We wrote this up for our eco horror theme a few years ago (check out that post here), and although it's not really a movie about school, it's got one particular school element that stands out.
Breaks into his house so he'll discover her like this. Dudes LOVE when you break into their homes... right?
One of this killer-rat movie's main characters is a teacher who's being pursued by one of his (very young) students. She's pretty relentless in her efforts to get him to date her but, he doesn't ever consider that as a possibility. And he doesn't just shut her down and move on with his dog-sized rat fighting day; he shuts her down and pursues a woman his own age. His reactions are so out of the ordinary, especially for that time period, that it's one of the few elements I can recall about this flick. (I mean, aside from the TERRIFYING effect of dachshunds wearing rat costumes.)
I don't know who was responsible for those decisions in this film, but I would LOVE to thank them in person. It's not everyday you get to see men behaving appropriately when it comes to minors (on screen or otherwise) but when I do see it in film, it makes an impression. Makes you wonder what kinds of impressions are being imprinted when the opposite is portrayed... *
But is this dude actually deserving of all that lady attention? Not particularly... but it's Canada, eh?
There is something to be said for this movie, the soundtrack is phenomenal.
Usually when I write movies up I try to stay on the positive side. I'll include “things to look a way for” if there's gross spots in otherwise redeemable movies, I'll even write from the perspective of the people who enjoyed the movie if I straight up hate something. But there is a certain sub-set of movies that I can't do that for: the glorified-misogyny genre. If we lived in a world where women on film were as varied and nuanced as the men [specifically the white men], maybe I'd feel differently about these kinds of movies.
But that is not the world we live in.
Though, as we've learned here at Tape Freaks, even the worst movies have something redeeming to offer and New York Ripper's offering of redemption lies in the soundtrack. But I'll try my best to tell you why this movie gets a flat zero from me before I get into that...
The plot unfolds something like this: In a version of New York City where women are hyper-sexual and are routinely brutalized, a serial killer is on the loose. He's hunting down women and killing them in the most violent ways imaginable, all while talking like Donald Duck.
No really: The killer talks like Donald Duck through the whole movie.
Reasons to watch: The soundtrack is amazing, and that Donald Duck thing is pretty weird...
Best description I found of this film: “...essentially a ‘greatest hits’ of sexist splatter effects with Donald Duck quacking away in the background.” - Mondozilla for Horrorpedia
Reasons to find the soundtrack: Francessco De Masi's score to this film was in my heavy play rotation long before I saw the movie. The jazzy 80's percussion and brass punctuated by orchestral swells made for excellent bike commute music. When I imagined the movie this music accompanied, I could see hard-boiled detectives, smoke filled precincts, moody cityscapes, and very likely murder. I certainly did not imagine a straight-up slasher movie, which is all New York Ripper turned out to be. (Though, imagining a cop movie wasn't too out of line as scoring those types of projects was Masi's bread and butter at the time.) This soundtrack is densely textured instrumentation masterfully layered in every track and I could seriously go on about it all day long, I encourage you to give it a listen!
What to watch instead: A good slasher substitute would be Slumber Party Massacre. The women in that movie are pretty well rounded characters, but it was also written and directed by women. If you're looking for another Fulci movie, The Beyond is a far superior film with extreme gore content and better female characters. If you're more interested in nudity than gore, Hard Ticket to Hawaii is a good choice. It's more of an action flick featuring nude women, but they're more well rounded and empowered than most clothed women in cinema from the same time period.
Lucio Fulci is Rated X [THESE SCREENINGS ARE LONG IN THE PAST]:
