Erotico profondo

In several respects, this movie seems to be a little untypical for a Franco movie. Since Franco proposed the subject himself, the film seems to be a rather personal project. Nevertheless, it is one of his most conventional movies. One could say that it is a rather tame slasher movie.

Sexual perversion is still a subject, but in "Jack the Ripper" it is confined to the madmen and is not the general background. There is also some gore which - at least on some occasions - would have better been left out.

What is equally untypical for a Franco movie are the production values. One can see that Franco worked on a higher budget. The film plays most of the time during the night, and the night photography is carried out in an excellent way. The scene when Lina Romay is killed in a foggy park is certainly one of the best Franco has ever filmed. A funny fact here is that apart from a few exteriors (like Big Ben), all the movie was shot in Zuerich Switzerland. It is much fun to see how Franco has transformed this into London (especially if you know the places in Zuerich Franco used). The interiors are also nice and colourful, and this is complemented by the costumes. Finally, the great plus of the movie is that is has Klaus Kinsky in it. Kinsky was one of the few actors who could create a certain ambiance by their mere presence. Of course, Kinsky's acting is also very subtle. Especially, his transformations from philanthrop into madman and back.

The only thing which spoiled my viewing of "Jack the Ripper" a bit where some stupid beginner's mistakes by Franco. The two most obvious ones are: 1) Klaus Kinsky standing at the wrong side of the car when he "meets" the inspector's girl friend; 2) When Lina Romay is killed, the puppet used for the (cheap looking) gore effect is lit in a completely false color (maybe this is the producer's fault who might have insisted on including some gore). One less obvious mistake occurs at the beginning: The first hooker which is killed walks (on her way home!) back half the way she came.

All in all, "Jack the Ripper" is an atmospheric, unpretentious, and well directed slasher movie with a formidable Klaus Kinsky as the madman.

Dr. Orloff (Klaus Kinski) is a London doctor who has the unfortunate compulsion of murdering prostitutes. When he kills a young girl at the start of the film, a begging blind man picks up his scent and recognises the smell of a rare plant found only in the Botanic Gardens. Orloff murders his victims there and has their bodies disposed of by a woman infatuated by him. Inspector Selby (Andreas Mannkopff) is assigned to the case, and with the help of the local prostitutes and the blind man, is determined to track down the man dubbed Jack the Ripper.

One of the most prolific of the cult directors, Jess (or Jesus) Franco directed over 150 features. The majority of these were awful, low-budget horror or skin flicks, and he drifted in and out of porn for a large chunk of his career. When he was on-form, he was actually quite talented. Whereas Jack the Ripper isn't a very good film at all, it certainly displays some of Franco's talents. For a director so fond of breasts and genitals, Ripper is pleasantly genital-light, and even more surprisingly, rather low on gore. It's more interested in Kinski's Orloff and the police investigation that followed him. Historically, of course, it's a load of bull s**t. There's very little (if any) fact on show, but this is forgivable as it is a low-budget horror after all.

The ever-watchable Klaus Kinsi is memorable in the role, even though he is clearly sleep-walking throughout the film. But if you've read his fascinating autobiography you would know he had very little love for his art, so it's a testament to his ability that he manages to be so good with so little effort. But it's the police investigation that is the most entertaining in the film, as Selby is assisted by his ragtag group of witnesses, and a man that has to be the campest police chief in film history.

The gore is quite low like I said, but when it appears it is quite gruesome. There's breast removal, stabbings, corpse-raping, not of which is done convincingly, but it is a shame because the film does occasionally elevate itself above it's shlock roots. It's actually beautifully filmed in some scenes, especially when the moon shines through the trees in the woods scene. It's all a bit too funny-because- it's-bad to be any good, but it's certainly not terrible, and it's actually made me want to check out some of Franco's vast filmography. But I'll probably leave out the porn.

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Let me begin this review with the statement that DVD packaging does make or break a film. Also, DVD packaging that attempts to be creative and exciting (when it is actually not) will only break a film. I mention this because it is what I experienced with Jack the Ripper on DVD. When the film's menu started it seemed like there was some time and effort put into this release.

