Customer Reviews

The New York Ripper

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

When I first read the reviews about "The New York Ripper" it definitely sounded like a movie that the avid gore hound should check out. Well I couldn't find it anywhere. So I decided to buy it.

While I don't believe it is Lucio fulci's best movie I did find it to be pretty good. It is nothing like his other films with zombies and other creatures from the depths of hell. "The New York Ripper" deals with a maniacal psychopath that slices and dices his way through The Big Apple. Of course being a Fulci film you can expect the usual terrible acting and horrible dubbing, which always makes me laugh, and yes the killer quacks like a duck but the killing scenes are in typical Fulci fashion (GORY!) A woman getting gutted, a broken bottle shoved into the forbidden area, a nice straight blade through a helpless victims eyeball and nipple, and an impressive head shot at the end of the film.

You've heard all the other reviews. The film is seedy, it is misogynistic, violent, brutal and there's plenty of T&A to satifsy fans of the flesh. I found it to be well worth adding to my collection. If you haven't seen a Fulci film before may I suggest "Zombie", "The Beyond" or "City of the Living Dead". If you have seen Fulci films before check out "The New York Ripper". All in all not a bad murder mystery.

Okay, let's try to remember a time when slasher movies weren't so en vogue that Hollywood cranked out a new one every week. Let's try to remember a time when every slasher movie DIDN'T have a fresh, artificially pretty teenage hunk/starlet in the lead role. Let's remember that Fulci was one of the most underrated Italian horror directors out there, and his work was often misunderstood by the masses.

"The New York Ripper" is a slasher film that--upon initial inspection--is mean-spirited, very violent, and misogynistic. But if you view it few times, the plot becomes clearer and the film feels less contrived. The story is quite simple--psycho killer stalks and kills pretty girls--but there are many complicated details and subtle clues that make the slasher's identity a mystery up until the end.

Out of all Fulci's films, this one probably has the most unsettling violence, and there are spots where things drag a bit. But stick with it, and you'll be able to recall a time when slasher films--and horror movies in general--were much more daring than they are now.

This film is very unique for horror master Lucia Fulci. One of few slasher films that the artist made, this masterpiece takes the viewer through a "who done it" rollarcoatser, Fulci style. As with all Fulci films, it will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end, and then leave you a little confused. Of course, as Fulci's trade mark, the film has great gore effects. Now uncut and in widescreen the film is even better.

The New York Ripper was a great Italian horror film from Lucio Fulci, the film was filled with plenty of gruesome death scenes and lots of sleaze, sex and nudity in fact its probably one of the sleaziest Italian horror flicks I've ever seen. The film was also out of stock for a while so I was glad when I heard about the good news, it was finally being re-released by Blue Underground they've been doing a great job lately, the picture quality was great with no grains and it's completely uncut with a widescreen 2.35:1 aspect ratio looking and sounding better than ever. The New York Ripper was also notorious for being banned in the U.K. and it was included in the video nasties list, this is easily one of Lucio Fulci's darkest and goriest films out there (O.K. maybe not THE goriest, I still think that Cat In The Brain holds that title), there is one scene that was quite sick and perverse thats guaranteed to make you squirm, yes I'm talking about the "Golden Toes" scene WTF!!!. When an old man finds a prostitute's severed hand under the Brooklyn Bridge the police decide to do a little investigating. It seems that the victim was heard speaking to a strange duck-voiced man. As the murders add up the police detective who's investigating the case recruits a psychology professor to help find out who this Donald Duck voiced maniac could be, theres also a subplot involving a woman (Alessandra Delli Colli from Dr. Butcher M.D.) who enjoys being perverse and records her exploits on a tape recorder for her husband, there was also a bit of suspense which was nicely done by Fulci I was actually surprised by this, I was expecting a lot of badly edited and shot sequences but there weren't that many in this film. This is a typical Fulci flick which means that the plot gets thinner during the course of the film and the bad acting which was adequate especially for this type of film could have been better but thats not important, if your a hardcore Fulci or exploitation fan then you'll obviously love this as the death scenes were quite brutal and very nasty it includes nipple slicing, a face being carved up and mutilated, a young woman being stabbed with a large knife in her vagina and ripped open etc. this is definetely NOT a date movie unless your date was a psychotic maniac ;-), this is obviously not going to appeal to those who are easily offended or those who have a weak stomach so you have been warned. The New York Ripper was done in the early 80's and it was made during the period when Lucio Fulci was still making good movies as he previously made his classic zombie films The Beyondand City of the Living Dead, the film was nicely shot using different locations in N.Y. and some seedier places like the xxx theaters and sleazy motels. I have to admit that I really liked this film alot and it was one of Fulci's best, while not a classic like Zombi 2 (25th Anniversary Special Edition 2-Disc Set) it was still great and enjoyable. Hats of to Blue Underground for releasing a classic sleazy Lucio Fulci film and making it available, I highly recommend this and two thumbs up QUACK!!! ;-).

