If Howard The Duck got pissed, grabbed a switchblade and decided to annihilate the "dirty women" of The Big Apple ... slashing them up as he quacked incessantly...well, you'd have something like Lucio Fulci's bizarre Giallo-slasher-fetish film, THE NEW YORK RIPPER. A MANIAC is on the streets, slashing up women who choose alternative lifestyles. This flick is obviously inspired by the success of William Lustig's MANIAC, including a pretty cool subway stalking scene echoing that 1980 classic. Beyond that, though, THE NEW YORK RIPPER is an oddity. It's got some pretty gruesome kills (a shattered bottle jammed into a woman's crotch, breasts and nipples slashed, and the usual other stabbing and slashing shots) but the majority of the movie is lame-ass police procedural tedium as the cops and a gay shrink try to "shake this duck quacking psycho out." Uh, the cop action is as comatose as taking a bottle of sleeping pills and chasing it down with a bottle of Jack. However, the movie shines with the naked women factor (full-on including trim bush), some sexual fetish bits (one swinging lady gets a "toe job" in a cafe that I enjoyed) and again, there's plenty of T & A on display throughout, elevating the movie's entertainment factor. The killer quacks like a duck when he kills and I've always been annoyed by that creative choice, as well as the ridiculous explanation for the killer's motivation (and Donald Duck quacking) at the end. Comes off as complete pedestrian nonsense, quite honestly. The music score didn't feel too inspired to me, either, at least not like in a Goblin scored Dario Argento movie or even something like ZOMBIE. Again, the fetish scenes, sex show footage, and hot women showing their wares make this flick more than watchable, along with a few of the brutal kills. It's also cool to see 42nd Street NY of the 80's with all the sex shows, clubs, and who knows what else along the strip. Sad to see that era of debauchery gone. Zora Kerova (from MAKE THEM DIE SLOWLY, the gal meathooked to death) plays the crotch kill victim (what a career!) and still looks lovely in a video extra interview on the DVD and to reiterate, the fetish and nudity elements elevate this one into being a watchable little piece of sleaze cinema. Its reputation as "the most controversial horror movie of all time" (touted on the front artwork) has definitely been overshadowed by current stuff like THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE and A SERBIAN FILM. Still, there's some envelope pushing material here from back in the day from maestro Fulci...
If Howard The Duck got pissed, grabbed a switchblade and decided to annihilate the "dirty women" of The Big Apple ... slashing them up as he quacked incessantly...well, you'd have something like Lucio Fulci's bizarre Giallo-slasher-fetish film, THE NEW YORK RIPPER. A MANIAC is on the streets, slashing up women who choose alternative lifestyles. This flick is obviously inspired by the success of William Lustig's MANIAC, including a pretty cool subway stalking scene echoing that 1980 classic. Beyond that, though, THE NEW YORK RIPPER is an oddity. It's got some pretty gruesome kills (a shattered bottle jammed into a woman's crotch, breasts and nipples slashed, and the usual other stabbing and slashing shots) but the majority of the movie is lame-ass police procedural tedium as the cops and a gay shrink try to "shake this duck quacking psycho out." Uh, the cop action is as comatose as taking a bottle of sleeping pills and chasing it down with a bottle of Jack. However, the movie shines with the naked women factor (full-on including trim bush), some sexual fetish bits (one swinging lady gets a "toe job" in a cafe that I enjoyed) and again, there's plenty of T & A on display throughout, elevating the movie's entertainment factor. The killer quacks like a duck when he kills and I've always been annoyed by that creative choice, as well as the ridiculous explanation for the killer's motivation (and Donald Duck quacking) at the end. Comes off as complete pedestrian nonsense, quite honestly. The music score didn't feel too inspired to me, either, at least not like in a Goblin scored Dario Argento movie or even something like ZOMBIE. Again, the fetish scenes, sex show footage, and hot women showing their wares make this flick more than watchable, along with a few of the brutal kills. It's also cool to see 42nd Street NY of the 80's with all the sex shows, clubs, and who knows what else along the strip. Sad to see that era of debauchery gone. Zora Kerova (from MAKE THEM DIE SLOWLY, the gal meathooked to death) plays the crotch kill victim (what a career!) and still looks lovely in a video extra interview on the DVD and to reiterate, the fetish and nudity elements elevate this one into being a watchable little piece of sleaze cinema. Its reputation as "the most controversial horror movie of all time" (touted on the front artwork) has definitely been overshadowed by current stuff like THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE and A SERBIAN FILM. Still, there's some envelope pushing material here from back in the day from maestro Fulci...
