Whilst not as artistically developed as Fulci's other horror movies, The New York Ripper is a sleazy gore soaked ride into New York. It is an ugly, blood soaked movie that revels in it's sadistic cruelty. The main difference in this movie, compared to Fulci's other horror movies, is that the setting and execution in The New York Ripper are incredibly realistic.
A crazed killer is murdering women in incredibly brutal ways, and the only clue the police have is that the killer speaks with a voice reminiscent of a cartoon duck. A grizzled detective heads the case, and a woman who survived an attack by The New York Ripper gets closer to discovering his identity, and it could be someone she already knows.
The gore is a huge part of what makes The New York Ripper such a special film. The victims aren't stabbed or killed quickly as in most movies. They are sliced and mutilated in particularly gruesome ways, all the while the killer is quacking like a duck! The FX are incredibly well done, and because it's a Fulci movie, all the gore is shown in beautiful close up.
The plot twists and turns throughout the running time, with many dead ends unfairly given, along with people who you suspect to be the killer turning up dead. The film certainly doesn't play by any rules whatsoever, and that sometimes comes across as frustrating and disappointing. Not only is this film a gore spattered slasher, it also has elements of the Giallo amongst the blood shed and perversity.
There seems to be an incredibly strong link between the murders and sexual desire, as all of the victims are promiscuous and attractive, and there are also many close ups of lips, eyes and the cuts and stab wounds the killer is creating. The link between an obsession with murder and sex is further created with some amazing lingering camera shots of the killers knife. There is a distinct similarity between Peeping Tom and The New York Ripper, as we are forced to view these killings from the point of view of the murderer, making us feel as though we are involved in the slaughter and mutilation going on in the movie.
I still feel that this movie is still as powerful as it was back in 1982. The ways in which the killer brutalizes his victims, and the strange way in which he communicates is truly chilling. The sexual aspect of the movie is also more prominent than it would be in a movie of today, and that only adds to the exploitation elements that are alive in this movie.
The New York Ripper is one of Fulci's most disturbing, violent, intelligent and well directed films, and certainly deserves to be seen by everyone because not only does it display a lot of sickening and perverted subject matter and violence, it also is an intelligently crafted movie, and shows New York as a sleaze filled city of sin. What more can you ask for from an exploitation movie?
Darkest regards......Dani.
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