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Hands Of The Ripper (1971)
01/12/2006 . Source: Rod MacDonald 
DVD Region 2: Network 7952538. time: 85 minutes and extras. Price: £12.99 (UK). Stars Angharad Rees and Eric Porter. Buy Hands Of The Ripper in the USA - or Buy Hands Of The Ripper in the UK  check out website: www.networkdvd.co.uk
This is indeed a chilling Hammer horror production made all the better by excellent performances from the two main stars, Eric Porter and Angharad Rees. The movie has plenty of pace right from the start when we see the original Ripper in action. Pursued by the law, he makes it back to his own house and murders his wife in front of his horrified daughter, Anna. Events not for the fainthearted!
Some years later, Anna has grown up to become an attractive girl, the assistant of a fake medium helping to enhance spiritual effects at seances. There is only one thing wrong, unknown to all, sparkling objects followed by a kiss turns her into a murderous fiend.
A murder takes place at a seance. This brings the girl to the attention of psychiatrist Dr John Pritchard, played by Eric Porter. He has a commanding presence, an authority which most respect, but he seems to have the attitude that the pursuit of science is pure enough to negate any sense of morality. He is a kindly person and a gentleman, but there is a cold side to his Freudian-based philosophy.
As you would expect from a Hammer film, there are plenty of buxom girls in low-cut dresses. Anna seems to end up in a brothel, where else, and commits murder. The brothel Madam is played by that excellent actress, Dora Bryan, who has had so many parts in movies and television that you would need several pages to list them.
Murder follows murder. They are gruesome and bloody! Dr Pritchard at first didn't believe that a pretty girl could be responsible for such atrocities but as the movie progresses, his suspicions are aroused and then eventually confirmed. His attempts to use his psychoanalytical methods to heal Anna's mind seem to be hopeless. With the law now involved in the situation, the dramatic finale takes place in St Paul's Cathedral (actually a replica of the cathedral because the church authorities wouldn't let them film in the real thing).
Throughout the movie, the viewer knows what is going to happen. This doesn't detract from the drama. What's this film really about? Maybe it has something to do with the sanctimony of science and the downfall of all those who would dare to reach too far. Dr Pritchard is blinded by his own belief and is eventually killed by his inability to come to terms with reality. That reality is Anna, the bringer of death.
The DVD also contains a commentary by Angharad Rees talking about making the film and her career in general. I must confess extreme boredom took over and I didn't listen to more than half of it. Angharad stumbled quite a lot in her efforts to remember the past and apart from that it wasn't all that interesting. I'm sure it could have been condensed into less than half an hour so why did they insist on keeping going for the entire length of the movie? Suspecting that the motive was just to fill up time, commentaries of this nature are largely a waste of time.
However, the other extra wasn't! We were presented with an episode of the TV series 'Thriller' from 1974 in which Angharad played the lover of Professor Michael Lane (actor Patrick O'Neill) who devised a devilishly cunning plan to murder his wife (Patricia Donahue). Michael 'Foyle's War' Kitchen plays a young student. As you would expect, the plan is at first successful but events become more complicated and more killing is necessary. This is definitely one to watch.
All in all, this DVD represents good value for money. It's certainly one to add to your collection.
Rod MacDonald
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