77 Cinematografica released The New York Ripper in Italy on 4 March 1982.
Have you ever wondered if you are a psychotronic fan? Do you have doubts that maybe you just like the occasional odd film but that you aren’t a true psychotronic fan? Well, I have a test for you! Watch The New York Ripper!
Here’s the thing. This film is rough! Okay. It is not rough the way I Spit on Your Grave is! But in some ways, it’s worse. We see events through the perspective of the murderer. And the murder turns out to be rather too much like the kind of people who enjoy psychotronic films!
I mean no offense! I am one of the biggest fans of these difficult films. But part of that is realizing that I too contain multitudes. I am non-violent. But films like this bring up disturbing ideas. And I like grappling with them.
This may sound horrible. But I think it is not. And that’s even more true today when films commonly present torturers in a positive light. I never see them this way. And in watching The New York Ripper, I never think of the killer as anything but a fiend. And we aren’t left with the killer roaming the streets because “there are still horrible people in the world.” The police kill him. Shot in the face, in fact. (Not before his girlfriend fatally stabs him in anything but a horror film!)
Most people find the sex in the film disturbing I don’t. Human sexuality continues to be odd to me. So I’m not judgmental. Whatever works for people in fine by me. And in this film, strange sexual habits have nothing to do with the violence on screen. In fact, you might say a healthy attitude toward sex pushes against violence.
Regardless, The New York Ripper is a great film. It’s not close to my favorite film from Lucio Fulci. But it is essential viewing!
The New York Ripper (1982) via Google Play Store under Fair Use.