What's actually here is a fascinating psychological chiller that's artfully made on a low budget, trusting the power of performance to carry a heavy workload of exposition and suspense. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Hands of the Ripper (1971) - Hands of the Ripper (1971 - IMDb

The Devil's Bloody Plaything: Possessed by the 'Hands of the Ripper'" (28:21, HD) is more of a historical overview of the film, with journalists and admirers gathering to discuss its place in the pantheon of Hammer Horror, a cinematic legacy which found a difficult place of censorship and global distribution as it rolled into the 1970s. BTS information gradually increases during the featurette, with director Peter Sasdy and actress Jane Merrow interviewed, sharing their thoughts on the picture and their responsibilities to character and tone, and we hear snippets of a conversation from lead Angharad Rees, who passed away in 2012. Putting "Hands of the Ripper" in its proper Hammer context is interesting, and the enthusiasm for the movie is appealing, sharing a few anecdotes that aid in the understanding of a few scandalous scenes. That's pretty much the movie: watch as the little slip of an adolescent girl commits bloody crimes. Very bloody, at that; I haven't seen all of Hammer's late filmography, but on first glance, I'd be inclined to say that Hands of the Ripper is the studio's goriest film. That's not setting the bar tremendously high, mind you: the Italian gialli pretty much all hit this level, and American films could on occasion rise to some extraordinary heights of gruesomeness. Still, there's at least one effect in the scene where Anna goes into the whore's quarter of London to continue Dad's work that has an effect that even made as jaded a horror veteran as myself perk up with a little "ew, that's gross". Asshole Victim: Anna's first victim after possessing Anna is her guardian, a con artist "medium" who sold her to be raped by an Ephebophile.Given the time it was made, and the flow of influences, we must suppose that Hands of the Ripper was taking its cues from the Italian horror industry, but I don't think that's quite right. The thing is, there's never a minute's doubt that Anna is the killer - not from us, and not really from the other characters. There is, I suppose, some mystery around whether psychosis or possession is responsible for her actions, but L.W. Davidson's screenplay doesn't really care about answering that question. I would go so far as to say that we have in this film one of the earliest direct antecedents to the slasher movie, in which we are invited to watch a string of violent murders with no pretext of a mystery behind them at all, as there would be in a giallo: Anna is more in the line of Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees, a killer known to us from the outset, whose actions are meant tob e satisfying spectacle in and of themselves. Any given Hammer production is often a bit of a curate’s egg – trash cinema with unexpected highlights – but Hands of the Ripper ably manages to be something a bit more competent and substantial.

Hands of the Ripper (1971) - Plot - IMDb

Slaughter of Innocence: The Evolution of Hammer Gore" (6:08, HD) is a slide show displaying the various levels of grotesqueries that have found their way into the company's horror efforts. Ranging from tastefully managed to graphic, this collection of bloodshed, beheadings, severed limbs, and assorted nightmare fuel paints a vivid portrait of Hammer imagination. Hooker with a Heart of Gold: When Anna escapes from her home in a trance, a Whitechapel prostitute thinks she's new to the job and takes her home to have a chat and give her better advice on the line of work. Unfortunately, Anna kills her.For more about Hands of the Ripper and the Hands of the Ripper Blu-ray release, see Hands of the Ripper Blu-ray Review published by Brian Orndorf on August 10, 2013 where this Blu-ray release scored 4.0 out of 5. Hands of the Ripper (1971) - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.com. Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 25 June 2021. U.S. Television Introduction" (7:07) is audio from the original ABC presentation of "Hands of the Ripper," where, to fill in the gaps caused by excised gore, Universal shot special scenes to help explain the setting and psychological profile of the characters. Due to a studio fire, the footage is presumed lost, but the audio, despite its rough quality, is intriguing.