Hands of the Ripper is a 1971 British Hammer Horror Slasher Movie.
Anna is the daughter of Jack the Ripper. After witnessing her father kill her mother as a small child, she's grown into a beautiful woman in the local orphanage. Unfortunately, she's developed a Split Personality based on her dad and goes into murderous trances periodically. A psychiatrist takes her in in an attempt to treat Anna's problem, but things spiral out of control from there.
It was distributed theatrically in the US by Universal.
This film contains examples of:
- Asshole Victim: Anna's first victim after possessing Anna is her guardian, a con artist "medium" who sold her to be raped by an Ephebophile.
- Big Bad: Anna, daughter of Jack the Ripper.
- Disney Villain Death: Anna throws herself off a high balcony to stop her split personality from killing anymore.
- Doing In the Wizard: While several characters think Anna is possessed by Jack the Ripper's spirit, the film makes it clear that she developed a Split Personality due to trauma.
- Downer Ending: Anna throws herself off a balcony to stop her split personality from killing. Meanwhile, the psychiatrist who's been trying to treat her the whole film bleeds out from a stab wound she gave him earlier.
- Eye Scream: Anna stabs a prostitute in the eye with a sewing needle.
- Gory Deadly Overkill Title of Fatal Death
- Harmful to Minors: When Anna was a small child, she witnessed her father murder her mother.
- The Hero Dies: Pritchard bleeds out from a stab wound.
- Hooker with a Heart of Gold: When Anna escapes from her home in a trance, a Whitechapel prostitute thinks she's new to the job and takes her home to have a chat and give her better advice on the line of work. Unfortunately, Anna kills her.
- Ms. Fanservice: Anna is noted for her beauty by several characters, and gets a bathing scene.
- Predecessor Villain: Anna's murders were preceded by her father, Jack the Ripper, and the Split Personality that commits the crimes is based on him.
- Sympathetic Murderer: Anna does not commit these crimes of her own free will. She developed a Split Personality that formed into homicidal mania over witnessing her mother's murder and being forced to participate in fake seances. Her other half finally snaps when her guardian sells her to an Ephebophile to be raped.