OK - Everyone's heard about this one, claimed by many to be Fulci's grimmest hour etc. However, upon actually viewing it, I was very suprised to find a film that, whilst certainly containing much sadistic violence and gore, is well-made and quite realistic. Fucli's idea of merging the lines between a horror and thriller film have paid dividends in this movie.

It is intense, sometimes not easy to watch and the last victim is litterally slashed to ribbons (including eyes). However, the plot does make sense, it has reasonable acting and the re-mastered release available now, is simply top-notch.

If you want a ride into hell and back, then let Lucio Fulci take you deep into the nightmarish world of a downtrodden New York, with a vicious serial killer on the loose.

One of the only films I've seen that virtually deserves its reputation as a shocking, sadistic and quite disturbing movie.

You have be warned!

The New York Ripper is probably the most brutal movie in Lucio Fulci's career; The New York Ripper doesn't feature the gore Fulci was known for at the time, but this is probably his most sadistic movie. The New York Ripper is gory at times, but that isn't what makes it brutal; the kill scenes are very disturbing at times. The scene when the killer slices the girl up with a razor is cringe worthy. The glass bottle to the crotch is deeply disturbing.

Like I said the violence here is quite brutal in other Fulci flicks the gore is over the top, but in a good way it makes the movie even more fun. It's hard to take the violence too serious when the blood starts shooting out in what seems like gallons. But The New York Ripper on the other hand has a real sadistic maybe even mean spirited violence the gore is plenty, but nothing like movies like Zombi 2 or The Beyond.

Horror films are often labeled misogynistic and it might be hard to argue against that with The New York Ripper. Do I think that is the case with the movie? No not at all, but the violence against the women in this movie is so raw it's hard to argue that the movie isn't.

The New York Ripper is one of Fulci's movies that sparks great debates among his fans; some think it's one of his best others say it's one of his worst. As much as I enjoyed The New York Ripper it's not without its flaws. The biggest problem is the sexual content of the movie. Sex in movies does not bother me at all, but here it just seems it was thrown in there to help reach more of an audience. Honestly when all was said and done a lot of these scenes were not needed and could have been edited way down.

None of the sex scenes really add to the plot and had they been cut down I think The New York Ripper would have moved at a much better pace, but hey it's in the movie and nothing can be done and at least the women are hot. I don't mind sex and nudity, but in my opinion it does sort of slow the pace down.

The screenplay was written by Gianfranco Clerici, Vincenzo Mannino, Lucio Fulci and Dardano Sacchetti. The screenplay is your basic Giallo nothing here really stands-out, overall the script isn't bad, but I don't think we watch Fulci flicks for their brilliant screenplays. All the writers here should be known to fans of Italian cinema. Clerici and Mannino were writers on House by the Edge of the Park and Clerici was a writer on the infamous Cannibal Holocaust. Lucio Fulci and Dardano Sacchetti have teamed up quite a few times and I have always been pleased with the outcome. The New York Ripper had a good writing team, some things work and others don't.

As director Lucio Fulci, is able to craft some solid scenes and create some pretty good tension. Like I stated earlier in my review the sex scenes do slow the pace down, but Fulci does a pretty good job here and this one is mostly coherent. Often in 80s Fulci things sort of happen with little or no explanation. But, for the most part The New York Ripper makes sense. This really was Fulci in mean mode; the kill scenes are very brutal. Like I said the gore level is good, but nothing like some of his other flicks, but what they lack in gore they make up for in brutality.

