Ripper (2001)

User Rating:

4.4/10   

Director:

John Eyres

Writers:

John A. Curtis (story) and
Evan Tylor (story) ...

Release Date:

27 December 2001 (Malaysia)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

He's back from the past to pick up the pieces.

Plot:

A massacre survivor (A.J. Cook) studies serial killers under a famous expert (Bruce Payne), but her classmates soon start dying at the hands of a Jack the Ripper copycat. |

Plot Keywords:

Serial Killer | Jack The Ripper Copycat | Graffiti | Older Man Younger Woman Relationship | Police Detective

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

A.J. Cook	...	Molly Keller
Bruce Payne	...	Marshall Kane
Ryan Northcott	...	Jason Korda
Claire Keim	...	Chantal Etienne
Derek Hamilton	...	Eddie Sackman
Daniella Evangelista	...	Mary-Anne Nordstrom
Emmanuelle Vaugier	...	Andrea (Andy) Carter
Kelly Brook	...	Marisa Tavares
Jürgen Prochnow	...	Detective Kelso
Courtenay J. Stevens	...	Aaron Kroeker
Robin Collins	...	Kevin Lusk
Leanne Hindle	...	Cheryl Ellis (as Leanne Buchanan)
Michael Copley	...	Matt Novak
Sean Whale	...	Mark Tannenbaum
Crystal Dalman	...	Ellie Eckhart

Also Known As:

Ripper: Letter from Hell (USA) (promotional title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence/gore, sexuality and language.

Runtime:

Argentina:112 min | Australia:114 min

Country:

Canada | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Malaysia:18SG | Iceland:16 | Philippines:R-18 | Brazil:16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Germany:16 | Italy:VM14 | Singapore:R(A) | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Prophecy Entertainment

Trivia:

To avoid a restrictive NC-17 rating in the USA, the reconstruction of the the death of Mary Kelly's roommate Ada was toned down considerably. In reality, this was a particularly gruesome murder. However all the other murders depicted in the film remain faithful to the case notes and photo evidence.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the car chase, the model of the blue car changes back and forth. You can see this by looking at the grill, for most of the chase the badge is in the middle, but at one point near the beginning, and once the car is at the cliff edge the badge is in the top right hand corner of the grill.

Quotes:

Marshall Kane: What if I told you I was going to murder one of you today? What if everything I have accomplished in my field thus far was a vicarious way to experience what I'm really drawn to? And what if the truth is that I've studied serial killers all my life because subconciously I wanted to be one...

Movie Connections:

Followed by Ripper 2: Letter from Within (2004)

Soundtrack:

Liquid Mantra

What I like to see...

When the straight to video horror market is good, it's awesome. It gives us things like Ginger Snaps, The Locals, and in this case Ripper. Granted when it's bad it spits out garbage like Alienator, Curse of the Puppet Master and The Last Broadcast, but the more movies like Ripper I see the happier I am I cast my net further afield than Hollywood.

Ripper has a small budget, a relatively unknown cast (aside from Bruce Payne, but I'll come back to that soon) and an unknown director. However, it has what many films of it's ilk lack, an exciting premise and a potential that the movie follows through on.

Let me explain that. Ripper falls halfway between Urban Legend and Crimson Rivers. It has a teen slasher side that flashes through in it's cast of cute 20-somethings and script peppered with 'dude' and people saying 'f**k' a lot for no obvious reason (this doesn't really detract from the story though), but also has elements of a sophisticated art-house thriller. Though it doesn't commit to either, it comes out as an exciting hybrid. This is fantastic, as traditionally attempts to make teen slashers intelligent often just come off pretentious (see Scream for details) and attempts to make arty thrillers appeal to wider audiences normally dilute the idea way too much (remember Hannibal?).

It has it's down points. I had to turn every damn light in my house off to see what was going on at times, as the night scenes are at times so dark that you'll get eye strain just watching them. Also some of the actors are awful. Many of you will join me in cheering the killer on as certain among their number get what's coming to them.

On the good side though, the actors who don't suck are very very good. A.J Cook as Molly is both a great anti-heroine and a wonderful surprise as an actress, and STV veteran Bruce Payne hands in a brilliant turn as the teens' ex-FBI teacher, with a British accent that puts Angelina Jolie et al to shame. Good on you my man, great to hear a convincing accent again! Add to this a twisty turny plot that had me in shock by the time it was finished (seriously, I've seen all the big horror-thrillers and I still didn't see the end coming) and Ripper is exactly what STV is for, showing up the big boys.

So, if you think you can hack a movie with some rough edges, and you like a good slasher whodunnit, check this out.