This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2021)
A young girl named Anna witnesses her mother’s murder at the hands of her father, revealed to be none of than Jack the Ripper. Fifteen years later, Anna is a troubled young woman suffering from repressed memories and 'emotional triggers' which cause violent outbursts whenever physical affection is shown towards her. Afterwards, Anna has no recollection of these heinous actions, crimes emulating the behavior of her infamous father. A Freudian psychiatrist named Dr. Pritchard is convinced he can cure Anna and takes her in, leading to both horrific, as well as tragic, consequences.
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (August 2014)
Film critic Leonard Maltin gave the film 2 1/2 out of a possible 4 stars. In his review he stated that the film had "[a] good atmosphere and solid performances, but after a good start, dissolves into a series of bloody murders."[1]The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films wrote that the film "expertly mixes the sophistication expected of Hammer's films with the gore its new audiences demanded."[2]
Andy Boot considers the film "flawed, and so close to the fag end of Gothic that it could almost be a parody", but that it is "nonetheless a film well worth watching". He opines that Peter Sasdy "atoned for his appalling Countess Dracula with a much pacier handling of this story."[3] Matt Brunson ascertained “This latter-day offering from Hammer Films ratchets up the gore, but thankfully not at the expense of an engrossing plot that embeds its psychological content in a series of effective set-pieces.”[4] Dr Lenera noted: “There’s a surprising sensitivity about Hands Of The Ripper despite it also being a film where someone has to die a bloody death every twenty minutes.”[5] Tim Brayton ascribed how the film “… is quite a strange, offbeat way to go about the business of making a Jack the Ripper picture."[6] Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 88%, based on seven reviews, with a rating average of 7.1/10.[7]
Alternate Version
“Hands of the Ripper” already had a scant running time of under ninety minutes. The excising of gore scenes for broadcast television reduced the runtime so significantly, additional footage was later filmed to pad out the TV versions. The new footage featured character actor Severn Darden as a psychologist providing introductions and closings under the auspices of discussing the events in the film as a famous case. Only audio exists of these wraparounds since the footage was amongst the losses in the 2008 Universal Studios fire.[8]
Hearn, Marcus; Barnes, Alan (September 2007). "Hands of the Ripper". The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films (limited ed.). Titan Books. ISBN978-1-84576-185-1.
