The New York Ripper
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- Release Date: March 4, 1982
- Directed by: Lucio Fulci
- Written by: Gianfranco Clerici, Vincenzo Mannino, Lucio Fulci and Dardano Sacchetti
- Runtime: 1 hour 33 minutes
After completing his Gates of Hell trilogy, Lucio Fulci decided to return to the giallo subgenre with The New York Ripper. I first heard of this movie in high school when I was diving into the world of lesser-known slasher films, and all I really knew about it was that it supposedly had very graphic kills and a killer who had a goofy voice. When I finally got around to watching it, not only did I find out that it's one of the most brutal slasher films of its time, but it's also the sleaziest giallo that I've ever seen. If you like movies that are pure exploitation trash, then this one is a real treat.
In typical giallo formula, this movie is about an unseen glove-wearing killer who picks off women while the police track him down, this time in New York City. The biggest thing that makes this film unique from other giallos is that its killer speaks in an imitation duck voice, and quacks maniacally while he slashes his victims apart. This was the very first thing that I had heard about the movie, and on paper, it seems super ridiculous to imagine a serial killer brutalizing people while screaming like Donald Duck. When you see it in action, while it is funny at first, the extreme level of violence quickly counteracts any laughs that may be had. The kills in this movie are both deranged and perverted; victims are frequently cut from their groins to their chests with knives, broken bottles, and other objects. Fulci's trademark of eye mutilation also makes a comeback, with a razor blade slicing open an eyeball in one scene. Compared to his earlier, more restrained giallos such as Don't Torture a Duckling and The Psychic, The New York Ripper seems to totally relish in its violence and gore, with each kill accompanied by gratuitous amounts of vivid red bloodshed. I'm not sure why that is, but I can only assume that Fulci decided to crank the exploitation up to 11 after achieving such success with his previous gory horror films. Whatever the reason may be, the end result is an extremely sleazy and memorable time, and you never really know what awful thing this deranged duck man is going to do next.
I've used the word "sleaze" a couple of times in this writeup, and that's because this film's version of New York City is one of the skuzziest that I've seen in an 80s horror film. The killer focuses on sexually-active women, and therefore, the movie really wants you to know how sex-crazed these New York dwellers are. Live sex shows are shown on 42nd Street, men violate women in public bars, drug use is rampant, and the killer is constantly ranting about how "dirty" these victims are. I don't even want to write about some of the sexually graphic scenes in this movie, because even as a fan of exploitation films, a couple of them go a little far even for me. The one positive thing that I can say about the "sleaze" aspect of the film is that there are some great sequences showing off Manhattan's 42nd Street in its seedy heydey. Dozens of grindhouse theaters with their massive marquees line the city streets, sex shops advertise peep shows and live acts, and hustlers roam the sidewalks looking for another fix. I know this era of New York City was awful for a lot of people who lived there at the time, but as a nostalgia-brained film fanatic who loves the 70s and 80s, I can't help but think "Man, what I would do to get to experience this" when I watch these sequences. That may make me sound crazy, but a guy can dream, right?
The New York Ripper is an entirely different animal from Fulci's previous giallos, but I think it's a must-see in his filmography. While The Psychic showcased the director dipping into almost Hitchcock-levels of suspense and classiness, this movie throws all of that class away to roll around in the muck of pure exploitation. It's an extremely entertaining giallo / slasher film, and if you're looking for something that has fun kills and a memorable villain, then this movie delivers on both fronts. Don't expect high art, just unplug your brain and enjoy the ride.