The New York Ripper (1984)

Just perfect...

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Not really. But this movie does feature a killer who, for some reason that is never really explained, enjoys talking like Donald Duck. Such is the weirdness that comes with this Italian Galeio film. One of the weirder and less coherent of Lucio Fulci's masterpiece, this still has plenty of the expected gore, but for a Fulci film, its pretty restrained in this. Personally, this isn't one of my favorite of his movies, but it does have its moments, some of it unintentionaly hilarious, like the aforementioned killers Donald duck voice.

This movie qualifies for a certain category. That being"Cheesy, 80's Horror." A tired and worn out cop, must investigate the murders of several women brutally cut up with a knife by a killer who kills his victims talking in a duck-like voice. No joke. He even taunts Police by calling them and talking in the same "duck" voice. Believe it or not, this quirk by the killer is explained in the end. Kind of amusing actually. As someone who is oddly obsessed with just about all movies taking place in the 70's or early 80's in Manhattan, i automatically was interested in this. All the 80's cheese is firmly in place. The cheese ball dialog, "You got a brain of a chicken!", the sub-par acting, etc. Lots of nudity and blood fill the screen which is the main attraction for this kind of film anyway. Directed by Lucio Fulci, this is known as one of his most brutal horror films in a resume of many. An okay movie for what it is. If you like movies as I've just described, check it out!

The New York Ripper. I have been excited to watch this film for many years. Being a fan of Lucio Fulci and Italian Giallo/Horror films, I knew this title was for me.Firstly, I was instantly grabbed by tone of the movie. Fulci can reflect the seedy side of New York very well. This aspect is one of the high points of the film; it never steps away from nitty gritty of Manhattan and the golden days of 42nd Street. It works as a great reminder of how New York was once a cesspool of filth and sleaze. These tones reminded me of the atmosphere of another 1982 classic horror, Basketcase.The next highlight of the film would have to be the gore! I'd say the gore and special effects come close to Fulci's 1979 classic Zombie Flesh Eaters. Compared to The Beyond and The House by the Cemetery, I wondered if I would ever see another Fulci film that would reach the heights of the special FXs of Zombie Flesh Eaters. New York Ripper does! There are a few scenes that definitely comes close to the famous eye-gouging scene of ZBF, maybe even tops it! If non-CGI special FX is your thing then the SFX alone warrants a watch of this film.The story line of The New York Ripper is good. It is nothing different; a burned-out NYPD detective goes looking for a killer who is prowling on women etc etc. The film provides this back line with some twists and unique ideas that keep the viewer interested to find out what is going on here. The fact the killer sound exactly like Donald Duck is quite eerie in my opinion. I always thought it was a dig at Disney, but apparently it was a nod to an earlier Fulci film Don't Torture a Duckling. I would say the downside of the film is how close it is to being classified as softcore pornography. There is a gratuitous and lengthy sex scene plus some forced toe masturbation. The New York Ripper's exploitative scenes lacked the art and romance of the famous underwater scene from Zombie Flesh Eaters; The New York Ripper as a whole is a lot more hardcore. I am nowhere near a prude, but a few scenes did seem unnecessary and exploitative, but that's Fulci; an accused misogynistic film maker? Or just a misogynistic film maker? This film does the guy no favours.There is a little twist at the end of the film, something that is not too predictable or mindbogglingly confusing such as the ending of The City of the Living Dead. As of a rating, I did struggle between a 6 and 7/10. As a film for an average Joe to watch I would consider a 5, however if you know what to expect of the title then the rating would be closer to a 7. A safe 6/10 for both a fan and curious onlooker of Lucio's work.

The New York Ripper (1982)*** (out of 4) A washed-up detective (Jack Hedley) teams up with a psychoanalyst (Paolo Malco) to try and catch a psycho who is running around New York City cutting up women. What makes this psycho different is that he talks with a duck's voice but after letting one victim escape, the police have a good idea who is doing the slashing.The giallo genre offered up quite a few bloody and graphic movies but Lucio Fulci's THE NEW YORK RIPPER is without question that most vile, disgusting, sexually perverted and notorious of them all. Whatever "shock value" the Italian director got out of films like ZOMBIE, CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD and THE BEYOND couldn't match what people would get with this film, which was obviously heavily censored throughout the world. If you're looking for an intelligent thriller then this here certainly isn't for you but if you just want something dirty and something that takes pleasure in its sleaze then you're not going to find anything better than this.Again, if you're wanting a story then just avoid this because logically the film makes very little sense and at times I wondered if they were even using any sort of script. The film really does seem like they were just shooting things as they went along and Fulci pieced everything together in the editing room. I'm not going to ruin the ending but most people still debate what actually happened and even after a half a dozen viewings I'm still confused. With that said, not too many people come to any Fulci film for the story but what also helps is the scope cinematography that perfectly captures the dirtiness of New York City. The porno theaters and sleazy bars just make for a wonderful setting and the music score is also just something you'd expect to hear in a porno movie from the era.What THE NEW YORK RIPPER is known for is its graphic violence. The gore level is certainly high here as the ripper lights to slash women from their vagina to their breasts and the gore comes flowing. The most notorious scene involves a razor and an eye, which will have most people turning away from the screen. Another plus is that the cast, for the most part, is entertaining and makes up for the lack of a real story. THE NEW YORK RIPPER isn't a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination and there are countless flaws but there's still no question that it deserves credit for being willing to be as trashy as it is.