The New York Ripper (Italian: Lo squartatore di New York) is a Giallo Film released in 1982 directed by Lucio Fulci. The story consists of a burnt out detective and a psychiatrist investigating a series of vicious murders by a killer who speaks in a Donald Duck-esque voice.
This movie provides examples of the following:
- Ambiguously Gay: The psychiatrist Dr. Davis. He's seen buying a gay-oriented magazine at one point.
- Antagonist Title: The New York Ripper
- Autopsy Snack Time: The Coroner Dr. Barry Jones pops a handful of breath mints as he is sewing up on of the cadavers post-autopsy.
- Ax-Crazy: The killer, Peter Bunch.
- Big Bad: Peter Bunch is the killer.
- The Big Rotten Apple: Even more rotten thanks to the dead bodies piling up!
- Boom, Headshot!: The killer gets shot in the left cheek, leaving two gaping holes you can see through.
- Cassandra Truth: Motor Mouth Mrs. Weissberger tells the detective that the killer speaks in a duck-like rasp. He dismisses it as nonsense.
- Creator Cameo: Fulci is the Chief of Police.
- Disproportionate Retribution: The killer's eight year-old daughter is dying of a degenerative and disfiguring disease. He is taking his frustrations over this out on random women, supposedly because they are a constant reminder of his own child's lost beauty and how she will never get the chance to grow up.
- Driven to Suicide: Mickey Scellenda was found and the coroner ruled the death as a suicide.
- Eye Scream: After being kidnapped by the killer, Kitty the prostitute gets her eye sliced by a razor blade.
- Freudian Excuse: The killer is slaughtering beautiful women because he's disgusted that they get to live their lives while his daughter is slowly dying in a hospital bed.
- Going Commando: Jane does not wear any panties under her skirt when she goes out cruising for rough trade.
- Gorn: It's Fulci. It is very gory and there is sadistic slant to the violence which makes it even more uncomfortable.
- Groin Attack: A rare example on a female. The killer kills the sex show performer by stabbing her in the vagina with a broken bottle!
- Gutted Like a Fish: The woman riding her bicycle and Jane suffer this fate.
- He-Man Woman Hater: The killer. If his daughter isn't allowed to grow up into a beautiful woman, he doesn't see any reason other women should get to live.
- I Can See You: The killer makes calls to Detective Williams every once in a while. One of them asks whether the detective was finished having sex with a prostitute.
- Interplay of Sex and Violence: There is a very uncomfortable sexual tone to the killer's attacks, even before he stabs a woman in the vagina with a glass bottle.
- Jerkass: Lt. Williams is the hero protagonist but he is an asshole for the majority of the movie. Somewhat Justified as he is severely burnt out and the kills are piling up increasing his desperation.
- Joggers Find Death: In the opening scene, an old man is walking his dog under the Brooklyn Bridge and throwing a stick for it to fetch. He tosses the stick into the bushes and the dog goes in to retrieve it, but comes out holding a decomposing hand.
- Psycho Knife Nut: The killer eviscerates his victims with a variety of knives.
- Red Herring: Mickey Scellenda for being nearby when Jane was killed and assaulting Faye after breaking into her boyfriend's apartment. A particularly well-executed last minute one would be Faye herself.
- Sinister Subway: Fay gets stalked and harassed by the sleazeball Mickey Scellenda on a a scuzzy New York Subway train.
- Slashed Throat: Faye Majors ends up with one after taking several stabbings from the killer. But then it turns out to be a dream.
- Stocking Filler: Jane wears a garter belt and stockings (and no panties) when she goes out cruising for rough trade.
- Vocal Dissonance: The killer speaks like Donald Duck when he attacks people. His daughter has a Donald Duck toy, hinting that this inspired him to use the voice for some reason.
