Deborah Van Valkenburgh

Alex is an outwardly normal man who goes on killing and mutilating sprees. When he is finally captured and brought to trial, the district attorney is torn between his own liberal ideals on guilt and the crimes the accused is being tried. Liberal district attorney decides to seek the death penalty for a man who slaughtered a family at Christmastime, then drank their blood. He escapes, though, and starts killing again.

The movie opens with the borough of Richmond preparing for the concert of hometown girl turned star Ellen Aim. As the concert begins, bikers in black leathers ride into town. Inside the concert venue, the young and sexy Ellen Aim begins her performance, singing with the pounding of music and the backdrop of a light show. The shadowed figures of the motorcycle gang enter the crowd and push their way towards the stage. They wait there, watching the show, and waiting, unmoving as the crowd around them rolls like an ocean with the music. As the first set ends, the bikers charge the stage and grab Ellen Aim. The band and other members of the crowd fight to save her, but the bikers handle them with brutal efficiency. The gang makes it outside and ride away with a screaming Ellen in tow. It is pandemonium out in the streets. Reva Cody writes her brother Tom to come home. He is recently released from the army and boards a train. Reva is working in her diner when a gang of young preps bust in. Reva tells them to get lost, but they don't take kindly to that, threatening her and her joint. Tom is there. He stands up and takes off his jacket. The gang confronts him. He rather easily and comically punches out their leader and then uses a coat rack to take knock the rest of them out the front window. They scatter, and Tom takes their car. Reva is glad to have him back. Reva tells Tom about Ellen being kidnapped by the Bombers. He is mad that Ellen is dating her manager and that Reva thinks he should rescue her. He stomps off to the bar. There he meets McCoy, a tomboy and former soldier. McCoy asks to bunk with him since she doesn't have a place to stay. Tom offers her his sister's couch. Getting into bed, Tom looks at some old pictures he has of Ellen from when they dated. He thinks about her and changes his mind. The next day Tom finds a buddy who has some guns for him. Tom arrives at the diner to meet with Billy Fish, Ellen's manager and new boyfriend. Billy is a four-eyed geek in a bowtie who thinks money makes him better than everyone else. He has serious doubts about Tom's ability to rescue Ellen. Tom demands 10 grand as payment for the task. Billy is fine with that. Tom insists Billy accompany him because Billy knows his way around the Battery, which is where the Bombers are keeping Ellen. Billy refuses but ultimately relents because he needs Ellen back. McCoy asks to join since she needs the money. Billy tells her to take a walk. Perhaps amused by the obvious contempt the two have for each other, Tom agrees to let McCoy in for 10%. As a former motor pool worker, McCoy gets to drive. They hop in the car and take off for the battery. McCoy and Billy continue to verbally spar during the ride. At the Battery, a band is playing at a biker joint called Torchies while gals in black fishnet stockings dance the bar. The leader of the Bombers, Raven, goes into a room where Ellen is tied to the bed. Raven explains that he will let Ellen go after the two of them "fall in love for a little while." Ellen refuses his advances. He eventually leaves. Tom, McCoy and Billy are approaching Torchies. The plan is for Tom to enter Torchies topside while McCoy goes in the ground floor and makes her way up. Billy is to wait 15 minutes then pick them up. Tom gets into position on the roof across the street while McCoy makes her way inside the bar. McCoy runs into a biker who she talks into taking her upstairs. The biker enthusiastically takes her into a "party room" and then tries to get it on with her. She knocks him out with her pistol. She then busts into a room where the head Bombers, including Raven, are playing cards. She holds them at gunpoint. Tom is watching bikers perform jumps in front of the bar until he sees Ellen tied to a bed inside Torchies. He then starts shooting motorcycles, which burst into flame. When enough chaos ensues, Tom makes his way into Torchies. He quickly finds Ellen and cuts her loose. They run into McCoy and all three take the top way back outside. Billy shows up, and McCoy takes the wheel again as they get away. Tom tells them to meet him at the Grand Station underpass while he allays the Bombers. Tom continues disabling motorcycles and knocking bikers out. He gets on a motorcycle to ride away. Raven confronts him with threats. When Tom reminds Raven that he is armed, Raven tells Tom he