As the menu opens there is Kinski's spooky eye twitching back and forth with several options for special features and extras. I was impressed; I thought that this film would just start without really any detail going into the DVD. This is what I thought, until I tried to work the audio options. With my German not up to par, I needed some subtitles or anything to help translate this film. What I discovered were flags for different countries to have the characters speak. This was a dubbed film, and the only flag that I knew (since there was no American flag) was Britain's flag. A made the choice and changed the outlook on this film forever. While it was grizzly to watch, there was quite a bit of humor behind it as D-grade British actors attempt to dub over German words. The character voice placement was horrendous. The main police officer sounded more effeminate than respectable and the others had this feel that they were behind the microphone speaking their lines. You never really felt like the voices matched the characters. What began as a developed horror story soon turned into a possible MST3K episode. It really detracted from the overall feel of the film.

This was my first Jesus Franco film and let me say I was taken aback. I wasn't expecting to see the gore and disgusting acts that Jack the Ripper did to these unsuspecting women. Franco holds nothing back from these deeds. The blood is fake, the bodies are doubles, and Franco is behind the camera making this all work. Outside of Clint Howard, Franco could be a master of this genre. I need to see more of his work, but this initial taste left a flavor in my mouth I cannot seem to fathom. I was impressed, and not impressed with this body of work. Kinski did a fantastic job of creating this hellish creature devoid of fear and compassion. The raw power in his eyes alone will send shivers up your spine as you sit in the comfort of your own couch. This was awesome to see, but then on the other side of the spectrum the voice and sound that came from Kinski's mouth was embarrassing. You were scared, yet laughing at the same time. This is the first time that I have ever experienced this feeling while watching a film. Kinski pulled me into this film, but the sound yanked me back out.

Before you expect too much from this film, you need to realize that this was a B-rated horror film. The young women show their breasts, they run into the woods instead of into safety, there are dark alleyways and implausible characters. This is not a film to win awards, but to a newbie into the world of Jesus Franco, it was fascinating. This was not in anyway the caliber of From Hell, because it is a slasher film to the utmost degree. It was somewhat of a tame slasher film, but nonetheless one in that genre. Sexual instability is the culprit in Franco's eyes that built this mass murderer known as Jack the Ripper. While Franco does skew the truth a bit about the actual murders involved with Jack the Ripper (throwing the bodies in the Themes, etc.), it still makes an interesting story.

Overall, it was decent. After I watched it and thought about it for some time, I had a better respect for the film. It wasn't the greatest, yet it wasn't horribly bad. The dubbing caused me the most irritation, while Kinski raised the bar on this film. If you go into this film with high expectations, you will be utterly disappointed, but if you go in with an open mind and an ability to laugh, than it may just be up your dark alley. The DVD packaging is impressive, yet very misleading. The transfer of this film to DVD is impressive for it being made in 1976. Again, not expecting a lot will lead to a better film experience. You should also accompany this film with your favorite six-pack of beer and your most eccentric friend. Sit back, relax (as much as you can with this film) and enjoy the next hour and a half.

Grade: ** out of *****

This film, starring Klaus Kinski, and directed by Jesus Franco, proves very disappointing viewing unless one has an affinity for gross-out gore (which this film delights in with numerous scenes of the Ripper dismembering his lady victims). Me I prefer the focus remain of the story at hand and this tale has been adapted better for the screen many times before.THE LODGER and MAN IN THE ATTIC being two of the better examples..Kinski does have a moment or two where he shines a little but it isn't enough to save this film.

Although this movie is completely historically inaccurate as far as Jack the Ripper goes, it's surprisingly well made for a Franco movie. It's one of the few horror movies, however, that could actually benefit from some more cuts as the gore sequences, besides being nasty and misogynistic, are also just plain stupid and inept. The sequence with Kinski and a young Lina Romay (Mrs. Jesus Franco, for the uninitiated)is one Franco's best and one of Romay's best performances (especially considering she has her clothes on for most of it), but it is almost ruined in the end by an extremely gruesome and completely pointless bit of gore. Still, this is one of the few Franco films that has a more or less coherent plot to go with the occasionally impressive visuals. It definitely won't please the "Ripperologists", but it's worth a look, especially if you like Franco, Romay, or Kinski.