Chris Bell, Rachel Warren and Carl Wharton star in this little crime caper flick revolving around Jack the Ripper. Here’s our Ripper’s Revenge review.

One year on from the notorious Ripper murders, London is terrorised once again by a series of brutal killings. When gruesome letters from the Ripper begin landing on his desk, an innocent reporter finds himself drawn into a deadly mystery.
Written, Producer and Directed by Steve Lawson this little independent feature film certainly caught me off guard.
I was very much expecting a low-budget-looking affair and was instantly blown away by the classic and quite beautifully shot cinematography of this independent film. There was an air of class to it and all the locations used perfectly complemented one another within the story.
The story revolves around the real-life murderer as we focus on a reporter named Sebastian (Chris Bell) who once had fame and fortune writing about Jack the Ripper until the murders dried up and his bank balance died along with it.

With no stories to write and not a penny to his name our reporter finds a letter in his pocket one day from Jack and 12 months on, the killing spree starts again.
The one thing holding Ripper’s Revenge back is the locations that the film is set in, the film is constantly bouncing between three main locations. The reporter’s home, the office and the police station/jail cell. I’m sure the budget was tight but that’s no excuse to just focus on these three locations without stretching the film out just a bit more in terms of scale and scope.
This restrictive aspect aside the glossy classy feel that the film has mixed with some strong performances and some quite wonderful practical FX for the kill scenes make Ripper’s Revenge a very surprising watch indeed.

You may need the patience of a saint to keep watching the same three locations over and over but the solid writing and performances keep you watching and invested in the story.
The film hints at twisting the truth as our reporter admits to making up the Jack the Ripper name and changing perspectives to get a better story. The thing is, I absolutely believe it as the cutthroat (no pun intended) industry that is journalism is laid out on the table for all to see.
Conflict ensues as writing about the killings will put pennies back into Sebastian’s pocket but at the cost of bringing notoriety to this serial killer.

Iris’s partner is a working girl and with the rise of killings of women in her profession, Sebastian fears that he could be bringing death to his own doorstep.
Whilst the film has some gripping sections it seems to let go of its grip in the third act. It feels a bit half-arsed in places and some other performances just dampen an otherwise intriguing crime caper feature. Whilst the ending is somewhat satisfactory I just feel as though with a little bit more cash this film could have explored a few more avenues, shot in a few more places and stepped it up in all aspects.

Ripper’s Revenge is an interesting watch with a solid Chris Bell performance and some stellar writing and directing from Steve Lawson but the gold Laurette for this movie, for me, goes to the cinematographer. 
Truly a job well done!
Ripper’s Revenge Review by Sean Evans

Our Rating

Summary
A beautifully shot independent movie that sadly suffers from its budgetary restrictions when it comes to filming locations. With a little bit more money and variety this could have been a really special movie with a strong script, great direction, solid performances all going in the film’s favour. Worth a watch if you can tolerate the very limited changes of scenery.