Everyone with an eye to see this film will no doubt have heard about how brutal, violent and shocking it is; and after seeing it, I've got to say that Assault! Jack the Ripper lives up to its reputation. I've no idea what the title is alluding to, but to surmise the film; it's an unflinching depiction of murder and rape that is all the more shocking because of the fact that most of the film is really quite realistic. The film is a part of the 'pinky' genre that was popular in Japan around the sixties and seventies, but unlike many of these films; this is not amusing or 'fun' - Assault! Jack the Ripper goes straight for the jugular! The plot focuses on two restaurant employees. While out together one night, they accidentally murder a hitch-hiker. The pair soon realise that murder is their mutual aphrodisiac, and from there the murders continue as the restaurateurs begin an unflinching rampage of rape and murder, with any random stranger unlucky enough to be in their way the victim! Naturally, this relationship doesn't last too long...
The only place the film is lacking is on the actual 'money shots' - we don't get to see the protagonist stab his victims in the crotch, and the reason for that is down to the Japanese penal code - which states that no full frontal nudity can be shown in films. This is a shame both for this film and just about every other Japanese exploitation film ever made. However, director Yasuharu Hasebe doesn't let that stop him delivering the shocks. The lack of full frontal nudity is more than made up for by the brutal violence and the film features plenty. It's not a particularly gory movie, but there's plenty of stabbing and butchery going on to please the gorehounds. The atmosphere is dirty and sleazy throughout and this compliments the brutal action nicely. The film is very short at just seventy two minutes, but this is not really a bad thing. The plot is very thin and while there's more than enough to keep the audience entertained for the time that it's on for, any longer and the film may have ended up grinding to a halt considering the thin plot line. Overall, I'm not raving about this film; but it lives up to its reputation and I wasn't disappointed by it.
