New York Ripper
Director: Lucio Fulci
Writers: Gianfranco Clerici, Lucio Fulci, Vincenzo Mannino, and Dardano Sacchetti
Starring: Jack Hedley and Antonella Interlenghi
Body Count: 8
Review: Horror master Lucio Fulci shifts gears from zombies to slasher in this early 80s offering that pits a hard-boiled NY detective against a psycho killer with a duck voice!
As odd as that may sound, you've got to remember what we're dealing with here. Fulci, one of the best Italian horror directors that ever lived, is known for his somewhat bizzare plots (as is all of Italian horror, if you really look at it). In fact, New York Ripper is one of Fulci's more mainstream efforts, quite the contrary to some of his more cerebral work like Cat in the Brain and his masterpiece The Beyond.
Right, I know, you say, but is New York Ripper any good? Well, yes and no. You've got a basic storyline: a guy killing chicks (mostly hookers) in Manhattan, and a slightly off-kilter cop trying to chase him. Some of the cop's scenes are high class camp, lots of Phillip Marlowe-esque music/dialogue. In addition, the gore scenes in this flick are top-notch (as is usually the case with Fulci movies). Several of the killings involve some rather strenuous torture, and some of it is a little hard to handle (check out that razorblade to the eye gag).
The film's drawbacks are the same as many of the slasher films from this era. New York Ripper doesn't really break any new ground. This is still a morality-based killer, offing hookers and other "sinners," and its conclusion and the identity of the killer might leave a lot to be desired for some viewers. On the other hand, the slightly "what if?" nature of the ending was really pleasing to me, even creepy (very much in the vein of Black Christmas, if you know what I mean).
And then there's that one essential element that New York Ripper has that most other slashers from the same era didn't have: Fulci. The man knows how to use a camera, and his work in Ripper is absolutely beautiful, as we've come to expect. Fulci manages to create suspense were others might fail, and to provide us with some truly unique and exciting camera work. Whereas most in this field would probably just press the start button on the camera and have some costumed doofus run on-screen with a knife, Fulci takes the time to plot out his shots and make some really great (and scary) imagery.
You're not going to learn anything new about the slasher genre, but if you happen to pick up New York Ripper some night at the video store, I really don't think you'll be disappointed.
Trivia: Also know as Squartatore di New York (original Italian title), Psycho Ripper, and The Ripper.
