Horror Movie Review: Ripper’s Revenge (2023)

Written and directed by Steve Lawson, Ripper’s Revenge is not much of a horror movie. Sitting uncomfortably in that genre alongside drama and mystery elements. The sequel to the 2021 dialogue heavy movie, Ripper Untold. Ripper’s Revenge stars Chris Bell as local newspaper reporter, Stubb.

Stubb hasn’t been able to generate good stories since the Jack the Ripper murders and is short on cash. Something that displeases his girlfriend Iris (Rachael Warren), a working girl who was hoping to be married to Stubb by now.

It seems as though the heady days of the Ripper are long gone for Stubb, that is until he finds a letter in his pocket that seems to be from the killer. A letter that suggests the murderer is back and ready to pick up where he left off.

When a body is found that matches the MO of the Ripper, all fingers are pointed at Stubb. In particular the finger of Inspector Wingate (Carl Wharton) who seems to want to nail the reporter for the crimes.

Stubb insists that he is innocent, regardless of his unscrupulous behaviour in the first movie, and Iris insist that he take advantage of the fresh murders to regain his position at the paper. However, as Stubb gets more letters and the body count increases, he starts to worry that Jack wants revenge and that Iris is the perfect target for the killer.

It’s a solid story, told well, even if it requires a lot of dialogue heavy scenes. Aspects that might frustrate those hoping for a gorier and more violent Jack the Ripper tale. As the first film showed, this series of Ripper related movies are more about stories around the infamous killer rather than about the person themselves. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that Ripper’s Revenge is light on blood and chooses to focus on a handful of characters, shot wonderfully, and the events they are wrapped up in.

It’s actually a pretty interesting story with some excellent parallels to modern issues. Such as corruption of the police force, the unprincipled approach of the press, abuse of power, and even leaked nudes. Not elements you might expect to come across in a movie called Ripper’s Revenge so credit where credit is due.

Of course, these headier elements wouldn’t work as well if it wasn’t for a strong and game cast who all want to make this story feel as authentic as possible. Which they do, even with notable budgetary limitations.

There’s twists and turns along the way, some of which push the limit of believability admittedly, but its tight enough to not slip into the doldrums. Alas, for all that positivity, there’s no getting around the big issue that Ripper’s Revenge is being sold as a horror movie and it doesn’t really feel like it come the end.