The New York Ripper

The New York Ripper

This was my first time watching “The New York Ripper” and it was quite coincidental because I have been trying to discover the rules of slasher films, even though this is not technically of that category.

The first thing that impressed me was the cover art. Merchants seem terrified of anything remotely sexual, so the image of a woman laying on her side for the area between her legs to be visible is quite daring, and a closer look shows that some areola is seen escaping her bra, as well as a wee bit of nipple. I don’t know if this is allowed because of the Lucio Fulci’s fame, but something like this from any other person might get an instant “no” from the acquisitions department in a retail chain.

Although this is an older movie, the content is way ahead of the standards of today. Movies that have nudity that is combined with sexuality get punished, yet THE NEW YORK RIPPER goes way beyond this.

Let me put this bluntly. Lucio Fulci was not afraid of tits. He was not afraid of nudity, and there are some exposed nether regions in this film to prove that. More importantly, he was not afraid of depicting his villain as a sadist. American-made modern movies that are about serial killers completely sanitize the murderer almost to the point of removing the fact that serial killers are sexual predators. One wouldn’t know that from watching a recent American movie.

The New York Ripper
The New York Ripper

I am not invested in the genre so the gore effects don’t have the same effect on me as they presumably had on audiences in the original era of the movie, but I quite liked some of the shots of the knife coming at the camera with a bit of lens distortion.

THE NEW YORK RIPPER
THE NEW YORK RIPPER

Did I mention that there is nudity in this movie? I can’t believe that I am calling an old movie “refreshing” and “new” – such is the decline of artistic expression in the present time. This adds new meaning the the expression, “Ah, the good old days…” Seriously, when was the last time that you saw a movie with this level of creative freedom?

THE NEW YORK RIPPER
THE NEW YORK RIPPER

Be grateful that there once was a time when movies were made from artistic vision, not as formulaic commercial fluff that must adhere to the human resources department.

I found this viewing experience to be highly enjoyable. It is strongly recommended.

It’s not my style to give away story lines because I personally love to let the movie unfold. I don’t need to hear anything from a viewer other than “go see it” so I hope that you are the same.

I would ask that you purchase this movie to show support for the bold decisions of this release. Perhaps, little-by-little, we can send a message with our purchases.

The New York Ripper
The New York Ripper

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