Director: Lucio Fulci
Year: 1982
Country: Italy
Alternate Titles: Lo Squartatore di New York; Psycho Ripper
Genre: Giallo
Plot:
Discovering a gruesome murder, a police detective is unable to make any headway in the case until he consults with a therapist who finally helps him elicit a series of clues about the potential killer as he targets the detective, forcing them to race to stop his deadly rampage across the city.
Review:
This was a surprisingly good film. The biggest factor with it is one of the stronger and generally appealing storylines necessary for this kind of feature, as it sets about not just an enthralling mystery but the rampant sleaze undertow the film carries. The central factor in the mystery here is a solid one that allows this to touch on the usual assortment of clues and mysterious elements that work well with the details of the case, providing this with the opportunity to wallow in sleaze and depravity as it carries out an immensely engrossing mystery. Following a series of dead bodies found in the city that are savagely dismembered, tortured, and brutalized more than normal, the inability to solve the case based on the few clues featured here makes the detective decide on getting together with the therapist to look into who could be behind everything as it paints a solid picture of the depraved mind capable of committing this type of action. The exploits of the case come together rather well since the killer's revelation is something that comes across as really surprising, the motive of doing so is really creative, and it even includes the characteristic quacking phone calls that make it stick out from others.
That allows for some of the best parts here to come from exploiting this factor. The rampant and excessive nudity present in the film is just a small part, and this one really packs it in. From several prostitutes seen in their job requirements sleeping around with their targets to seeing some wandering around nude or topless, as well as being backstage at a sex show where performers engage in it before an audience, the film manages some pretty grimy scenes. That last scene in the club provides more fun as one of the females observes, produces a tape, and records herself self-pleasuring herself for her husband. A later scene with the same observer being confronted in a store where they pleasure her sexually with their feet underneath the table is perhaps one of the perverted highlights ever seen, complete with camera angles showing it transpire and facial reactions to go along with the regular shots of the interaction. This high amount of sleaze is nice to behold, showing a film not afraid to wallow around in these types of themes and scenes, with all the other stuff going on, as the majority of the scenes here focus on the characters interacting in this environment.
The gore and kills in here are just as good, being explicitly violent and rather unpleasant. There’s plenty of stabbing in here, mainly to the stomach that slits open the area, stabbing in the neck, a slit throat, a broken beer bottle rammed and then ground into a crotch and the biggest scene, where a razor blade slices from chest to stomach, cuts nipple open and then slashes from the forehead down to the cheek, slicing open one of the eyes. This is an exceptionally well-done sequence that is brutal, graphic, bloody, and quite shocking, making it a real highlight in the film. It also doesn't miss out on suspense, since the later sequence where a prostitute is tied up in bed when a radio announcer lets slip a piece of information that makes her realize she’s in bed with the killer, forcing her to remove her binds to escape without making him up who’s sleeping soundly next to her. It’s a fantastic scene that comes across marvelously and is pulled off perfectly, while other scenes, including a confrontation in a victim's house, raise some chilling moments, and it opens with a great moment where a fetching dog disappears behind some bushes and comes out later with a shocking clue for the owner. This one here is incredibly surprising, having a lot to like about it.
This one has almost no flaws. The main thing about it that some will find fault with is the sleaze and gore, which may not be for everyone. There's an abundant amount of nudity, which includes seeing every part of the anatomy from several individuals in explicit detail, which is incredibly frequent within here, which could be seen as something that will be a deal-breaker to some. This is mixed in with the excessive gore and sexual themes on display that feature a somewhat obvious theme of misogynistic content, with everything focused heavily on women who are targeted for their sexually open nature, and this could create an experience that some may not want. Given the dark, dreary, and bleak atmosphere of what goes on here, there’s a wholly different type of feeling here than expected, which creates a wholly different atmosphere, especially if in the mood for a straight-up horror film rather than a sleazy slasher. This here is the film's main problem, and it’s not even something that all will find to be a problem.
Overview: *****/5
An incredibly entertaining slasher, with a nice amount of sleaze and gore mixed in with some great elements into a really great film, there’s quite a lot to like here, and not too many drawbacks. See this if you’re a fan of these kinds of sexually-charged thrillers, Fulci fanatics, or Italian horror in general, while those who don't appreciate its more obscene side will be well-advised to skip this one.
This review is part of our ongoing series of reviews for Italian Horror Month, every November on the site:
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