The police suspect it to be the work of a serial killer who is picking up gay men at West Village bars such as the Eagle's Nest, the Ramrod, and the Cock Pit, then taking them to cheap rooming houses or motels, tying them up and stabbing them to death. In New York City amidst a hot summer, body parts of men are showing up in the Hudson River. The film is also notable for its open-ended finale, which was criticized by Robin Wood and Bill Krohn as further complicating what they felt were the director's incoherent changes to the rough cut and synopsis, as well as other production issues. The shooting and promotion were dogged by gay rights protesters, who believed that the film stigmatized them. Poorly received by critics upon release, Cruising performed moderately at the box office. The title is a play on words with a dual meaning because 'cruising' can describe both police officers on patrol as well as men who are cruising for sex. It is loosely based on the novel of the same name by New York Times reporter Gerald Walker about a serial killer targeting gay men, particularly those men associated with the leather scene in the late 1970s. Cruising is a 1980 crime thriller film written and directed by William Friedkin and starring Al Pacino, Paul Sorvino, and Karen Allen.