can get guns, a lot of them. Raven promises Tom that he will be coming for him and Ellen. Tom rides off. McCoy, Billy and Ellen are waiting at the Grand Station underpass. Billy doesn't want to wait any longer, afraid that bikers or cops could show up. Ellen refuses to leave without Tom, since he rescued her. Billy informs Ellen that Tom is getting paid for his services, and that he isn't acting out of love for her. McCoy badgers Billy over the fact that Tom and Ellen dated. Tom shows up. He tells them they have to get on the move and ditch the car. Ellen asks to speak to him alone. She has a lot to say to him since it has been years since he left for the army. He has nothing to say to her. He is mad at her for shacking with Billy. She is mad at him for taking money to rescue her. They eventually leave, ditch the car, and walk their way through the next borough, which is heavy with people on the streets. One of the people they run into recognizes Ellen Aim and tags along as a big fan. Tom stops a bus trying to make its way through the crowd. The bus if for a band called the Sorels. Tom shows his gun and hijacks the bus. Everyone gets in. The bus is rolling towards the Richmond and everyone is finally getting along when the bus gets stopped by a road block set up by cops. Billy tries to talk and then bribe his way through the cops. It doesn't work. Tom holds the cops at gun point, and then he and McCoy make the entire road block lay in the road so they can discard their weapons. Tom then shoots up the police cars, and they all get back on the bus and take off. Now to be chased by the police, they have to ditch the bus. They do so and run to a train station to catch the train. They all arrive back at the police station in the Richmond. City folk stream into the station to see Ellen. Ellen says she wants to leave town and tells Tom that she hates him for taking money to rescue her. The Bombers' second in command shows up. The police chief goes to talk with Raven. Raven wants Tom Cody, and as long as they give him up, there will be no more trouble. Tom and McCoy are back in Reva's diner. Tom is obviously downcast. McCoy is angry because Tom is self-centered and hasn't given her any credit. She tells Reva that Tom is a jerk and storms off. Reva lights into Tom next for feeling sorry for himself because Ellen ditched him. Reva implies she only wanted Tom to rescue Ellen because Ellen was good for him. The police chief shows up and tells Tom that Raven wants to meet him tomorrow. He tells Tom that he should be on a train out of town tonight, and that if he doesn't leave, he'll arrest him right after arresting Raven. Tom goes to the hotel to visit Ellen and Billy. Billy pays Tom his money. Tom tells Ellen he once thought Ellen was worth rescuing without the money, but not anymore. He throws the money back at Billy and only takes what he promised for McCoy. He leaves. Billy laughs at Tom's stupidity for throwing 9 grand away, but Ellen goes after Tom. They meet outside in the rain and embrace. They are next seen in bed. Ellen advises Tom to leave town and says she will go with him. Tom meets McCoy back at the bar and reconciles with her. He asks her to accompany him and Ellen out of town that night. She agrees. All three are on the train when it comes to a stop. Tom moves to leave. Ellen says it isn't their stop yet. Tom knocks her out with a punch. He tells McCoy to make sure Ellen gets out of town. He goes to return to Richmond, but the returning train is out due to damage caused by the Bombers. Raven arrives with two henchmen as he told the police chief. The chief tells him that Tom and Ellen are gone and that he is under arrest. Raven blows a horn he brought with him and about forty bikers arrive with guns. City folk see the Bombers arrive and come streaming into the street with guns to help the police. Tom arrives just as things look ugly. Raven brought pick-axes of all things for them to fight hand-to-hand with. They fight. Tom eventually disarms Raven and tosses away his pick-axe so they can fight it out with their fists. A bloodied Tom eventually puts Raven down. The city folk point their guns at the Bombers. The Bombers grab Raven and ride out. The movie ends on another Ellen Aim concert. Tom is watching the Sorels, who now open for Ellen, backstage. Billy approaches him and tells him he won't get in the way. Tom tells Billy that he is better for Ellen. Tom finds Ellen. She knows he's leaving. He tells her he'll be there if she needs him again. They kiss, and he departs. Ellen goes onstage to begin her performance. Tom watches her from the entrance of the hall and then leaves near the end of the first song. Tom runs into McCoy who has the car Tom stole from the gang at the beginning of the movie. Tom gets in and they ride away.

