A complete suprise to me - having seen Zombie and other Fulci films, with his stereotypical gore and inventive killings (usually at the hands of zombies of some type), Fulci moves completely away from any supernatural tone, to a downtrodden New York in modern-day America. A killer is on the loose, viciously murdering attractive young women. The difference that struck me with this particular film was immediate - the deaths are so much more realistic and cruel. The camera lingering over every explicit detail. Fulci seems to have set out to combine horror with thriller in this flick, and has done so on almost every level - the horror, however, mostly comes from the extremely realistic feel that this movie has and the downbeaten locations where everything occurs. The vicious murders seem all the more believable as a result.
I'd read many reviews for this film before finally watching it (in the UK, this film has an almost legendary cult-status; the BBFC actually had the film reels police-escorted out of the country when it was originally sent to them for certification in 1982), but don't necessarily agree with the way everyone mocks the killer's duck-like voice when talking to the police; if anything, it comes across as macabre and there is a reason for it, from a psychological perspective, revealed at the end. Oh yes - the final killing of the cop's girlfriend/prostitute - is every bit as nasty and prolonged as you've heard; the razor being dragged across her open eye and through her nipple, being slashed continually and slowly to ribbons, is just plain mean!
For me this is by far Fulci's cruelest, most intense piece; Recommended only for Fulci fans and those who want something much more disturbing than any mainstream slasher pic - all others stay away; otherwise this one will leave you feeling depressed for hours afterwards
I'd read many reviews for this film before finally watching it (in the UK, this film has an almost legendary cult-status; the BBFC actually had the film reels police-escorted out of the country when it was originally sent to them for certification in 1982), but don't necessarily agree with the way everyone mocks the killer's duck-like voice when talking to the police; if anything, it comes across as macabre and there is a reason for it, from a psychological perspective, revealed at the end. Oh yes - the final killing of the cop's girlfriend/prostitute - is every bit as nasty and prolonged as you've heard; the razor being dragged across her open eye and through her nipple, being slashed continually and slowly to ribbons, is just plain mean!
For me this is by far Fulci's cruelest, most intense piece; Recommended only for Fulci fans and those who want something much more disturbing than any mainstream slasher pic - all others stay away; otherwise this one will leave you feeling depressed for hours afterwards