One of my all time favorites.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

"Jack's Back" (1988) is a serial killer movie that is thoroughly '80s: the soundtrack, the lighting, the acting--everything. Watching this movie is like going back many years in a time machine. In other words, it's pretty fun. It's also surprisingly restrained. For example, in a scene where the lead goes into a topless bar to buy a gun, there is no obligatory shot of topless girls gyrating around steel poles; he just walks into the bar owner's office. Who knows, maybe the small budget held them back, but it was actually enjoyable to watch a movie that didn't indulge in every predictable grotesquerie.The plot is simple: It's the hundred-year anniversary of Jack the Ripper's crime spree, and someone is killing prostitutes in exactly the same manner, on exactly the same dates. Kinda fun.

From the start it's obvious this is going to be an immature and predictable version of a Jack the Ripper take-off. Everything is telegraphed way in advance and we know who the ripper is from the very first scene in which we see him as the head of the free clinic chastising a prostitute. If you know the history of the true ripper, then that's it, you know who it's going to be in this pile of manure. Yes, it's manure and entirely predictable, and barely believable, even as melodrama. What free clinic chief is going to chase away an idealistic doctor? And also act as the neighborhood morals officer? This crud is so full of outdated political propaganda that it's laughable. And it's amateurish and inept. Hell, they couldn't even get the asst. editor's name right in the titles, using Bubinow instead of Rubinow, and NOT as a joke either. Only good thing here is Spader's better-than-average performance.

An updating of Jack the Ripper made on the centennial of his infamous murders.A murderer in Los Angeles is imitating Jack the Ripper--he kills only prostitutes and in the exact same way Jack did. Idealistic kind doctor John Westford (James Spader) stumbles into the last killing and finds a coworker there who said he didn't do it. This leads to a fight, a very unpleasant killing....and a plot twist that will either have you laughing out loud (in disbelief) or thinking "what the f*** where they thinking"? Obviously I'm not going to give it away--but it comes about 30 minutes in--your reaction to the twist will determine how you like the movie. If you accept it you might like it. If you find it totally ridiculous (like me) you'll probably hate the movie.Also this is being sold as a horror movie. Hardly. There is one bloody killing and another unpleasant one...but that's it. This is a murder mystery--you try to figure out who the killer is. The acting varies. The supporting cast is very good but the two leads aren't. Cynthia Gibb is TERRIBLE as the love interest. As for Spader...he's an excellent actor but way too laid back for this role. Also the movie just looks ugly.So...an OK murder mystery--but a bad script and some miscast actors really hurt it. I can only give it a 5. You might just want to watch the beginning for the twist--it IS quite different!

Ahh-Jack's Back- a movie from my distant past-This is one I can't even try to say is good because it simply isn't. Jack's back is perfect late night viewing material which is exactly when my friends and I stumbled across it. In that respect, as bmovies go, it's perhaps not as bad as some, but it's pretty boring stuff, nonetheless. This is a fine, fine pic to watch if there is absolutely nothing else on. The atmosphere of the movie is made for late night(and I've never seen it on any other time). However, if one is looking for quality it's not to be found here. The best thing one can say about this, is it's got that atmospheric quality that's perfect for late night viewing but even that can't save the quality of the movie and the interest level which is nil.Of coarse, to each their own-there definetly havce been worse movies then this-but that doesn't elevate this one at all. My vote is 4.5 out of 10.