The New York Ripper

[countchocula]

Rated on a scale from 0-5 Chocula’s...



MINOR SPOILERS

The New York Ripper finds Fulci in his element. He embraces unfettered exploitation with brash abandon, and while it seems that he only strives to please himself, he pacifies many a gorehound. The word “restraint” just isn’t in his vocabulary. Even in his less explicit films, he has to toss in at least one sequence of embroidered grue. This egalitarian mindset applies to sex and nudity as well. On a number of occasions, Ripper adjourns the storyline, taking a moment to indulge in some random act of wanton lust, whether it be a live sex show or foot fucking (don’t ask). These mindless detours disrupt plot progression, but they inflate the film’s seedy atmosphere. This is a good thing since horror freaks are more likely to buy Ripper for a potent dose of sleaze than lucid storytelling (I did at least).

Underneath the graphic eviscerations and the meandering sex scenes, you’ll find a crafty whodunit. Someone is dissecting beautiful women in New York City and placing threatening phone calls to the victims. The lingering, schizophrenic calls themselves brought Black Christmas to mind, only this killer waxes irrational in the voice of Donald Duck. The reasoning behind our psychopath’s vocal stylings is defective at best, and his/her ravings capsize the film’s ominous mood. Still, to hear frenzied quacking during a sadistic death sequence is quite the trip! The dubbing is on/off, but it’s not nearly as treacherous as you’d think. Considering the circumstances, it’s actually tolerable and doesn’t vandalize the dialogue. The film isn’t raped of what little substance it boasts.

On the acting front, my expectations were met. It goes without saying that I was expecting stifled performances that were just good enough. The roles are cushy, and anyone who isn’t mentally handicapped could play them. Jack Hedley is Lt. Fred Williams, the standard cop. I don’t think that we ever see him express any emotion. It’s not that Hedley is nondescript; the character is just remarkably dull. Lt. Williams walks around for 90 minutes, looks fatigued, and speaks as if he’s heavily medicated. Dr. Paul Davis isn’t quite as monotonous a character, although he’s staggeringly annoying. He’s restricted to making turgid, verbose observations and inaccurate theories in regards to the killer’s identity. He’s smug and pretentious, but he’s never actually right about anything until the truth is spelled out for him (I may have just described myself).

Almanta Suska is decent as Fay, Ripper’s reluctant heroine. She gives one of the few emotive performances here, but I wouldn’t necessarily call her sympathetic. No one is, but that’s no reason to cause an upheaval. The characters are secondary to their actions. Aside from a couple of rickety POV shots, Fulci’s direction is second to none. The lighting is strikingly vivid, and some of the kills channel Mario Bava’s eye for lurid, swanky imagery. Those who detest the film are quick to dub Fulci a misogynist. I didn’t know the guy, and he could have had an intense hatred for women, but to suggest that Ripper endorses or advocates violence against women is an insult not only to its director, but to the people who enjoyed it. I, for one, appreciated the film’s unapologetic nature and savored its impenitent grit. It’s realistic, and reality isn’t always palatable.

Admittedly, I put my credit on the line when referring to this mass execution as realistic. The gore is profuse, but the effects are rarely convincing. In fact, the infamous “nipple piercing” is downright laughable, and I’m not so sure that I should have been laughing at such a brutal deed. Being the horror geek that I am, I’m immune to crude prosthetics, but this was worse than what I’m usually presented with (even in the field of Italian genre fare). Nevertheless, I’m keen on smutty nonsense, and The New York Ripper falls under that category perfectly. The grime is poured on thick, the gore/sex/nudity quotient is high, the pace is sturdy, the whodunit kept me guessing, and for a Fulci endeavor, the narrative is coherent. In brief, if you’re well-versed in spaghetti horror, you should already know exactly what you’re getting when you pop this flick into your VCR/DVD player. This review is moot, unless you aren’t well-versed in spaghetti horror. In which case, I can’t help you; you must first acknowledge that you have a problem.

[Gluttony]

Besides House by the Cemetary (I heard there was a monster at the end), this is the Fulci film I want to obtain, I was not impressed by his uber-zombie gore flick Beyond but this sounds delightful.

Foot Fucking? Reminds me of an amusing story... that has nothing to do with feet.

[countchocula]

I wasn't terribly fond of The Beyond either, so the odds are in your favor that you'll dig on Ripper.

[Hans, wihout Franz]

This is the only "prime" Fulci flick I have not seen yet. I will hunt it down and be reviewing is soon.

[spacemonkey]

What Ive heard of The New York Ripper is that its extremely gory and sick, and from what I see in your review, its true. I was gonna buy this but over at Borders and Suncoast they only sell it in a double feature that also includes Manhattan Baby and it costs 39.99! Gulp-o-rama!

Im curious for both of em, but Id rather buy em one at a time then both for 40 bucks. Cool review count, makes me want to see it even more.

[KillerKlown]

Not a bad film. The only niggle I have is that fucking annoying quacking!

[countchocula]

Originally posted by spacemonkey
Im curious for both of em, but Id rather buy em one at a time then both for 40 bucks. Cool review count, makes me want to see it even more.

Thanks. Definitely buy them individually. From what I've heard, Manhattan Baby is Fulci at his worst.

[DawnOfTheDead]

Not a very good film... I think Fulci does much better when dealing with the supernatural, seeing as neither this film nor his murder-mystery DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING made much of an impression on me (I particularly disliked the latter). And the fact that the killer speaks like Donald Duck is ridiculous...

[Belcebu]

I have owned this on DVd for over 5 months and I still have not watched it. I guess I might have to soon.

[Romero&Juliet]

This is EXACTLY the kind of thing that I'd like to see fulci doing. I've gotten through most of his supernatural stuff and they're all lacklusture.. this is the fucking TICKET!


slick, composed direction... almost an art-deco kinda thing going on towards the latter half of the movie: Flashy object placement, borderline psychedellic sets. I

LOVEDLOVEDLOVVVVED the green/orange gel lighting..

*drools*

Oh, gorgeosness and gorgeousity made flesh. Anyone else have german subs on TWO scenes in the movie? Mine does.. its wierd.

[spacemonkey]

Still havent seen it dammit...and now even Romero and Juliet thinks its good! Dammit...must get this film...vision getting blurry...cant breath...need this film badly...

[Romero&Juliet]

oh, Spacemonkey, its SOOOOOOO Good..!! you should definitely check it out.

and I really dont like the guy, usually.. this thing just knocked me flat on my ass.. like.. I'm still freaking out over how good it is.

[The Claw]

Romero, you bastard, where did you get this damn movie? I wanna see it

[Romero&Juliet]

Originally posted by The Claw
Romero, you bastard, where did you get this damn movie? I wanna see it

I got my copy at a place downtown called Urban Sound Exchange.. its next to the war memorial on duckworth.

[The Claw]

Originally posted by Romero&Juliet
I got my copy at a place downtown called Urban Sound Exchange.. its next to the war memorial on duckworth.

any more copies down their good fine sir?

[Romero&Juliet]

Originally posted by The Claw
any more copies down their good fine sir?

no, but they deal with a distro company based out of here (called THE SOURCE inc. I believe they have a listing in the phone book) who'll have NO problems ordering that flick and pretty well anything else that you're looking for.,