As night falls over Coney Island, Cleon (Dorsey Wright), leader of the Warriors, meets up with eight of his most trusted lieutenants to travel by subway to the faraway Bronx. They will be attending an event called by a man named Cyrus, described as "the one and only." Throughout the city, other gang delegations are seen entering the subway in their full colors. As the Warriors speculate about the event during their subway ride, we learn that Cyrus, called "The One and Only", leader of the largest gang in the city, the Gramercy Riffs, has called a truce of all the gangs in New York. He wants an unarmed delegation of nine from each gang to come to a mass meeting to hear what he has to say. Some of the Warriors are excited at the prospect, while others are skeptical. At Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, the meeting is well-attended with over 100 gangs represented. The charismatic Cyrus (Roger Hill) takes the stage and delivers a spellbinding speech. He says that, instead of fighting each other over turf, they could unite to form an army of 60,000 soldiers, compared to only 20,000 police in the whole city. He punctuates his points with "Can you dig it?" to the crowd's wild response. Outside the meeting area, the police are seen silently moving in. Most of the crowd is enthralled with Cyrus' vision, but one member has his own agenda. Luther (David Patrick Kelley), the psychotic leader of a gang called the Rogues, has snuck a gun into the gathering. At a high point in the speech, Luther fires at Cyrus, killing him instantly. When Cyrus falls back, there is a brief stunned silence, followed by pandemonium. The crowd was so fixated on Cyrus that hardly anyone saw who fired the shot, but Luther turns to see that Fox (Thomas G. Waites) of the Warriors witnessed the assassination, so he points the gun to kill Fox. Just at that moment the police spotlights come on, blinding Luther. Cleon walks towards the middle of the chaos, to see whether Cyrus survived. Luther begins screaming to the crowd, "That's him! The guy who shot Cyrus!" Another member of the Rogues also claims to have seen Cleon shoot Cyrus. Cleon denies it, but Luther continues to scream "The Warriors did it! The Warriors did it!" and charges at Cleon. Cleon holds his own in a fight against the Rogues, but then the Gramercy Riffs, martial arts experts, step in and bring Cleon down with kicks and elbow hits. Cleon presumably has been killed. The other Warriors break through a wooden fence to make their escape, winding up in a cemetery as the rest of the police rush into the park and the various gangs flee. They take a head count and determine that everyone is there except for Cleon. Swan (Michael Beck), who as war chief is the second-ranked member after Cleon, states they are going to the subway, to catch a train back to Coney Island. A member named Ajax (James Remar) gives Swan some trouble when he asks: "Who made you leader?" Swan advises him to make his move, but the remaining members intervene, telling Ajax to calm down and urging everyone to stick together. Ajax backs down for now, and they make their way toward the subway, worrying whether the truce is still on. If it isn't, they will have to "bop" (fight their way) across other gangs' territories, vulnerable because they are wearing their colors and are not "packed" (armed). Meanwhile, the Gramercy Riffs' new leader, Masai (Edward Sewer), addresses the Riffs at their underground hideout. He wants the Warriors, alive if possible. The Riffs inform a local DJ (Lynne Thigpen), and she puts the word out on the radio, urging all local gangs to be on the lookout and capture or kill the Warriors, "the gang that broke the truce", for the Riffs. She dedicates the song "Nowhere to Run" to the Warriors. As the song plays, gangs throughout the city are getting ready to hunt down Cyrus' assassins. The Warriors wait for a train outside an elevated train station, so that they will not be ambushed on a open platform. Ajax complains that they are acting like "wimps," but the others' caution is justified, since a school bus filled with a tough-looking skinhead gang known as the Turnbull ACs begins patrolling the area. When the train arrives, the Warriors make a break for it and barely make the train ahead of the gang. Masai is informed of the Turnbulls' failure. Meanwhile, Luther