Hands of the Ripper

This is quite an intriguing take on the established "Ripper" murders - as seen through he eyes of his daughter. She's but a bairn when she sees him at work and is unsurprisingly traumatised by the whole experience. Now grown to adulthood, "Anna" (Angharad Rees) finds herself the unwitting agent of a psychological impulse to continue in her father's stead. The sympathetic doctor "Pritchard" (Eric Porter) tries to apply some of elementary Victorian psychology to the investigation in the hope that he may be able to unlock this mystery and help out. Perhaps even find out the true identity of the original killer? Sadly, though, this is a deep rooted trouble that his good will isn't going to wish away. Indeed, after about half an hour we all realise that it's going to take something altogether more direct and even then, tragedy is more than less likely. It's a decent looking period drama this, with Porter doing enough to hold it together and Rees quite effective as the schizophrenic character. The dialogue is a bit excessive, and the science behind the story maybe isn't the best, but in many ways that serves to illustrate quite well how limited our understanding of the human psyche was - even in London at the height of empire. There's some fun added by the always reliable Dora Bryan and Lynda Baron and it's quite interesting to watch these otherwise street-smart and savvy characters completely disarmed by a different type of criminal altogether. The production is all a bit theatrical but it's not a bad light-horror film that effortlessly kills an hour and an half.