The New York Ripper (1982) Horror Movie Review

by Ronnie Angel
(WA State)

The New York Ripper is best described by one word: Sleazy. That’s right, sleazy, sleazy, sleazy. Of course, nobody can say anything by horror genius Lucio Fulci was ever subtle to begin with. The New York Ripper is Lucio's attempt to make a Dirty Harry-esque crime thriller, albeit a very gory one, and I must say he did very well.


Release: March 1987 (U.S. DVD)
Directed by: Lucio Fulci
Written by: Lucio Fulci, Gianfranco Clerici, Vincenzo Mannino and Dardano Sacchetti

Starring:
Jack Hedley as Lt. Fred Williams
Almanta Keller as Fay Majors
Howard Ross as Mickey Scellenda
Andrew Painter as Peter Bunch
Alexandra Delli Colli as Jane Forrester Lodge



The New York Ripper takes the legendary Jack the Ripper murders and moves a variation of them to The Big Apple in the early 1980s. Keep in mind, this is the Sleazy big Apple of days gone by, back when Times Square was littered with Porno Theaters, before the whole "cleanup" thing happened. Porno Theaters, hookers at every turn, live sex stage shows and all the drugs you can imagine serve as the perfect bait to bring Fulci's killer to the hunt here.

The New York Ripper mainly revolves around an unsympathetic burnt out NYPD detective, who teams up with a famed college psychologist to track down the serial killer after bodies of several "loose women" start to pop up around NYC. Yes, as I said before, it is very sleazy leading up to the deaths of these women. Hell, some parts even feel almost like a porno (or a snuff film)! The whole vibe of the film is like this really. I can’t say it enough.

The killer himself is particularly bizarre. Obviously, this being a bit of a whodunit, we don't see him (or her??) until the end, but we certainly hear the killer, as he makes several taunting phone calls throughout the film to his pursuers. A strange thing about these calls is that the killer talks like Donald Duck in them. I wish I were making this up, but it is true. The freakin’ killer talks like Donald Duck, complete with quacks and temper tantrums!

The plot twists and turns a lot throughout this film. Considering all of the dead ends in the case along with several promising suspects who turn up dead, The New York Ripper can really give your mind a workout in trying to follow it and reach your own conclusions before the final scene.

The New York Ripper may be one of Fulci's all time best films and is a very nice and successful transition away from the Zombie/Hell type movies he had become known for. Definitely worth the money and the cult status it has received over the years!

4 Freak Heads (out of 5)

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