gets a telephone update from an informant and learns that the Riffs have put the word out on the street that they want the Warriors alive. The Rogues don't want the Warriors taken alive, for fear of the stories they might tell. Luther tells his crew that they can do some looking too. The celebrating Warriors' journey home is cut short when a fire on the tracks delays the train. They have no choice but to make their way to the next station on foot. That route takes them directly through the Bronx territory of a small, low-level gang known as the Orphans, who did not attend the gathering at Van Cortlandt Park and apparently don't know of the contract out on the Warriors. After determining the Orphans' numbers to be at least 30 versus their eight, Swan decides a diplomatic solution would be best. He brings Fox with him to meet with the Orphans' leader (Paul Greco). After a bit of tough posturing, the leader accepts the explanation of the subway fire, buttered up a bit by Fox's respectful comments, and tells them they can move through the territory if they come in peace. However, his girlfriend Mercy (Deborah Van Valkenburgh) begins taunting him with chicken noises and cutting comments. The leader's manhood is now insulted, so he orders the Warriors to remove their gang colors if they want to proceed through their territory. Swan refuses in no uncertain terms, and the Orphans leave while the Warriors march on. The curious Mercy tails the Warriors, and gets caught by Ajax. She claims to want some real action. Just then, the Orphans show up again, packed and ready to rumble. They throw some tough words around, but Snow (Brian Tyler) produces a Molotov cocktail, which Swan throws at a car near the Orphans. The Warriors take off past the flaming vehicle. The car explodes, the Orphans fail to pursue, and the Warriors hightail it to the next station with Mercy. She seems determined to stick around for the ride. The DJ passes on the news of the Orphans' defeat. Luther gets another update that the Warriors are making their way through and that the cops are out to get every gang in the city. When asked why he seems so happy about this situation, Luther responds "I'm having a good time!" The train at the 96th street station is not moving and the frustration of the Warriors, especially Vermin (Terry Michos), is obvious. A police officer walks by the car, and they take off running. During this escape they split into three separate groups. Fox and Mercy run down the platform. A cop comes from behind one of the pillars, and tackles Fox. Fox yells at Mercy to run away, and in the struggle the cop tosses Fox onto the tracks, where he is killed by an oncoming train. Mercy is running in the other direction and doesn't see Fox's death. Vermin, Cochise (David Harris), and Rembrandt (Marcelino Sanchez) manage to evade the police and board a subway train to Union Square, the agreed upon meeting place if they are split up. Ajax, Swan, Snow, and Cowboy (Tom Mckitterick) also outrun the police and exit the station at the front door, only to find a bigger potential threat - a group of men in baseball uniforms, their faces painted, leisurely swinging baseball bats. The Baseball Furies have been waiting for them. The four Warriors take off running down the street. The chase continues into Riverside Park. Swan and Snow split to the side, leaving Ajax and Cowboy running forward. The Furies fail to see the split, and follow Ajax and Cowboy. Swan and Snow circle to the Furies' backs. Cowboy can no longer run, so Ajax turns to face his foes, with Swan coming up from the rear. In the ensuing melee, Ajax's and Swan's fighting skills shine. They succeed in wresting control of bats and eventually in laying out all of the Furies. The DJ announces the Baseball Furies' defeat and disparages all the gangs for their poor performance. Meanwhile, Vermin, Cochise and Rembrandt have arrived at Union Square to wait for the others. They see a group of six young women giving them "come hither" looks. Cochise and Vermin can't believe their luck in finding attractive chicks who seem to want to party with them, naively failing to realize that the women are lesbians. Only Rembrandt, the youngest Warrior, senses the danger. They go to the group's clubhouse and the leader (Lisa Mauer) identifies them as the Lizzies, an