User reviews

This is a very powerful, very factual documentary series detailing the five year killing spree of The Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe.

Lots of interviews, new and old, you will hear from The Police, Journalists, families, and more shockingly, survivors.

It's very well produced, and doesn't at any point jar, it focuses on the case, but also gives you glimpses of life at the time for people.

It's hard to imagine how he got away with his crimes for so long, the final part gives a good insight into the actual investigation.

The only thing I would have liked a little more information on, was just how he was caught, what exactly happened etc.

Chilling, 8/10.

Overall a good documentary series but it gets hijacked towards the end by a couple of contributors peddling their political agendas. Yes the police made horrible blunders and judgements but the idea it was all some male conspiracy is over the top. The contributions by the people at the centre of the story - the victims' families, the survivors and the police officers are fascinating and often heartbreaking. The emphasis on the women who died rather than the murderer is welcome too.

Very informative and detailed show with Netflix's typical high standard but it does get derailed by a diatribe in episode 3 that took away from the following of the criminal case

A concise and well put together documentary. The doc style lent it self well to this story with very good use of archival footage. The people interviewed were relevant to the cases and added good insight into the police work and political climate.

Documentary about the Yorkshire ripper, a serial killer that had the entire United Kingdom in its grip for several years. Lately there are a lot of shows about famous serial killers, it's just something people like to watch, and I get that as you just want to try to understand what is going on in a mind of a sick person. This one is divided in four episodes, maybe a tiny bit too long but still interesting to watch. Again you can't help it to be a bit disappointed by the investigation, the police forces are again not completely faultless even though not as failing as with Dahmer, Gacy, the Night Stalker or the Golden State killer but still the ripper should have been arrested much sooner. The episodes are basically interviews of investigators, victims that were lucky to got away, reporters, and the public opinion. Everyone adds to the story, everyone has their opinion, good or bad. I won't say it was the best series about the Yorkshire ripper but it was certainly interesting to watch.

A lot of reviewers have noted there was too much reference to the feminist movement during this series. To my mind, this was an integral part of the programme. I didn't see this as male bashing, but more about the incompetence of the police at the time, their use of derogative language to describe the victims, while highlighting their preconcieved notions about the women from the outset of the murders. These dated and, frankly, mysoginist views hampered the investigation. Well worth the watch.

Overall this is not a bad documentary, revealing much more than I previously knew about the subject. I'm glad there are plenty of female voices, but it's a shame the makers chose to feature such extreme views such as those claiming men were forcing them to behave a certain way when in truth they all made informed choices. The world would obviously be a far better place without the likes of the Ripper but to blame all men for his actions cannot be taken seriously. So too the misrepresentation of objective observations as naked prejudice: an agenda in search of evidence. Unfortunately this is a dripping tap in one particular episode.

That the Ripper was not caught sooner is obviously cause for regret. But I haven't seen anything showing the cops weren't trying - quite the opposite. They just didn't have the tools to do much better: no DNA matching, very few computers, profiling in its infancy. Anyone can criticize.

As a young kid growing up in Yorkshire in the 1970's I remember this time so well. My Mum was single in the late 70's and never went out on a night out alone. It was really scary that these crimes were so close to home and the sense of relief when he was finally caught was palpable. This documentary shows the level of investigation and methods used and is well worth watching.

New 4 part documentary on Netflix which has frustratingly accurate footage of the police's disregard for the victims. It was their arrogance which blinkered their investigation for far too long before he was finally caught. Not by the extent of their police work, but by officers arresting him for a completely unrelated offence, which the bigwigs happily took the praise for. Although I've seen something very similar before, it's still a very worthy watch.

I thought the first two episodes of this show were really interesting. The final two episodes were less interesting. I agree with some of the negative reviews that it becomes very preachy instead of based on the facts of the case. I do think the cops botched the case, I would have liked to have known more. Either way - starts great and is still good. But the final two episodes are kinda slow.

This was poorly made. I found it lagging and uninteresting, which is a shame really when you have such fascinating content to go on. Reading about Sutcliffe on Wikipedia was so much more compelling. Too much bias and politics and boring woke reporters on the series and so much more confronting information left out, such as: the numerous attacks on him in prison and at broadmoar, one which left him blind in one eye and the other seriously damaged only to have the remaining eye attacked at a later period, his first victim's daughter committed suicide over the death of her mother, his wife slapping him silly like a schoolboy and later on to be described as dancing on the graves of her husband's victims when filing lawsuit after lawsuit to gain monetarily. And SO much more. That would have been riveting to watch.

The story obviously is gripping, but what makes it more compelling is the shear amount of actual footages...considering that event has happened more than 40 years, it should get a good credit...

When you watch the whole documentary it becomes pretty clear that the creators wanted to give some insight on the sociopolitical state in the period that the killings happened. The reaction from the public due to the fact that many of the victims were prostitutes, how women lived though all this and why was the police unable to catch this serial killer for so many years. All of these are important, and crucial factors, in every case like this and they need to be included. But after a point it kinda loses it's original purpose and instead of analysing the murders, the police work insight and all the detail of the case as a case, it feels like the documentary focuses more on the society picture and how the police mechanism failed to deliver results due to horrible handling. Which would make a very interesting documentary on it's own so the creators would have all of the time to focus on the affects a case like this has on society and how people's mindsets affect the handling of such cases. But from a documentary called "The Ripper" you expect a more focused analysis on the crimes. The series kinda tries to balance these two but as a result the main subject is neglected to some extend. I have to say though, it's a interesting documentary nontheless. We get to listen to the policemen that worked on the case, journalists, some of the victims that survived, relatives of the victims and in general people who lives through this nightmare. And of course each murder is exhibited although there could be a more detailed insight into the events.

