Shot-on-Video horror, SOV, was an annoying film-making technique during the 1980's and early 90s. I say annoying because it gave literally everyone, including the most incompetent hacks and amateurs, the opportunity to make their own horror movie and unleash it upon genre-loving audiences.
The SOV-flicks I've seen (usually try to avoid them, in fact) are rated, almost without exception, 1/10. Not because I don't want people to realize their life-long career dreams, but simply because they are unendurable. The plots are hopelessly unoriginal, the quality levels of acting and directing are painfully inexistent, the gore & make-up effects are over-enthusiast but laughably bad, and for some bizarre reason the running time of each and every single SOV film is endlessly stretched with dull padding footage.
Jeff Hathcock's "Night Ripper!" sits in this same bucket, and all of the above boxes are ticked. A homicidal maniac targets fashion models. Check. None of the cast members has even a notion of talent. Check. Larry Thomas, as the prime suspect who obviously isn't the killer although the 'script' wants you to believe so, obtained his fifteen minutes of fame in 90s when he appeared as the Soup Nazi in "Seinfeld", but here he's just as terrible as everyone else. We don't get to see any actual murders, only messy images of knives stuck in ladies' throats or chests. Check. Last but not least, the film easily could have 15-20 minutes shorter if it wasn't for all the "driving through the city at night" footage. Double check!
And yet, for some incomprehensible reason, I didn't hate "Night Ripper!". Maybe I was in an exceptionally good mood, maybe because Jeff Hathcock already made some minor improvements since his previous film "Victims!", or maybe just because I finally settled with the wisdom that everything was acceptable in the 1980s.
