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Posted By: thedescent08 at 9:31pm, August 21, 2008
LMFAO! The official B-D review for this flick is the worst movie review I have ever read. They need to write another one. Just look at the others movies "Mr.Wicked" reviewed. He gave Blair Witch 2/10. so unprofessional. great movie anyway!
The New York Ripper is probably the most brutal movie in Lucio Fulci's career; The New York Ripper doesn't feature the gore Fulci was known for at the time, but this is probably his most sadistic movie. The New York Ripper is gory at times, but that isn't what makes it brutal; the kill scenes are very disturbing at times. The scene when the killer slices the girl up with a razor is cringe worthy. The glass bottle to the crotch is deeply disturbing.
Like I said the violence here is quite brutal in other Fulci flicks the gore is over the top, but in a good way it makes the movie even more fun. It's hard to take the violence too serious when the blood starts shooting out in what seems like gallons. But The New York Ripper on the other hand has a real sadistic maybe even mean spirited violence.
Horror films are often labeled misogynistic and it might be hard to argue against that with The New York Ripper. Do I think that is the case with the movie? No not at all, but the violence against the women in this movie is so raw it's hard to argue that the movie isn't.
The New York Ripper is one of Fulci's movies that sparks great debates among his fans; some think it's one of his best others say it's one of his worst. As much as I enjoyed The New York Ripper it's not without its flaws. The biggest problem is the sexual content of the movie. Sex in movies does not bother me at all, but here it just seems it was thrown in there to help reach more of an audience. Honestly when all was said and done a lot of these scenes were not needed and could have been edited way down.
None of the sex scenes really add to the plot and had they been cut down I think The New York Ripper would have moved at a much better pace, but hey it's in the movie and nothing can be done and at least the women are hot. I don't mind sex and nudity, but in my opinion it does sort of slow the pace down.
The screenplay was written by Gianfranco Clerici, Vincenzo Mannino, Lucio Fulci and Dardano Sacchetti. The screenplay is your basic Giallo nothing here really stands-out, overall the script isn't bad, but I don't think we watch Fulci flicks for their brilliant screenplays. All the writers here should be known to fans of Italian cinema. Clerici and Mannino were writers on House by the Edge of the Park and Clerici was a writer on the infamous Cannibal Holocaust. Lucio Fulci and Dardano Sacchetti have teamed up quite a few times and I have always been pleased with the outcome. The New York Ripper had a good writing team, some things work and others don't.
As director Lucio Fulci, is able to craft some solid scenes and create some pretty good tension. Like I stated earlier in my review the sex scenes do slow the pace down, but Fulci does a pretty good job here and this one is mostly coherent. Often in 80s Fulci things sort of happen with little or no explanation. But, for the most part The New York Ripper makes sense. This really was Fulci in mean mode; the kill scenes are very brutal. Like I said the gore level is good, but nothing like some of his other flicks, but what they lack in gore they make up for in brutality.
At the time this movie was made, New York wasn't the safest city. It was filled with crime and a lot of sleaze and Fulci is able to capture all that in this movie.
What I think is the biggest problem with The New York Ripper is the killer talking in a duck voice and even quacking like one. Lucio Fulci manages to put together some great moments filled with tension, but than the quacking starts and well it's a tension killer. It's hard to take a killer talking in a duck voice too serious and when he starts quacking it can be difficult to keep a straight face. The reason for this is explained at the end and it does make sense, but it is a bit silly and does break up the tension.
The New York Ripper is also kind of tragic; the finale is quite sad and despite some of the silliness The New York Ripper is a brutal movie and the final minutes are quite sad.
In closing, despite the flaws of The New York Ripper it is a solid Giallo; while not the best movie of Fulci's career it's an enjoyable one. If you are a fan of Lucio Fulci it's worth checking out. But those of you who don't like his work, I highly doubt this movie will change your opinion of him.
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