The New York Ripper is hardly perfect but does have some interesting elements, most notably a serial killer who quacks like a duck, comes across more bizarre than scary or even creepy.
The New York Ripper
— 3-Disc Limited Edition —
(1982)
Genre(s): Horror, Suspense, Mystery
Blue Underground | NR – 93 min. – $49.95 | June 25, 2019
Date Published: 06/18/2019 | Author: The Movieman
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Blue Underground provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 3.0/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: A blade-wielding psychopath is on the loose, turning The Big Apple bright red with the blood of beautiful young women. As NYPD detective Fred Williams (JACK HEDLEY) follows the trail of butchery from the decks of the Staten Island Ferry to the sex shows of Times Square, each brutal murder becomes a sadistic taunt. In the city that never sleeps, the hunt is on for the killer that can’t be stopped.
Quick Hit Review: I’m not the biggest fan of some Italian horror mostly finding some of the dubbing to be pretty distracting but beyond that, the storytelling and character development, and more to the point their decision-making, does tend to reach ridiculous levels. That said, I do find some of them somewhat entertaining and one of the maestros in that realm was Lucio Fulci, the filmmaker behind many horror movies such as Zombie (1979), a movie I surprisingly enough enjoyed. The New York Ripper was released in 1982 and is one those films that showed off the grungy, dirty, decaying, crime-filled New York City from the 70s and 80s that both was revolting yet also gave a certain flavor of the era (see: Death Wish, The French Connection, Shaft, Basket Case and many others). This movie was no different, showing off the XXX areas along with the grimy subway system that really set the mood quite nicely in a disturbing sort of way. And on that front, I did find this to have a certain uniqueness. On the other hand, the story itself at times felt disjointed and not entirely engaging, not helping were some uninteresting characters, though did kind of like the gruff Detective Williams, played by Jack Hedley but does have the distraction of dubbed actors (Edward Mannix dubbed over Hedley).
Although The New York Ripper wasn’t as entertaining as Zombie (hard to surpass a zombie punching a shark) it did surpass Manhattan Baby, my only other Lucio Fulci movie I’m all that familiar with, but it did have the psychotic killer quacking like a deranged duck, so it had that going for it, though it was more bizarre than terrifying (and the reason behind it was on the eye-rolling, absurd side). |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 4.25/5 |
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This “3-Disc Limited Edition” release comes housed in a clear HD keep case with a lenticular slip cover; inside is the Blu-ray, DVD and CD with the film’s soundtrack. Also included is a nice 20-page essay booklet. The inner cover artwork is reversible. Audio Commentary – Author Troy Howarth (“Splintered Visions: Lucio Fulci and His Films”) is pretty much a staple on many these horror releases and gives his examination on the movie providing bits of trivia and all around information about Fulci’s career, the history of the actors, and other items on the production itself. Interviews:
I found each of these to be pretty fascinating, especially the ones with the actors who give their thoughts and recount memories of working on the project with Fulci while “The Beauty Killer” gives more analytical thoughts on the movie. NYC Locations Then & Now (4:08) is a cool featurette where we are taken on a tour of the filming locations and see how they look today, well 2009 anyway. Theatrical Trailer (3:20) Poster & Still Gallery |
VIDEO – 4.5/5 |
| Blue Underground releases The New York Ripper is presented with a 2.38 widescreen aspect ratio and given a 1080p high-definition transfer, culled from a new 4K restoration taken from the original camera negative, and is uncut and uncensored. I was rather impressed with this transfer, detail is incredibly sharp throughout and colors are vibrant even with the grittier NYC setting. Outside of a few minor specs and bit of film damage (nothing too obvious or distracting), this was an excellent looking film. |
AUDIO – 4.0/5 |
| The disc comes with a few options. The first, and default, is an English language DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track which thankfully isn’t overly aggressive and outputs good dialogue (dubbing) via the center channel and some minor elements through the front and rear speakers. Also available are both English and Italian language DTS-HD Master Audio Mono tracks which are also well done, obviously everything is centrally located but still impressive, with no signs of hisses or pops, making all three tracks clean and clear. |
OVERALL – 4.0/5 |
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The New York Ripper is hardly perfect but does have some interesting elements, most notably a serial killer who quacks like a duck, comes across more bizarre than scary or even creepy. Even so, the gritty New York City setting does make it interesting to watch. This 3-disc Blu-ray release from Blue Underground is near excellent with great video/audio transfers and a good selection of bonus material. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.