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There’s a fascinating era of Hollywood where they just loved making Jack the Ripper into part of a film. This could often manifest as as garbage like Terror at London Bridge where Jack gets resurrected. Or Time After Time where Jack, played by the incredible David Warner, time travels to modern day Los Angeles and begins killing there. But how about a movie that references Jack the Ripper but does nothing with it? Enter, Jack’s Back (1988).
The premise is that at the centennial mark of Jack the Ripper killings, a copycat has started up. And they’re killing the same kind of victims as OG Jack. James Spader plays a doctor doing a residency at a clinic. One of the patients who comes in, gets murdered and Spader witnesses a guy from his clinic being around when the murder happened. This coworker, kills Spader, so you think the movie should be over. Until the spare Spader, wakes up from a nightmare of his twin doctor brother dying.
Next up is The Watcher[2000]. More Spader goodness where he plays an FBI agent. He’s retired because he had a bad experience with a serial killer. That serial killer, played by Keanu Reeves, reappears and followed Spader to Chicago. He believe they have the kind of relationship like Joker and Batman completing each other. SO he resumes killing to draw Spader out.
