THE NEW YORK RIPPER - Pretty much as sleazy as I remember it. Like 'Maniac', people used to really hate this film, but now it's been rehabilitated to the extent that it's on the shelves in HMV - I never thought I'd see the day. I really like the unapologetic approach to brash sadism and outright weirdness... the Donald Duck routine must be a high point of Fulci just not giving a f*ck. As has been mentioned here, the real teeth gritter is less the nipple slicing and more the wailing of the terminally ill kid at the end. Back on the rehabilitation note, so many taboos have been broken in genre (and more underground) filmmaking over the years since NYR was released that it seems weirdly watchable and entertaining these days rather than sordid or transgressive. If it doesn't descend to real depths, it's at least monument dedicated to great bad taste.
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