Rating: C
Dir: James Marsh
Star: Paddy Considine, Maxine Peake, Sean Harris, Jim Carter
I remember the Yorkshire Ripper investigation pretty clearly, being 14 at the time – in particular, the tape, allegedly by him, that diverted so much police manpower on a wild-goose chase. That’s one of the elements here, as Peter Hunter (Considine) is brought in to assess proceedings, having previously investigated the shootout which ended the first film. Among his team are Helen Marshall (Peake), his former lover, and local liaison Bob Craven (Harris), who clearly has no love for Hunter or the purpose of his presence.
Attention is drawn to the murder of one prostitute, allegedly by the Ripper. But as Hunter and his crew pick away at that case, they discover that the culprit may be closer to home than that – and possibly even tied to the shootout. However, those involved soon show they won’t just sit back and let their actions be exposed. Maybe it’s just middle-movie syndrome. This one didn’t hold my attention as well as its predecessor. Hunter is a pretty bland hero (it’s easy to see why he was nick-named “Saint Cunt” by the locals in his previous time there), and his relationship with Marshall is neither convincing not interesting.
It seems to be drawing a parallel between the hero and the Ripper, both implacably set in opposition to the Yorkshire police. Admittedly, with radically different reasons but only the killer has the moral honesty to admit to it and the reasons why. However, it’s unconvincing at best, horribly cliched at worst i.e. its portrayal of Mrs. Hunter seems to come from bad soap-opera, and is an aspect that should have been junked. It does seem to have a natural progression from part one, in that the corruption blossoming there has now taken over completely, and there isn’t much room for optimism or hope in the face of that monster. If there’s such a thing as too much bleakness, this is guilty of it.