Hands Of The Ripper (1971)

Starring Eric Porter, Angharad Rees, Jane Merrow, Keith Bell, Derek Godfrey
Directed by Peter Sasdy
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

The unknown daughter of Jack The Ripper, after committing a shocking murder of her own, is taken into the care of a doctor experimenting with the new technique of psychoanalysis.

A terrific premise, fine acting, and good production values highlight this 1970's picture from Britain's Hammer Films, with Porter (as Dr. Pritchard) and Rees (as the troubled young Anna) definite standouts.  The shocks in the film are as potent as any of Hammer's past output, even though we know the killings are coming ahead of time, thanks to the cues the audience knows that drive Anna into her mindless violence.  The music score by Christopher Gunning (somewhat reminiscent of James Bernard's scores for the company) has some lovely melodic themes as well as darker material for the killings.  It's a well-produced and directed, intelligently written and acted production and one I found disturbing long after viewing.