuals.
- Killed Offscreen: At the end, the radio talk show host mentions that M succumbed to her AIDS while in custody.
- Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: Initially, it seems like M kills to keep AIDS from spreading, but at the end it's revealed that she's mostly motivated by grief-stricken revenge.
- Psycho Knife Nut: The serial killer, M's weapon of choice is a large knife.
- Shower Scene: The film begins with a man being murdered while showering.
- Slasher Movie: It's an 80's film about a serial killer slashing people to death with a large knife.
- The Unintelligible: Some scenes have background noise or music that almost completely drowns out the dialogue.