OK documentary dragged out over 4 episodes. I have seen better documentaries about the case which have been more chilling and not as boring. I think it needed better direction, editing and narration to tell the story.. I guess it would be more interesting if you don't know the story.

Are you scared that one of us is the ripper? asks men in the pub to the women -probably very content with their wittiness.

Every now and then under a movie title, I run into reviewers that claim they created their account to make that very review. Well, this is mine. I owe it to the victims of Peter Sutcliffe and I do not only mean the women he attacked personally. I also mean the women who had to endure the period of his attacks until the end of it. The Ripper is a crime documentary that focuses on the societal aspect of one of the most notorious feminicides in the history. Naturally, it gives us a glimpse of how the women in that time were affected by the events even if they were not personally attacked.

The rest may contain spoilers though I am not sure.

It was the admiration and the fascination of the men towards the attacker that made Sutcliffe go on for so long. (At one point, police openly plea him to stop, which makes you think wtf..) That and of course the misogynistic environment in which he had been groomed. This documentary reveals these aspects excellently and that is why it gets so many bad reviews for being 'feminist'. Apparently, crime doc enthusiasts want to think of murderers as bizarre mysterious men who have 'different' thinking. Gruesome details on killings also don't hurt lol. The Ripper does not give you any of that. It gives you the true face of a women hater and the truth is they are average men with average minds filled with unexceptional stereotypes about women and men (like what is a 'strong' men). Frequently, the police officers themselves share many of those stereotypes and beliefs so they cannot be the ones who recognise them. Yet women killers are hardly ever outcasts or extreme cases. They are regular people. Family men. Respected members of communities. Promising young fellas. Trust me, I am a keen researcher on serial killers of women, I am yet to find a mastermind of evil. Everywhere I see a forced storyline that tries to put that make up on these normal men, partly because men have lot fo sympathy for 'troubled' men and men do not want to accept that they are the main problem. This is the first crime documentary that straightforwardly states it.

It was an excellent work but not an easy watch. Being deprived from basic rights like going out at night, walking home by yourself, being in public without being afraid is a female reality. We cannot let men overlook this reality or downplay it by saying its for our own safety. I am very proud of those women who held the night time protest. It was the most sentimental moment for me.

I have to admit, I thought this was going to be about Jack the Ripper. The one I actually know or would expect with a title "The Ripper". But you may have known this before reading my review. Just to make this clear, I never read up on things I'm about to watch. Trying to keep a fresh and unoccupied mind about whatever it is I'll watch.

Same here then and the documentary is quite nice overall. It becomes clear who it is talking about and the horrible things that were commited. Since this is real life or a documentation of what happened with some murders, it will depend on your thresshold and if this is even something you want to watch. Psychologically alone this is quite draining. Consider those things and if you have the time to watch a show about horrible real life stuff ... the show ain't bad

The Ripper (2020) is a 4-part Netflix docuseries that I recently wrapped up. The storyline follows the infamous Yorkshire Ripper's killing spree in the late 70s/early 80s that plagued England and went unsolved for 5 years as the killing spree reached the 20s and the authorities could seemingly do nothing about it.

This series was cocreated by Jesse Vile (Gypsy's Revenge) and Ellena Wood (First Cut). This series does a great job of depicting this era in England and the perception of women in society. There's also a strong message on how men controlled access to certain roles and positions at the time and how that narrow mindness impacted the case, the search and the events. The meticulous details of the events and how the killer covered his tracks was smart. It was also interesting how details were right in front of the police and audience and you completely miss it until the reveal at the end, even with subtle hints throughout the series.

Overall, this is a very smart docuseries with a fascinating killer but even more fascinating circumstances around the investigation and era. I would score this series an 8/10 and strongly recommend it.

The series is much more than the story of a serial killer, is the story of police patriarchal mentality, is about blaming victims, and evaluating the value of lives according to what a person does for a living. They didn't take him seriously until an "innocent" young woman became the victim of this serial killer. It's about prejudice and a case that changed mentalities inside the police but also among the general population. I saw this series as a society overlook at that time. They were looking after something they created in their mind because they couldn't see much more nor were they interested in understanding, a non-existent entity. Unfortunately is not the last case treated like this by police all over the world, but clearly his acts were horrific to say at least. Is not a masterpiece, but it says a lot about the entire social-economical status of the period. It creates a pretty good image. I believe the critics of this series are undeserving.

There was a bit much repetition. As often with Netflix docu-series, a documentary of an hour and a half would have been more suitable. But they had a lot of involved people to talk to, which adds value, so perhaps more time was needed. The feminism was understandable and necessary at first because of the way the first victims were presented. However in the third and fourth episode they went too far. Conclusions about society and men were drawn, from murders that were committed by one insane individual.