**SPOILERS** Very disjointed movie about this "Jack the Ripper" imitator who's out to duplicated his horrific crimes this time in L.A ,not London,that he committed exactly, back in 1888, 100 years ago. After murdering and dissecting, like the "Ripper" did, four of his victims it's expected by the LAPD that the "L.A Ripper" is due for one more ,victim more #5, to complete his grizzly task.
The film "Jack's Back" centers around the L.A Free Clinic "Echo Park" located in the poor and slummy side of town. Working at Echo Park is young and socially conscious minded med student John Westford, James Spader, who's at odds with his pain in the a** boss Dr. Sidney Tannerson, Rod Loomis. Dr. Tennerson is always threatening to fire John for shooting off his mouth to the media about how bad those without money or health insurance are treated in the country's hospitals.
Working with John is this big sweaty and deranged looking med-student, like John, Jack Pendler, Rex Ryan, who's obviously, just by his actions, the #1 suspect, to those of us watching the movie, in the "Rippers" killings. Jack doesn't disappoint us by showing up at Denises Johnson's, Daitza Kimngsley, apartment to preform an abortion on her for a cool $200.00! This in 1988 when abortions were legal in the US and for free in the free clinic-Echo Park- where Denise was a patient at! We never really get to see what happened to Denise but she ends up dead with Jack now in deep sh*t in being the last person to see her alive!
With John showing up at Denise's place and finding her dead, with Jack barging down the stairs, it's obvious to him that Jack is the "L.A Ripper" and takes off after him. Trying to take on the much bigger and powerful Jack John ends up getting killed, in his being strung up, by him. It's then that were introduced to John's twin brother Rick, also played by James Spender, who at the moment of John's murder he had a dream of it happening!
By the time Rick shows up the "Jack the Ripper" angle of the movie becomes completely kaput in that the killer fulfilled his quota of murders, five, that the real "Jack the Ripper" committed back in 1888. Were then bombarded with claims and counter-claims, by the police and Rick, to who the real "L.A Ripper is". Jack after murdering John had left a suicide note on him where he confessed that he in fact was the "L.A Ripper" which obviously he wasn't!
Rick with the help of his late brother John's fellow clinic worker Christine Moscari, Cynthia Gibbs, then try to track down the real killer of not only John but the five "Ripper" victims. The movie get more complicated by the minute with both Rick & Christine not getting anywhere in finding the killer who seems to be everywhere and everyplace at the same time!
The ridicules ending of the movie has "The Ripper", now with his identity reviled, again come out of the shadows and attempt to murder Christina while she's sleeping in bed. Why "The Ripper" would want to murder Christina or anybody else for that matter is the biggest surprises in the movie! He already met his goal, five murders, so why try to improve it by adding victim #6 to his scorecard!
P.S There's a scene in the movie where "The Ripper" is caught, by Rick, spying on Christina as she's undressing in her apartment. Making a hasty retreat all that "The Ripper" left was his wet shoe prints. Later at his job as a shoe salesman Rick fits the very same shoes on one of his customers, Brian Fats Bender, that was at least a size 14 or 15! This made you as well as Rick suspect that "Fats" was the elusive serial killer in that the shoes in both the size and style that he wears fits that of "The Ripper". It's later when we finally got to see who "The Ripper" really was he was at least half, in hight weight as well as shoe size, the size that "The Ripper" was according to the shoe prints he left outside of Christina's apartment!
