The New York Ripper (1982)

Also Known As: Lo squartatore di New York, L'Eventreur de New York

Directed By: Lucio Fulci

Starring: Jack Hedley, Almanta Suska, Howard Ross, Andrea Occhipinti, Paolo Malco

Running Time: 91 minutes//93 minutes (director's cut)

Release Date: 1982

Country Of Origin: Italy

Despite being a fan of the giallo I've always had a fair amount of trepidation when it comes to The New York Ripper. The reputation of Lucio Fulci's 1982 depraved giallo long proceeds itself as an incredibly violent, misogynistic and most of all, controversial piece of cinema. It's often viewed as the film that went too far - a view shared by the BBFC who still won't release the film uncut 31 years after its initial classification submission. With such a notorious, nasty reputation, I was reluctant to watch the New York Ripper but I'm glad I eventually did because I found the film to be a fascinating entry in gialli cinema which is often unfairly dismissed as misogynistic, sleazy trash. I'm going to take some time here to discuss the film and examine some of the misogyny claims and ideas throughout the film. I apologise in advance for the long read...

The Black Cat (1989)

Also Known As: Demons 6, Demons 6: Profundis, Il Gatto Nero, The Black Cat, Demons 6: Armageddon

Directed By: Luigi Cozzi

Starring: Florence Guerin, Urbano Barberini, Caroline Munro

Running Time: 84 minutes

Release Date: 1989

Country of Origin: Italy

Not to be confused with Lucio Fulci's "The Black Cat" from 1981, The Black Cat (1989) is a supernatural horror from Luigi Cozzi and is an unofficial sequel to Argento's, at the time incomplete, Three Mothers trilogy. The script was adapted from Daria Nicoladi's (Argento's ex wife and creator of The Three Mothers trilogy) script for an official Argento Three Mothers film that never saw the light of day. Although the film is often titled as Demons 6, it has no relation to the original 2 Demons films and like Demons 3-5 was named as such to cash in on the popularity of the original Demons films in international markets.