Hands of the Ripper (1972)

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

As Good As It Gets

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Not bad at all, I lust say, even as it is on low standards for the tile being. But back then this must be a gory flick. All based on the Jack The Ripper case but pure fiction. Jack has a daughter and she does see Jack killing her mother. A doctor takes the daughter in his house to study her about doing weird stuff.Of course you know where this is going. For a Hammer production this one is made before Hammer did put in a lot of nudity. And even on part of the flick itself it sin't a Gothic story like we've seen from Hammer. It's just an underestimated flick.It wasn't boring at any moment and when killings take place it all looks creepy due the use of the camera. For geeks of Hammer it's a must see and for old school horror fans too but if you want to see a typical Hammer then this isn't going to satisfy you. Excellent acting, good story and well done effects.Gore 1/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 2,5/5 Story 2,5/5 Comedy 0/5

Following a grisly accident in her past, a woman sent to live with a wealthy bureaucrat learns a special trigger causes her to kill those around her and forces him to uncover the dark secret behind this in order to save her.This is quite a rather middling effort which is about equally bad and good points. The best points here is based on the Victorian setting which is quite effectively utilized at detailing the type of society without focusing on the traditional tropes that are featured in these films. By including their aristocracy-like air in how they react to each other and the manner in which they refer to the authorities in which they sign over the guardianship to get her in their care and how they gather at the police station is all about exploring these Victorian-era settings that are so common-place in these films yet are all accomplished in the realm of a slasher effort and is quite enjoyable for that reason. The fact that there's a twist to the slashing here in which it's based on the hypnotism effect which gets triggered at the most inopportune times so there's never a true indication of when she's going to snap which allows these to come as a real shock while also being shocking at the ingenuity needed to kill off her victims as this has a rather fun time doling out a really unique series of kills within this that is far more inventive and grisly than most slashers of the time. These issues here work but there's some problems that crop up in that the discovery of her hypnotic state and resulting killing mode are so late in the film that it really makes the psychology he attempts to use in aiding him look incredibly weak and pointless. Trying this is quite impressive overall, but there's just so many scenes that go by so slowly of him trying out his hand at this type of methodology that it leaves a gaping questions about his excellence in the field as well as not managing to accomplish anything of any value which causes this to feel incredibly drawn-out despite being only a traditionally-paced effort. This really holds the film down somewhat as they're two quite imposing drawbacks even though it's still quite enjoyable.Today's Rating/R: Graphic Violence and Nudity.

This good if not great Hammer production is efficiently entertaining, as it hits the ground running and offers up a provocative story of one forward-thinking person attempting to find an alternative way of dealing with mental illness. Some viewers may feel that the proliferation of elaborate, amusingly gory murders throw things asunder considering the more interesting aspects to the script (and Hammers' typically stylish period atmosphere). Also, one may grow impatient with the protagonists' stubbornness and sneakiness as he goes about doing everything possible to try to make his method work.That protagonist is eminent Dr. John Pritchard (Eric Porter), a psychoanalyst who is an early follower of Dr. Sigmund Freud. Into his life comes the haunted young Anna (Angharad Rees), who as we see from the opening sequence is none other than the daughter of Jack the Ripper. As a child she'd witnessed her dad murder her mom. Now Anna would seem to be getting possessed by her dear old dads' spirit, and it's causing her to commit murder. Instead of turning her over to police, Pritchard keeps her in his custody and tries his hardest to understand her, believing that studying madness would be more effective than simply punishing the guilty.The visual quality is gorgeous, the music, by Christopher Gunning, is lush and eloquent, and the direction by Peter Sasdy (also director of "Taste the Blood of Dracula" and "Countess Dracula") creates a reasonably quick moving tale (scripted by L.W. Davidson, based on a story by Edward Spencer Shew) with fine performances by all, including the lovely and endearing Ms. Rees, Keith Bell as Pritchards' son Michael, Jane Merrow as Michaels' fiancée Laura, the delicious Derek Godfrey as the sleazy Parliament member Dysart, Dora Bryan as Mrs. Golding, Marjorie Rhodes as Mrs. Bryant, and a fun Lynda Baron as flamboyant prostitute Long Liz.Overall, a solid effort from Hammer that lovers of 70s horror cinema should find to be satisfactory.Seven out of 10.

A doctor attempts to cure the daughter of Jack the Ripper through Freudian psychology, but can not keep her from following in father's footsteps, her mania triggered by light reflected from glass(..mostly a diamond of some sort) and a kiss to the cheek.The film opens with the Ripper fleeing the authorities and a mob of locals into his home, killing his wife after she discovers he's the serial killer, with his daughter, Anna, experiencing the whole ordeal from her crib. Years later, Anna(Angharad Rees) is assisting a con-artist who claims to communicate with the dead, while also used as a prostitute for wealthy members of society. Her first violent outburst leads to the murder of her guardian, in front of a member of Parliament, Dysart(Derek Godfrey). Dysart exits from the building while Dr. John Pritchard(Eric Porter)follows the scream noticing him in the process, soon discovering Anna in paralyzed state, as if lost mentally to her surroundings. Pritchard doesn't implicate Dysart, using his pull to search the background history of Anna, hoping to uncover her past. Pritchard wishes to understand the state of mine of a killer..why does she kill? Anna will be his example, guinea pig, and this will come with a price. Anna will continue to kill as long as the Ripper inside holds a power in her subconscious, and Pritchard's attempts to cover up her crimes will soon cost him dearly. Pritchard will be aided by the testimony of a medium who sees the incident after "previewing the memories of that very night" from Anna's mind, her in a state of hypnosis, resulting in a disconcerting situation when Jack is triggered once again accidentally.Startlingly violent Hammer film, again mines the mythos of Jack the Ripper, this time using the possibility of a daughter who may've experienced his murderous tendencies, effected psychologically to the point that she's an unwilling tool for his continued mayhem. You can actually hear his voice whispering for her to kill. Most of the time, a woman casts a friendly kiss to Anna's cheek, her face freezing into a blank stare, resulting in some sort of sharp blade killing them. A maid is sliced across the throat. A prostitute offers her a place to rest, resulting in her face being stabbed by hair pins(..this grisly scene has the poor woman attempting to shield her face by her hand, the pins going through it and into her eye!). Another victim is actually penetrated through the body with a sword(..in a awe-inspiring moment, the victim uses a door handle to remove it). Keith Bell is Pritchard's son, Michael. Jane Merrow is Michael's blind fiancé, Laura(..she's the potential victim in the harrowing climax set in the whispering hall). Director Peter Sasdy was one of the luckier Hammer directors allowed a bit of freedom to present his subject matter in a more elaborate, explicit way. While you don't have much in the way of nudity(..just a bit of Anna bathing in a tub), the violence even shocked me. This is the kind of film that might receive a cult following if it got a proper DVD release which would lift it from obscurity. Giving a unique way for crazy Jack to continue his work through his daughter is quite a fascinating premise. Tragic, incredibly powerful ending. Again, Hammer successfully transports us back to this period in London. Great performances from all involved. A real sleeper.