Hands of the Ripper (1972)

Great Film overall

Absolutely brilliant

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

The acting in this movie is really good.

With having enjoyed the commentary that Kim Newman had done with Alan Jones for Dario Argento's The Bird With The Crystal Plumage,I started to search round for other commentaries that Newman was involved in,and I stumbled upon a title which was made during the last days of Hammer Horror,which led to me getting ready to shake hands with the ripper.The plot:Returning home from his latest murder,Jack kills his wife in front of their child Anna. Traumatized by the sight of her dad killing her mum,Anna finds her subconscious inheriting her dads murderous legacy.15 years later:Visiting a medium with some friends, psychoanalyses Dr. John Pritchard discovers that the sounds of the "spirits" have actually been made by a girl called Anna,who was hidden away from view.Leaving with the group,Pitchard notices an MP enter the building,and pay to have sex with Anna,in what Pitchard realises is a secret brothel.Waiting round for his carriage (as you do!) Pitchard hears a blood curdling scream.Rushing in,Pitchard is horrified to find that Anna has brutally killed the medium.As the MP threatens to put Anna in the "nut house",Pitchard stops him in his tracks,by saying that he believes that a cure can be found for Anna's psychological problems,and that if the MP lets him take care of Anna,then he will not report the MP for visiting a brothel.Finding himself cornered,the MP agrees to Pitchard's demands.Wanting to give Anna a life which will give her a chance to get away from her horrible past,Pitchard starts introducing Anna to his friends & family,but soon discovers that he is unable to stop the return of the hands of the ripper.View on the film:Made just as Hammer was to enter a decade where it would fight for its survival,director Peter Sasdy & cinematographer Kenneth Talbot tear the traditional primary colours of Hammer Horror down,to instead grind murky browns and blacks into the film,which along with giving the title an excellent grim atmosphere,also perfectly shows how murky Anna's mind has become.Backed by a smooth score from Christopher Gunning,Sasdy shows a remarkable skill in making sure that the psychological terror is not drowned out by the blunt-force set pieces,with Sasdy using restrained camera moves which allow the viewer to decide if the killings our either being done by the traumatised Anna,or the "spirit" of Jack the Ripper.Gripping the viewer with a short,sharp,shock of a pre-credits sequence,the screenplay by Lewis Davison (here credited as L.W. Davidson) and Edward Spencer Shew takes an impressively mature approach to Anna's psychological troubles,with Pitchard being a flawed,but well-meaning man,who believes that Freud's teachings can be used to save Anna from the darkness inhabiting her.Making sure that the film does not become too serious,the writers cut into a vicious proto-Slasher body count,as Anna's killing spree follows that of the real life Jack,with each stylish set piece murder being even gorier than the last one.Looking absolutely angelic, the cute Angharad Rees (whose dad was distinguished psychiatrist Linford Rees!) gives a marvellous performance as Anna,thanks to Rees giving Anna a real frailness which turns to stone when the blood-socked hand of her dads past returns.Desperate to help Anna, Eric Porter gives a fantastic performance as Pritchard,with Porter dipping the movie into My Fair Lady,as he gives Pritchard a real caring nature towards Anna.Sharing most of their scenes with each other,Rees & Porter wonderfully complement each other,with both of them bringing a real sense of parental bond to Anna & Pritchard's relationship,as the hands of the ripper strike again.

Following a grisly accident in her past, a woman sent to live with a wealthy bureaucrat learns a special trigger causes her to kill those around her and forces him to uncover the dark secret behind this in order to save her.This is quite a rather middling effort which is about equally bad and good points. The best points here is based on the Victorian setting which is quite effectively utilized at detailing the type of society without focusing on the traditional tropes that are featured in these films. By including their aristocracy-like air in how they react to each other and the manner in which they refer to the authorities in which they sign over the guardianship to get her in their care and how they gather at the police station is all about exploring these Victorian-era settings that are so common-place in these films yet are all accomplished in the realm of a slasher effort and is quite enjoyable for that reason. The fact that there's a twist to the slashing here in which it's based on the hypnotism effect which gets triggered at the most inopportune times so there's never a true indication of when she's going to snap which allows these to come as a real shock while also being shocking at the ingenuity needed to kill off her victims as this has a rather fun time doling out a really unique series of kills within this that is far more inventive and grisly than most slashers of the time. These issues here work but there's some problems that crop up in that the discovery of her hypnotic state and resulting killing mode are so late in the film that it really makes the psychology he attempts to use in aiding him look incredibly weak and pointless. Trying this is quite impressive overall, but there's just so many scenes that go by so slowly of him trying out his hand at this type of methodology that it leaves a gaping questions about his excellence in the field as well as not managing to accomplish anything of any value which causes this to feel incredibly drawn-out despite being only a traditionally-paced effort. This really holds the film down somewhat as they're two quite imposing drawbacks even though it's still quite enjoyable.Today's Rating/R: Graphic Violence and Nudity.

Hammer did some very good monster films in the 1950's and 60's, but by the 1970's, they were running out of gas and rehashing some tired old idea.The plot is that Jack the Ripper's daughter watched her father brutally murder her mother, and is set into murderous rampages whenever she sees shiny things and is kissed on the cheek.I kid you not, this is the plot. She is taken in by a Kindly Doctor with no sense, and she proceeds to murder a few people.Again, all the style of a Hammer film, no real substance to speak of. It's "Hammer Lite". "Taste Grate, Less Killing".

Hands of the Ripper is directed by Peter Sasdy and written by L.W. Davidson and Edward Spencer Shew. It stars Eric Porter, Angharad Rees, Jane Merrow, Keith Bell, Derek Godfrey, Dora Bryan and Marjorie Rhodes. Music is by Christopher Gunning and cinematography by Kenneth Talbot.The infant daughter of Jack the Ripper witnesses the brutal murder of her mother by her father. Now a young woman she is deeply troubled and seems to have inherited her father's murderous instincts. An eminent psychiatrist takes her in to his own home in the belief he can benefit medical science by studying her at close quarters...A nifty late horror entry from Hammer Film Productions, Hands of the Ripper boasts the usual period delights and a on form cast doing justice to the intriguing twist on Ripper lore. The murders are delightfully gruesome in that colourful Hammer way, the Freudian beats penetrative and spicy and the suspense is well orchestrated by old pro Sasdy. Sasdy also has a keen eye for fluid camera techniques, and with Talbot making good use of shadows and light, it's an all round well constructed production that looks higher on monetary value than it actually was.Naturally full of improbabilities and cliché contrivance, Hands of the Ripper is still a horror film of considerable substance. From the attention grabbing opening sequence as Jolly Jack returns home from his work, to the breath holding finale set at St Paul's Cathedral, it delivers many treats for fans of Hammer Horror. 7.5/10