all-girl gang and says that they want to get down with the Warriors because they've heard of their reputation. Cochise and Vermin waste no time heading off to couches with their choice of girl. Rembrandt stays aloof and says that they need to get back. He notices the women exchanging glances, but before he can react, the door is locked and the leader pulls a gun and says "So you guys are the famous Warriors? The guys who shot Cyrus." Rembrandt shouts a warning and the three crash through a door, dodging bullets to escape. Rembrandt informs the others of what he has learned; that the women thought the Warriors shot Cyrus. They finally realize that every gang in the city must be looking for them. Swan and his crew continue walking through the park. They pass a lady on a bench (Mercedes Ruehl), who gives her best smile. Ajax decides to play games with the woman, and won't be dissuaded even after the others press on him the need to get home. Ajax disparages the others' manhood and turns back toward the woman. A few minutes later, Cowboy and Snow decide to go back to look after Ajax, and Swan continues to the station alone. The woman turns out to be an undercover cop, and Ajax is arrested when he tries to assault her, getting himself handcuffed to the bench they were sitting on. There's nothing Cowboy and Snow can do, so they make their way to Union Square. When Swan gets back to the 96th street station, he finds Mercy still hanging around. A cop spots them, and the two wind up running into a tunnel. Holed up in an underpass off the tracks, Mercy comes on to Swan. He insults her and says he wants to find something better. Mercy declares that Swan isn't any better than her. Swan continues on to Union Square and Mercy follows him. The Punks, who's leader wears roller skates, spot Swan on the subway platform and hang around waiting for their chance. Meanwhile, Snow and Cowboy have made it to Union Square and meet up with Cochise, Rembrandt and Vermin. Swan sees his fellow Warriors and signals them to lead the Punks into the men's room. They hide in the stalls, and ambush the Punks with Rembrandt's spray paint. The ensuing battle, which Mercy joins on the Warriors' side, is another victory for the Warriors. Back at the Riff's headquarters, Masai is told that there is a new witness who saw who really shot Cyrus. The six remaining Warriors board the final train home, with Mercy still in tow. Two young couples in evening dress coming from a school prom present such a contrast to Swan and Mercy that Swan takes pity on Mercy and clumsily signals that he accepts her. One of them drops a flower and Swan picks it up. Upon arrival at Coney Island, the sun has risen, and the journey is seemingly over. Swan gives Mercy the flower he'd picked up on the train, saying he hates seeing beautiful things go to waste. The Warriors and Mercy walk through the deserted Coney Island streets, only to realize that Luther and the Rogues are following them in a hearse. With no time to contact other members to come to their defense, the Warriors take shelter under a dock. Swan now has a switchblade he took from the Punk leader; the others arm themselves with what's around: Furies baseball bats, crowbars, hockey sticks, two-by-four pieces of wood, etc. Luther makes an ominous rattling sound with beer bottles and chants "Warriors, come out to play-ay!" Swan leads his crew and Mercy out to the beach, and the Rogues follow. Finally face to face, Swan asks Luther why he killed Cyrus, to which the crazed Luther replies: "No reason. I just... like doing things like that." When Luther pulls a gun on Swan, he manages to flick his knife into Luther's wrist, disarming him. At that moment, the Gramercy Riffs appear in force on the beach. Swan asks whether the Riffs are still looking for the Warriors, to which Masai replies, looking at Luther, that they have found what they're looking for. Masai praises the Warriors as "good, real good," and makes an exit path for them. They file out to the screams of Luther's death agonies. As the DJ announces that the alert is cancelled, the six surviving Warriors walk down their hometown beach, Swan hand-in-hand with Mercy. They are glad to have made it home, but are also emotionally defeated because they know that they and all the New York City gangs are back where they started from: nowhere.