New York Ripper

In the 1970's a director best associated with comedies and musicals began making horror movies, that director was Lucio Fulci who was and still is one of the most influential men in shaping modern horror. His successful movies The Beyond, Zombi, House By The Cemetery, and City Of The Living Dead were landmark zombie movies. But not content to rest on his laurels Fulci was pushing into new styles of horror, his intention to make horror possible in a realistic sense. The result of this was The Black Cat, and New York Ripper both the sort of horror we could encounter every day.

New York Ripper (Lo Squatatore Di New York)begins as it means to continue, an elderly man throwing sticks for his beloved dog is rather mortified to discover his dog returns not with a stick but with a hand, luckily or unluckily for the owner the hand is not attached to anyone.

Lt. Fred Williams (Jack Hedley) is called in to solve the case, but then a cyclist is found murdered on the Statten Island Ferry, killed in the most brutal of ways. The chief of police (a cunning cameo from director Lucio Fulci) insists that Williams gets to the bottom of the killings sooner rather than later "We don't want another Atlanta!" he warns, and with that seemingly gives Williams the keys to the New York Police's bank account.

Having hired the best genius around to help him solve the crime Williams has to literally wait for the killer to strike again. But when he does there is not much to go on except that the killer talks like a duck. Meanwhile a sexually liberated woman tours New York's most seedy dives looking for sex, a well to do woman with a reputable husband her need for sexual gratification take her closer and closer to the killer.

To help you build up an image we have a killer that talks like a duck, and as we later discover has two digits missing from his right hand; nice image?

I cannot say that New York Ripper is a real high point in horror history, its rather seedy reputation is actually far stronger than the menace it delivers; before I saw the movie some 8 years ago the film to some degree was almost like a myth. When you looked on the internet you could find pictures of graphic razorblade torture and sexual activity; website realmofhorror.co.uk gave me the best insight in the form of the trailer, which allowed for a certain feel to the movie. Sadly my eagerness to see the movie was met with a kind of cold and unworthy story, that sexually is incredibly risky compared to other movies, especially when death often occurs by things being forced into a certain part of a woman's body. This is not a movie that overly inspired me, however having watched it yesterday in its slightly edited form (for the first time I may add, always seeing it uncut before) I kind of had a greater appreciation for the film. The aspects that annoyed me no longer did and the story, which at times before I felt jutted in and out of context seemed far more fluid.

Before I go on I should say if you find movies like Jeepers Creepers, Scream, or the Freddy or Jason movies a little bit scary or graphic even in a cut form this is not a movie you should be seeing. Although the effects are not always so special, when a razor blade strikes you see it enter, cut and exit. You also see a rather painful finger slicing that is incredibly plausible and believably realistic.

Shot on the hoof so to speak in New York, the movie shows a pretty accurate view of New York back in the early 80's. It shows the classdifferences, the devastation and almost wasteland as industry has left the city for more rural locations. There is nothing clean looking about the majority of the movies locations. In case you wonder about my on the hoof comment as was commonplace with Italian horror movies no permission was gained from the places they filmed, certainly when out of the UK. Often filming took place by literally people jumping out of the car filming a few shots and then heading off before the police arrived; this is blatantly obvious here by the length of the outdoor scenes.

The cast is an interesting gathering Jack Hedley's name might ring a bell because not only was he in For Your Eyes Only, but he also played General Von Karzibrot in Allo Allo. Paulo Malco who plays Dr Paul Davis recently starred in the ITV's version of A Room With A View. While the movies toe pervert (you need to see it to believe it) is played by 24's Josh Cruze. Granted not names you might think "oh yeah I know" but certainly faces you will know.