Fulci mustve taken note of the success his fellow Italian schlockmeisters were enjoying with nasty films like Cannibal Ferox and House On The Edge Of The Park, because New York Ripper goes out of its way to be as sleazy and unpleasant as possible. If anything, the movies too effective - not only was the picture banned in the UK, the print was escorted out of the country by Her Majestys Constabulary. Set in a grimy, run-down, pre-Giuliani New York, where every other person appears to be some kind of predator, NYR proudly wallows in filth from beginning to end. Theres a mad killer (who speaks with Donald Ducks voice) on the loose, but dont expect any of Fulcis usual cinematic flourishes as hes far too interested in portraying the human condition at its lowest. Mixed in with the prostitutes and live sex shows are some truly unpleasant sequences, such as when the killer ties up a young woman and tortures her with a razor blade, eventually slicing into her eyeball. Critics that accused the director of misogynistic excess mightve had a point.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
