When I heard that Scream Factory was releasing Jack’s Back on DVD/Blu-Ray I wasn’t sure how to feel about it. I know that this movie has its fans… but I am not one of them. I reluctantly put the DVD into my player.
Now my previous experience of this movie was watching it when it was briefly on Netflix Instant watch. Like many out of print releases at the time, the Netflix Streaming video quality was equal to a “taped from cable” copy of the movie.
I’m still not in love with Jack’s Back. Of all the the Scream Factory films I own I can say this will be the one I will watch the least often, but I’m beginning to come around to it this second time.
For starters it’s beautifully shot. This was the biggest thing lost in the Netflix Streaming quality vs. the Blu-Ray transfer. Scream Factory really has a gift for taking garbage cinema and making them look like high art (The Town That Dreaded Sundown release being the best example of this).
It’s hard to hate this movie though, it’s just too ridiculous to hate. You’ve got identical twin brothers, copy-cat killers, angry cops… it’s literally every 80’s cliche smashed into one plot line.
The story follows a “Jack the Ripper” copycat killer. A Surgeon played by James Spader is the prime suspect… until he becomes a victim. Shortly after that his identical twin brother arrives at the police station claiming to have visions of the killer and offering his services to help track the killer.
It’s hard to call this a horror movie though. It’s never really horrifying and for an 80’s film about Jack the Ripper it lacks any real gore or jumps. It’s more of a crime drama with a slight supernatural twist.
It’s definitely worth checking out and if you like to collect obscure 80’s titles like I do than it should be in your collection. Pick up your copy today from Scream Factory.