Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Luecarou What begins as a feel-good-human-interest story turns into a mystery, then a tragedy, and ultimately an outrage.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

BA_Harrison As a young child, Anna witnesses the brutal murder of her mother by her father, Jack the Ripper. Now, as a pretty young woman (played by the enchanting Angharad Rees), Anna goes into a trance whenever she sees flickering light, with a subsequent kiss causing her to become possessed by the murderous spirit of dear old daddy (a contrived combo of occurrences that comes into play several times during the course of the film, allowing for a number of grisly murders). Seeking to study Anna at close quarters, aspiring psychologist Dr. John Pritchard (Eric Porter) takes the young woman under his wing, but must help to hide his young ward's bloodthirsty behaviour.From Hammer studios, Hands of the Ripper is a delightfully dippy and gloriously gruesome take on the Ripper mythos. The plot is extremely silly, Pritchard covering up for a serial murderer being utterly ridiculous, even if the killer in question doesn't know what she is doing, but the outbursts of extreme violence make this a real treat for gore-hounds despite the lack of logic. The first of Anna's victims is charlatan spiritualist Mrs. Golding (Dora Bryan) who is pinned to a door with a fire poker, housemaid Dolly (Marjie Lawrence) is stabbed in the neck with a broken mirror, drunken whore Long Liz (Lynda Baron) has hatpins pushed through her hand and into her eye, a medium is stabbed with her spectacles (!?!), and Dr. Pritchard is run through with a sword (which he removes by hooking the hilt over a door handle and falling to the floor. Yeowch!). That other staple of '70s Hammer films, gratuitous female nudity, is limited to a brief glimpse of a topless Rees in the bath.The film ends with a tragic yet fitting climax that takes place in the Whispering Gallery of St. Paul's Cathedral, the fatally wounded Pritchard calling to Anna to join him—which she does by climbing over the edge of the gallery and falling to her death.7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

Scott LeBrun This good if not great Hammer production is efficiently entertaining, as it hits the ground running and offers up a provocative story of one forward-thinking person attempting to find an alternative way of dealing with mental illness. Some viewers may feel that the proliferation of elaborate, amusingly gory murders throw things asunder considering the more interesting aspects to the script (and Hammers' typically stylish period atmosphere). Also, one may grow impatient with the protagonists' stubbornness and sneakiness as he goes about doing everything possible to try to make his method work.That protagonist is eminent Dr. John Pritchard (Eric Porter), a psychoanalyst who is an early follower of Dr. Sigmund Freud. Into his life comes the haunted young Anna (Angharad Rees), who as we see from the opening sequence is none other than the daughter of Jack the Ripper. As a child she'd witnessed her dad murder her mom. Now Anna would seem to be getting possessed by her dear old dads' spirit, and it's causing her to commit murder. Instead of turning her over to police, Pritchard keeps her in his custody and tries his hardest to understand her, believing that studying madness would be more effective than simply punishing the guilty.The visual quality is gorgeous, the music, by Christopher Gunning, is lush and eloquent, and the direction by Peter Sasdy (also director of "Taste the Blood of Dracula" and "Countess Dracula") creates a reasonably quick moving tale (scripted by L.W. Davidson, based on a story by Edward Spencer Shew) with fine performances by all, including the lovely and endearing Ms. Rees, Keith Bell as Pritchards' son Michael, Jane Merrow as Michaels' fiancée Laura, the delicious Derek Godfrey as the sleazy Parliament member Dysart, Dora Bryan as Mrs. Golding, Marjorie Rhodes as Mrs. Bryant, and a fun Lynda Baron as flamboyant prostitute Long Liz.Overall, a solid effort from Hammer that lovers of 70s horror cinema should find to be satisfactory.Seven out of 10.

AaronCapenBanner Peter Sasdy directed this tragic story about a little girl named Anna who sees her mother murdered by her father...who turns out to be Jack The Ripper, who then dies. Many years later, Anna(played by Angharad Rees) is now a troubled young woman who is being used as a prostitute by a phony psychic, whom she murders, though Dr. John Pritchard(played by Eric Porter) takes her in to discover how and why she is a killer, much to his later regret, as poor Anna is possessed by the spirit of her late(and evil) father... Good cast and direction, but an unconvincing and overly bloody story overwhelm it, though it does have a most striking end.

Spikeopath Hands of the Ripper is directed by Peter Sasdy and written by L.W. Davidson and Edward Spencer Shew. It stars Eric Porter, Angharad Rees, Jane Merrow, Keith Bell, Derek Godfrey, Dora Bryan and Marjorie Rhodes. Music is by Christopher Gunning and cinematography by Kenneth Talbot.The infant daughter of Jack the Ripper witnesses the brutal murder of her mother by her father. Now a young woman she is deeply troubled and seems to have inherited her father's murderous instincts. An eminent psychiatrist takes her in to his own home in the belief he can benefit medical science by studying her at close quarters...A nifty late horror entry from Hammer Film Productions, Hands of the Ripper boasts the usual period delights and a on form cast doing justice to the intriguing twist on Ripper lore. The murders are delightfully gruesome in that colourful Hammer way, the Freudian beats penetrative and spicy and the suspense is well orchestrated by old pro Sasdy. Sasdy also has a keen eye for fluid camera techniques, and with Talbot making good use of shadows and light, it's an all round well constructed production that looks higher on monetary value than it actually was.Naturally full of improbabilities and cliché contrivance, Hands of the Ripper is still a horror film of considerable substance. From the attention grabbing opening sequence as Jolly Jack returns home from his work, to the breath holding finale set at St Paul's Cathedral, it delivers many treats for fans of Hammer Horror. 7.5/10