| The New York Ripper (1982) Directed by Lucio Fulci |
| Holy Grail�s are a funny thing, especially when they pertain to exploitation cinema. For every gem that you discover after years of ferreting through Mum & Pop video store ex-rental bins, there are a dozen letdowns like Driller Killer. Thankfully instead of killing off obscure cinema as I feared it would when those shiny little discs first made the old VHS obsolete, the DVD boom is really allowing a lot of diamonds in the rough to see the light of day. Plus the collectability factor has somehow given even the most reviled and previously banned exploitation pictures a newfound aura of semi-respectability.Which brings me to The New York Ripper; previously banned in Australia, but now lovingly released thanks to local champions of obscure classic exploitation, Stomp Entertainment. Though it has been accused of ripping off (pardon the pun) Hitchcock, this giallo could almost be described as Lucio Fulci�s Paul Schrader picture. Like screenwriter Schrader�s seminal Taxi Driver, this one�s a celebration of sleazy pre-zero tolerance Manhattan. As with films like Walter Hill�s The Warriors, the grim and seedy Big Apple locations are often the real scene-stealing stars of the movie. N.Y.R. begins with an elderly man walking his dog on the Hudson River, and complaining about the pain in his balls (odd dialogue, but at least he wasn�t bitching about his heomoroids!). An innocent game of fetch turns disgustapating as Fido returns from the bushes with a decomposed severed hooker�s hand instead of a stick. Thus begins what is perhaps Fulci�s sleaziest feature ever. A slasher with a rather unusual speech impediment is stalking the city. But we aren�t dealing with a simple lisp ala John Safran, or a stuttering problem here� our killer speaks just like Donald Duck! It sounds ridiculous, and makes for a pretty surreal experience amid the rest of this celluloid mean streak. The New York Ripper has it all. Apart from the usual impressive FX from Fulci regular Gianetto Rossi, this one has live sex acts, female perverts, bondage, callgirls who actually field calls for their cop clients, and just about every other sexual hang-up you can poke a dick�er I mean stick at. Either good ole� Lucio was attempting to make the sleaziest Italian thriller ever, or he just wasn�t getting any at the time. If you�re kinda in the mood to watch Woody Allen�s Manhattan, Larry Cohen�s Q-The Winged Serpent, or Martin Scorsese�s Mean Streets (in short, you�re after a New York story), but you�re also thinking to yourself �gee, I could sorta go for a mystifying and entirely irrelevant pool hall heavy petting scene with a bunch of Hispanics�yeah that�d be some f**kin� entertainment!� then look no further. N.Y.R. has something for the whole family; provided that the family in question is the Manson family. You�ll never see Donald Duck in quite the same way again. Entertainment : 3 out of 4 Watchability : 3 out of 4 Overall : 3 out of 4 Reviewed by Blake |