At the time this movie was made, New York wasn't the safest city. It was filled with crime and a lot of sleaze and Fulci is able to capture all that in this movie. What I think is the biggest problem with The New York Ripper is the killer talking in a duck voice and even quacking like one. Lucio Fulci manages to put together some great moments filled with tension, but than the quacking starts and well it's a tension killer. It's hard to take a killer talking in a duck voice too serious and when he starts quacking it can be difficult to keep a straight face. The reason for this is explained at the end and it does make sense, but it is a bit silly and does break up the tension.

The New York Ripper is also kind of tragic; the finale is quite sad and despite some of the silliness The New York Ripper is a brutal movie and the final minutes are quite tragic, but very fitting.

In closing, despite the flaws of The New York Ripper it is a solid Giallo; while not the best movie of Fulci's career it's an enjoyable one. If you are a fan of Lucio Fulci it's worth checking out. But those of you who don't like his work, I highly doubt this movie will change your opinion of him.

THE NEW YORK RIPPER
[Lo Squartatore di New York]

(Italy - 1982)

Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Techniscope)
Theatrical soundtrack: Mono

It's virtually impossible to defend THE NEW YORK RIPPER on any level - the film's up-front misogyny provides director Lucio Fulci with the flimsiest of excuses for several landmark splatter scenes in which beautiful women are stabbed, slashed and razored to death in graphic, lingering detail. Abandoning the Gothic fantasy of his 'Golden Period' (1979-1982) which spawned such miniature gems as ZOMBIE and THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY, Fulci's grim examination of the sexual excesses of contemporary New York follows a stereotypically hard-boiled cop (Jack Hedley) in pursuit of a psychopathic killer who's been murdering a succession of women in the Big Apple, most of whom are depicted as prostitutes or depraved sluts with a taste for rough trade. Yeah, it's that kind of a movie...

Despite a mild twist near the end which throws the killer's identity wide open, the plot has few of the intricacies normally associated with the giallo thriller and instead relies on splashy set-pieces to maintain forward momentum. Luigi Kuveiller's hand-held camerawork evokes an appropriately realistic milieu whilst also making the film looked rushed and sloppy (this is the same guy who photographed Argento's baroque masterwork DEEP RED!), while the cast does its best with the ungainly dialogue and amateurish dubbing. The standout is Alessandra Delli Colli, playing the beautiful wife of a rich cripple who records her sexual adventures on audio tape for her husband's pleasure, until she finds herself tied to a bed beside a man who may (or may not) be the killer! Given the frankly unpleasant nature of some of the material she's asked to play, her performance here demonstrates a level of commitment which goes way beyond the call of duty.

Overall, the film exerts an undeniably sleazy appeal, and while the target audience will certainly admire its audacity, others will be appalled by its uncompromising scenes of horror. Either response is equally valid.

This graphic little thriller may as well be one of the sickest serial killer flicks around, but its very satisfying. Not that anyone would watch this movie for its social value. Its a Fulci film. Gore is what you come for, and i tell you gore is what you get. Women are gutted, torn open with a broken bottle, slashed with razor blades (in one of filmdome's most sleazy scenes), and sucumb to overdone throat slashings. Gore fans, don't miss this, its a classic. Women, wimps, and old people: Just stay away.

How can one best describe Lucio Fulci's prime cut of perversion, also known as "The New York Ripper"? Sick? Disgusting? Crude? Tasteless? Senseless?

Yep, that pretty much sums it up. NYR is a brutally violent masterwork by the master of brutal violence. The plot doesn't always make sense, but I couldn't care less. As a catalogue of human perversions, it's a de Sade classic. As a portrait of grindhouse-era New York City, it's a Rembrandt. As exploitation cinema at its most exploitative, it simply can't be beat.

This duck don't give a f#$%! We've got lots of blood, nudity, and a Donald Duck sounding slasher. Just some nice trashy cinema for the fellas. Nothing too deep, just high impact violence and sex like only Fulci can give you.

Lots of rippin quack quack
Lots of slashin quack quack
Sleaze quack please quack don't hold back

Brutality in all its shocking beauty