The New York Ripper

A decomposed human hand is found in New York City. It is identified by the police as belonging to Anne Lynne, a local model. Lieutenant Fred Williams (Jack Hedley), the burned-out police detective investigating the murder, interviews the young woman's nosy landlady, Mrs. Weissburger (Babette New), who tells him that during her daily spying and eavesdropping on her tenants, she overheard the girl last week over the phone arranging to meet a man who spoke with a strange, duck-like voice.

On a ferry, a young woman (Cinzia de Ponti) is eviscerated as she attempts to vandalize a car. The pathologist who conducts the autopsy (Giordano Falzoni) tells Williams that the style of the murder was similar to that of Anne Lynne, as well as a similar case in Harlem the previous month. When Williams tells the press about a potential serial killer being on the loose, the chief of police (Lucio Fulci) orders him not to make any further public announcements about the case to avoid starting a citywide panic. Williams hires Dr Paul Davis (Paolo Malco) to advise on the case.

That night in New York's red-light district, Jane Lodge (Alexandra Delli Colli), attends a live sex show and records the simulated moans and groans of the two performers with a pocket tape recorder. Mickey Scellenda, (Howard Ross), a scruffy, dangerous-looking man with two fingers missing from his right hand, sits nearby and observes what she is doing. After the show has ended, the female performer (Zora Kerova) is brutally killed by the maniac. Later that night while at the apartment of Kitty (Daniela Doria), a prostitute he patronizes, Williams receives a taunting phone call from the duck-voiced killer saying that he has killed again.

A young woman, Fay (Almanta Suska), is attacked by a handsome, razor-blade wielding killer but survives. She is comforted in the hospital by her handsome boyfriend Peter (Andrea Occhipinti). Fay tells Williams that she suspects her attacker was a scruffy, dangerous-looking man missing two fingers from his right hand. Jane continues to prowl New York for sexual experiences. After being molested in a pool hall, she picks up Scellenda; they go to a sleazy hotel room and engage in BDSM. As he has a post-coital nap, Jane overhears a radio DJ describing the killer, whom the press has now dubbed, 'the New York Ripper,' as missing two fingers from his right hand. Jane slips from the room only to be killed by the New York Ripper.

Williams identifies Scellenda as the eight-fingered man — a Greek immigrant with a history of sexual assault and drug abuse. Although Dr Davis doubts that Scellenda is intelligent enough to be the serial killer, his concerns seem obviated when Scellenda attempts to kill Fay in her home before being chased off by her boyfriend . A week later, Williams receives a call from the Ripper who wants to "dedicate a murder" to him. After being delayed by a false lead, Williams realizes the Ripper's target is Kitty. But he arrives too late to prevent her gruesome murder.

Scellenda's body is found a few days later; he has committed suicide. The pathologist tells Williams he was dead several days prior to Kitty's murder, proving he couldn't be the Ripper. Dr Davis completes a profile of the killer: an intelligent young man who hates young, sexually active women and followed Scellenda to identify his victims. Realizing this describes Peter, Williams and Davis begin to follow him and Fay. They discover that Peter has Suzy, a terminally ill daughter from a previous relationship. Believing them to be the killers, Williams goes to their house to arrest them. There he discovers Peter attempting to kill Fay and kills him.

Davis explains to Fay that Peter resented her and other women for enjoying a life that his daughter never would. From her hospital room, Suzy attempts to call Peter on the phone, but receives no reply.

• Jack Hedley as Lt. Fred Williams
• Paolo Malco as Dr. Paul Davis
• Almanta Suska as Fay Majors (credited as Almanta Keller)
• Howard Ross as Mickey Scellenda (Mikis)
• Andrea Occhipinti as Peter Bunch (credited as Andrew Painter)
• Alexandra Delli Colli as Jane Lodge
• Cosimo Cinieri as Dr. Lodge (credited as Laurence Welles)
• Giordano Falzoni as Dr. Barry Jones, Coroner
• Daniela Doria as Kitty
• Cinzia de Ponti as Rosie - Ferry victim
• Zora Kerova as Eva - Sex show performer (credited as Zora Kerowa)
• Josh Cruze as Chico (credited as Johs Cruze)
• Antone Pagán as Morales (credited as Anthon Kagan)
• Chiara Ferrari as Susy Bunch
• Barbara Cupisti as Heather

The film was originally to feature a serial killer afflicted by rapid Progeria, hence making it very difficult for the police to catch him based upon his rapidly changing appearance. The original script was written by Gianfranco Clerici and Vincenzo Mannino. It would later by made in a slightly toned down version by Ruggero Deodato in 1988 as Phantom of Death. Subsequently the original screenplay was altered by Dardano Sacchetti.

Prior to the release of the film, Fulci discussed the production, describing it as "much less horror than my previous films, no zombies, but a human killer working in the dark."[5] Fulci described the film as a tribute to Alfred Hitchcock, billing it as "Hitchcock Revisited, a fantastic film with a plot, violence and sexuality."[5] Dardano Sacchetti, who was one of Fulci's key creative collaborators at the time, stated that much of the film's sexual content came from Fulci, claiming that Fulci "nurtures a profound sadism towards women."[5] The film was shot on location in New York with interiors filmed in Rome.[6]

The lead heroine role had originally been offered to British actress Catriona MacColl who had starred in Fulci's, City of the Living Dead (1980), The Beyond (1981) and House by the Cemetery (1981), but she turned it down and the role went to Almanta Suska.

Zora Kerova, who played Eva in the film, spoke positively about working with Fulci and stated that it took a while for Fulci to warm up to her. When asked what she thought of the film, she stated she "didn't like The New York Ripper at all."[7]

The New York Ripper was released on 4 March 1982 in Italy.[3]

In the United Kingdom, the film was screened for the BBFC, with Carol Tpolski describing the film as "simply the most damaging film I have ever seen in my whole life" and "a relentless catalogue of the eponymous antihero/villain cutting women up."[8] The film was banned in the United Kingdom, where it could not be sold or owned until 2002.[8]

The film received a limited theatrical release in the United States in 1984 and was released on VHS in 1987, where it was slightly edited by Vidmark Entertainment.[8]

The Film has been released by Blue Underground on Blu Ray / DVD initially in 2016. It received a 4K scan Blu Ray Release in 2019 and finally a Special Edition 4k Release in August 2020.[9]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 17% based on 6 reviews, with a weighted average rating of 3/10.[10]

Eric Henderson of Slant Magazine called the film "sour and pointless," adding that it "utilizes all the necessary ingredients but fails to summon from them the magisterial dignity one expects from the finer NYC vomitoriums."[11] On his website, Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings, Dave Sindelar criticized the film's clichéd plot, obvious identity of the killer and attempts at pathos, the latter of which he felt were "forced and ineffectual." In the end, Sindelar stated that the film's nastiness and gore were its primary appeal, while also noting that it "will certainly not be to everyone’s taste."[12] Maitland McDonagh from TV Guide gave the film 1/4 stars, writing, "Fulci alternates sleazy sex scenes with graphic and deeply misogynistic murders, fills the plots with twists that make no sense, then wraps the whole thing up in a preposterous psychological flourish."[13] Robert Firsching of AllMovie claimed that the film was Fulci "pandering to the lowest common denominator as never before in his career". He added that "Fulci showed with this blatant play for the sicko slasher crowd that the days of well-plotted, stylish Italian horror were gone, replaced with the most vicious sort of sexual violence and perversion", concluding that the film was a "shameful piece of work".[3]

• The New York Ripper at AllMovie
• The New York Ripper at IMDb
• The New York Ripper at Rotten Tomatoes