The New York Ripper/Review

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< The New York Ripper
Revision as of 00:12, 16 February 2019 by Pete (talk | contribs)
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In New York City, a serial killer is on the loose. The film's pre-credits sequence is an effectively disturbing introduction to the sicko stuff that lies ahead. It involves an old man playing fetch with his dog and the body of a dead prostitute (one of the first victims of the killer). The police detective assigned to finding the psycho is Lt. Fred Williams (Jack Hedley), who gets some insight into the mind of serial killers from Dr. Paul Davis (Paolo Malco), a college psychology professor. Meanwhile, the mysterious killer is running around the city continuing the "ripping" of his prey left and right. His next victim is Rosie (Cinzia De Ponti), a young, beautiful girl taking the ferry. Then, Eva (Zora Kerova), a live sex theater performer who he stabs in the privates with a broken bottle. What makes this particular killer the most bizarre is the creepy quacking duck noises (an obvious reference to Fulci's film Don't Torture A Duckling) he makes as he's attacking his victims (who happen to all be female).

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We then meet Fay Majors (Almanta Suska), who is taking the subway home. As she sits reading, the only other passenger on the subway is Mickey Scallenda (Howard Ross), the same man that was in the audience at the XXX theater when the last killing took place. He begins to move closer to her. She notices he is missing two fingers. Before he can attack her, the doors open and Fay runs away, but then, she is attacked by the duck killer in an old theater. She sees the killer's face; it is her boyfriend Peter (Andrea Occhipinti). Suddenly, she wakes up in the hospital, leaving us to wonder if what she saw was real or not.

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The New York Ripper is an atmospheric, well-made urban giallo/slasher, although it doesn't really stand out as a film that brings anything new to the giallo genre itself. The great 70's Italian giallo era was all but over at the time this film was made and the USA was getting into the more high concept slasher films like the Friday The 13th series. NYR has some interesting twists and turns and a few red herrings that will have your mind playing tricks on you. However, if you're a longtime giallo fan, it's nothing that will really surprise you. The main attractions in this film are definitely the very brutal, gory attack scenes (the razor cutting scene is extremely nasty) and the more sexually explicit scenes. Watch for the titillating "footjob" sequence with Alexandra Delli Colli in a pool room.


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Peter Roberts is the co-founder/editor-in-chief of the Grindhouse Cinema Database (GCDb) and contributor to the GCDb's sister site Furious Cinema. A Massachusetts native, he is an avid film fan that has been immersed in the world of entertainment and pop culture his entire life. He is a professional digital media designer and educator.

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