Night Ripper! (1986)

 

A low budget SOV flick where I can't identify a single actress or actor; no idea who's playing any of the roles in this film.... that is except Larry Thomas - the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld.  This freaked me out more than a little bit when I saw him in this.

A hot woman returns to her apartment - looking at photographs she's received in the mail.

She's approached by Mitch - played by Larry Thomas - the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld.  He acts extremely creepy, and warns her of the "Ripper" who's been slaying women in this part of town.

The woman cuts the conversation short and ducks inside her apartment.

I have to say, they make the character of Mitch so incredibly suspicious, that it's almost comical - like it could be in a Mel Brooks or Zucker Brothers movie.  He's constantly looking creepy and saying things like, "I was a butcher for five years and now I'm a photographer"

Later a gloved figure delivers a rose to the woman.

She's stabbed.

Mitch owns a photography studio.  David McKenzie works for him.

Janet also works there; she primarily ships and delivers the photographs.

A girl named Jill Regan enters the studio.  She wants to have glamour shots taken for her boyfriend.

David is smitten by this woman, and can't stop thinking about her.

After the glamour shots, David calls her to let her know the pictures will be delivered.

Cindy Rynerson and her boyfriend are getting frisky in his car.

The dude tries to reach up Cindy's skirt, but she tells him to hold off.

Cindy checks out her glamour shots from Mitch's studio.

She's then stabbed to death.

Mitch and David are called to the police station for questioning - as all the victims of the Ripper have had glamour shots at their studio.

David keeps getting nagged by his fiancé

His fiancé Karen Clarke constantly gives him a guilt trip for working too much, and wants him to give her more attention.

Later, David is followed by a mysterious woman.  He confronts her in her car.

A pair of shapely legs emerges.

It's the wife of Karen's boss.  She informs David that Karen has been sleeping around with her husband, and a ton of other guys. She presents photographs as proof.

David calls Karen and breaks off the marriage. 

Janet delivers Jill's glamour shots.  There's seems to be something odd with Janet.

Mitch continues to send out every signal in the world that he's a serial killer.  An unnatural obsession with the Ripper case, an odd fascination with Jack the Ripper, a background in butchery,... and all the victims are from his studio. 

A naked blonde and her lover Derren wrap-up a round of sex.

The blonde complains that Derren won't divorce his wife.

Derren proceeds to slap her across the face and leaves.

Later the blonde is killed by the Ripper.

Karen is also killed.  She has a run-in with a man we'll just call "red herring".  Then she gets in her car and is murdered by someone in the backseat.

With Karen now dead, the detectives strongly suspect him as being the Ripper

Mitch thinks Jill should be a professional model.  He asks her to meet him at the Vogue Mannequin Warehouse for a photo shoot.

David and Jill shower together. With his fiancé dead, he's free to fool around.

We find that Janet has some serious psychological issues.  She's plagued by the memories of a woman named Angela....and we learn that a certain Angela Hazelwood was found dead and her lesbian lover missing.

The Vogue Mannequin Warehouse 

Mitch is here to take pictures of Jill.  He's surprised to find Janet here too.  Janet subsequently stabs him in the back.

Jill shows up, and is chased through the mannequin warehouse by Janet.

She's horrified to find Mitch dead.

Most hilarious death ever.  Janet trips. One of the mannequins is holding a knife, and it falls on top of her. THE END

I have a real fondness for these eighties SOV films.  Not just for nostalgia, but they have a certain vibe that you just don't find in any other films.  This could have been really good; however, it simply has too many long drawn out scenes that are incredibly boring. I challenge you to sit through some of these scenes without pulling a jaw muscle yawning.

 ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆5/10