The New York Ripper (1982)

A burned-out New York police detective teams up with a college psychoanalyst to track down a vicious serial killer randomly stalking and killing various young women around the city.

Director:

Lucio Fulci

Writers:

Gianfranco Clerici (story), Vincenzo Mannino (story)

Stars:

Jack Hedley, Almanta Suska, Howard Ross

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Hedley	...	Lt. Fred Williams
Almanta Suska	...	Fay Majors (as Almanta Keller)
Howard Ross	...	Mickey Scellenda
Andrea Occhipinti	...	Peter Bunch (as Andrew Painter)
Alexandra Delli Colli	...	Jane Forrester Lodge
Paolo Malco	...	Dr. Paul Davis
Cinzia de Ponti	...	Rosie - Ferry victim
Cosimo Cinieri	...	Dr. Lodge (as Laurence Welles)
Daniela Doria	...	Kitty
Babette New	...	Mrs. Weissburger
Zora Kerova	...	Eva - Sex show performer (as Zora Kerowa)
Paul E. Guskin	...	Desk Sergeant (as Paul Guskin)
Antone Pagán	...	Morales (as Anthon Kagan)
Josh Cruze	...	Chico (as Johs Cruze)
Marsha MacBride	...	Policewoman

Storyline

Killer who talks like a duck wanders around New York City killing women by various means including slicing an eyeball with a razorblade. Detective Jack Headly is hot on his trail.

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Plot Keywords:

giallo | live sex show | detective | italian cinema | grindhouse film | 

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Taglines:

Slashing Up Women Was His Pleasure!

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian Spanish

Release Date:

4 March 1982 (Italy)

Also Known As:

New York Ripper

Filming Locations:

Columbia University - Broadway & 116th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fulvia Film,Silent Warrior Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min 93 min (director's cut) 80 min (cut) (1989) (video)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The lead role was originally offered to Catriona MacColl who had previously starred in director Lucio Fulci's City of the Living Dead (1980), The Beyond (1981), and The House by the Cemetery (1981). She was apparently a little suspicious and turned the offer down. It would have been her second time appearing with Paolo Malco.

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Goofs

[All goofs for this title are spoilers.]

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Quotes

[overseeing the autopsy on the 'Ripper' Scellenda]
Lt. Fred Williams: So, what's the good news, Barry?
Dr. Barry Jones, Coroner: Well, from the pulmonary result, the cause of death was suffocation. Self-inflicted by the plastic bag thrown over his head.
Lt. Fred Williams: What about the time of death?
Dr. Barry Jones, Coroner: That I have for you exactly. Between four and five AM on Tuesday the 10th, eight days ago.
Lt. Fred Williams: Eight days? Bullshit! That son-of-a-bitch murdered Kitty just four days ago. He couldn't have have been dead for eight days! You're wrong!
Dr. Barry Jones, Coroner: Come on, Barnaby. How long have...
[...]

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Alternate Versions

The UK Shameless DVD is missing 2 scenes. A brief conversation between Dr Davis and his secretary, and a shot of Davis turning and watching Lt Williams driving off in his car outside the hospital. These are distributor edits which were removed to maintain the flow of the movie. The UK Shameless Blu-ray adds 15 seconds of footage missing from the Blue Underground release.

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Connections

Featured in The Beyond: Beyond and Back - Memories of Lucio Fulci (2015)

User Reviews

My first Fulci film and I am highly impressed

I had heard of Lucio Fulci for years through mail order catalogs, interviews in genre magazines, and newsgroup discussions. I just decided yesterday to shell out $15 to buy the Anchor Bay video version of "New York Ripper". I am a huge video collector and the clamshell box with the lurid cover art just called out to me. Well, I popped it into the VCR after not eating any dinner (to disallow any possible barfing!) and watched the video. Though the gore is plentiful and there are some downright sleazy scenes, I thought this was one of the best "giallo"-type crime films I've ever seen! While not as violent as I thought it would be, there are plenty of graphic murders to squirm at. The worst by far was the murder of the detective's prostitute "girlfriend", including savage razorblade attacks on her nipples and her eyes! Despite the other reviews that say there is a lot of sex, there is only one real sex scene, the rest is heavily implied. As for misogyny charges, I think the film isn't misogynistic, just the killer. And this is never explained, so I guess the film could be a tad anti-woman, but I didn't really see anything expressing this feeling that I wouldn't see in any other slasher film. The widescreen version is the best one to see, it displays Fulci's gorgeous cinematography in full and makes the film look a little more classy and sophisticated than it should. The performance of Almanta Keller as Fay, the heroine, is one of the best I've seen in Italian horror films. Her dream sequence is another disturbing visual sequence that might leave your dinner in your lap! What more can I say, I love this movie, it is sleazy, it is violent, it is controversial, but the atmosphere and style of Fulci's filmmaking more than makes up for it.