Virginia City

The Virginia City is the decayed and high-crime city featured as the main setting of Sudden Violence. It is depicted as having a dysfunctional and corrupt police force completely in the pocket of James Stalker and large swaths of neglected and abandoned neighborhoods that have become overrun by violent gangs. The City is an extreme caricature of a Rust Belt city. It is implied that Virginia City was once a booming industrial center in its past before 1995 when a reactor exploded and it became crippled by crime and depression.

Much of the sorry state of Virginia City can be attributed to Stalker, who lives in a massive guarded estate far from the slums of the city. At an unknown time in the city's past, Stalker effectively bought off its entire police department by bribing its commissioner, Bill Starkweather, into giving him unlimited access to the city's abandoned districts in order to direct his horror films there. Most, if not all of the gangs that plague the city's streets are on the Boss's payroll. Many parts of City seem to be in a state of near-anarchy, as large sections of the city appear to be in complete control by gangs and are neglected by its apathetic and ineffective police force.

Geography
Virginia City is likely located in a Rust Belt state in the U.S., and is in the vicinity of New York City. There is a polluted river located in the city that catches on fire, cause' of the expolsion of one of the reactors in 1995 and a bay called Rocksnorth Bay. The terrain is mostly flat aside from surrounding hills that house the wealthier neighborhood and no mountains are visible. Not much else is known or revealed about the environment in Virginia City. Some stops on subway maps could be located on hills, with names such as Gilling Hills and Broomhill.

Gangs
Much of the city is occupied by various gangs who violently rule over their turf. They appear to be on Stalker's payroll, as they are seen taking explicit orders from him and Jax and had starring roles in the Boss's past productions. It is not revealed in the film if the gangs are aware of the presence of the other gangs or if any rivalries exist between them. Some of the gangs seem as if they were lifted right off their home streets (Skinz) while others were probably recruited by Stalker and Jax (Masks, Wardogs). They are as follows:


 * The Masks
 * Skinz
 * Smileys
 * Wardogs
 * The Monkeys

(before in 1995)
 * Camheds