Assault! Jack the Ripper

ASSAULT! JACK THE RIPPER is one of those films that just ain't gonna be everyone's cup of tea. It's brutal in it's depiction of rape and murder and has pretty much no redeeming value in terms of "entertaining" cinema - and that's exactly why it is such a "classic" of the pinky genre. At a time when many other pinky films dealt with sleazy subject matter in a more "fun" and tongue-in-cheek manner, ASSAULT! went straight for the jugular, or more appropriately, crotch...

Two restaurant co-workers realize their penchant for brutal rape and murder after a mishap with a whacked-out hitch-hiker. As the two find that murder is their only aphrodisiac - things get out of hand. They continue to "feed" off of each other and pick up random strangers to do their "business" with. Homeboy finds that he has a thing for stabbing the victims in the cooch - this appears to be his major "turn-on". Homegirl starts to get a little to clingy and jealous when she realizes that he's been doing some "moonlighting" on his own. This all results in the end of their relationship, among other things...

There's nothing really comical or fun about ASSAULT! (except for the strange disco soundtrack...). It appears that the main goal of this film is to shock and disgust, which it does appropriately enough - especially for it's 1976 time-stamp. Although the crotch-gouging is not "graphically" shown, the sound FX and inference of what's going on is enough to be disturbing. This is a rare film as it predates a lot of more sadistic films that became notorious throughout the late 70's through today. Again, not a film for all tastes, but for those that are looking for something a little "rougher"...this may be the one. 9/10

A shy pastry chef gives a newly employed waitress a lift home. They pickup an attractive, but mentally deranged young woman who is standing in the pouring rain. She gets into the car takes off her clothes and attempts suicide with razor blades. The couple push her out of the car to find she has collapsed and died in the middle of the road. They then hide the body. After the event they find themselves strangely turned on by her death. What follows is Ken murdering men and women using a chef's palette knife and having sex with Yuri afterwards.

The mixture of sex and violence is still strong even by today's standards. The film uses optical censorship, as well as carefully placed objects to obscure the most explicit sex scenes, but there is still frequent nudity and a high number of sex scenes even for a Nikkatsu pink film. The film clearly takes influence from the Italian Giallo films of directors like Umberto Lenzi and Lucio Fulci more so than the "stalk and slash" American horror films of the 70s. The violence is bloody and frequent with much talked about scenes involving a knife being inserted in-between women's legs.

It's all sleazy stuff and aficionados of exploitation films have seen it all before. What elevates this one is nice moody photography, well known faces of Nikkatsu putting in convincing performances and a high level of mayhem.

The DVD from Mondo Macabro features a nice print and some good extras. I'm not sure if this film would pass uncut in the UK.

Assault! Jack the Ripper! is a movie the average person will never forget, or actually, will never see. It's a rare, brutal Japanese film that includes rape, sex and murder. For fans of pinky films it's a leader in the genre. And I can see why. It's a well made film with very nice acting from all members of the cast. For anyone who's into video games, there is some great music in this that is very similar to a game called Katamari Damacy. Which is a fantastic game by the way.

The movie is about two restaurant workers who realize that the only way they can have hot sex is through killing someone. Good enough reason for me. But things begin to go seriously wrong for this Japanese Mickey and Mallory.

AJR! is definitely not for everyone. It's a very sexual and violent flick that will most likely only appeal to extreme cinema fans and brave souls willing to widen their horizons. I personally think this film kicks ass in it's depiction of no holds barred sex, violence and mayhem.

Man oh man, I had SOME idea of what to expect from this movie, but no idea of it's depravity! Even describing it would cause your mouth to drop open. OK, a pair of restaurant workers discover, quite accidentally, the best aphrodisiac is for the guy to kill (more like gut) females before he does it. Pretty soon, the aphrodisiac wears off, and the guy just wants to kill. It's barbaric, and definitely not for everyone, but DAMN, what an amazing film to watch. Some serious money went into making it I'm sure.. Widescreen, hippy music, crisp direction and editing.. Someone must have known what they wanted and paid a great deal of money to get it. It would be interesting to find out the backstory behind this one.

Yasuharu Hasebe's BOKO KIRISAKI JACK (aka ASSAULT: JACK THE RIPPER) is as mean as they come and twice as effective.

I have no moral objections to this material because it is what it is, and what it is is a tour de force of violent cinema with not a single cell of poltical correctness to muddy its intentions.

A strong-willed woman coerces a weak man to rape and kill with her.

The man's obsession leads to the downfall of the relationship.

The sexual violence is on a level you haven't seen before if you haven't seen any Japanese Violent Pink films, the production values are high, the performances are amazing and the jazz score is exceptional.

Director Hasebe also directed the excellent RAPE, the satire RAPING!, the solid RAPE 13TH HOUR and the more well known BLACK TIGHT KILLERS.

BOKO KIRISAKI JACK is his crowning achievement, a film that is violent, erotic, funny, perceptive and always entertaining.

The best Violent Pink film ever made.