Ripper Tour Review – A New Take on the Jack the Ripper Mythos
David Gelmini
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Starring Lynn Lowry, Dudley Sutton, Christopher Walker
Directed by Jason Read
There have been so many fictionalized Jack the Ripper stories over the years that you’d think every possibly direction writers could take would have already been done, but the new short film Ripper Tour finally presented us with an entirely new and engaging take on one of history’s most famous serial killers.
Lynn Lowry stars as Jacqueline Butcher, a cult horror actress who arrives in London to attend a convention. Whilst in the capital, she decided to delight her Facebook followers by going on a tour of the locations where Jack the Ripper committed his horrific crimes and streaming her journey to them live. When she explains her scheme to the waiter who brings her a cup of coffee (played by Christopher Walker), he comments that she even has horrific days off, so Jacqueline is very much in the business of scaring people.
And scare people she does, though probably not quite in the way that she expected. As Butcher, Lowry clearly has a blast parodying the persona fans have some to associate with scream queens actresses (to drive the point home, producer Stuart Morriss even appears as an adoring fan). Clearly reveling in the way in which she describes the gruesome details of the Whitechapel murders, Lowry is on top of her game here. The same can be said of Dudley Sutton, who appears as a crazed maniac who takes an interest in Jacqueline, and Charlotte Mounter as a ghostly vision of Ripper victim Mary Jane Kelly, although to say anymore would be revealing too much. Let’s just say that if you’re looking for an entirely new and original take on the tale of Jack the Ripper, then you will definitely want to embark on the Ripper Tour.
Summary
It’s about damn time we were given a new take on the Jack the Ripper mythos, and Ripper Tour doesn’t disappoint.
