Why You've Never Seen Christopher Walken's Most Iconic Performance (2024)

Having become one of the most beloved and recognized actors for his performances in such films as The Deer Hunter, Pulp Fiction, Catch Me If You Can, and Seven Psychopaths, Christopher Walken is an undeniable icon of the screen. However, there is one project of his that very few have seen, thanks to its existence in the gaming world in a market that failed to pierce the mainstream in the 1990s.

We will look at the dark interactive thriller Ripper, why it faded into obscurity, and why it contains an utterly iconic performance from Christopher Walken that you must see for yourself.

What Is Ripper, and Why Have You Not Seen It?

Ripper exists in a relatively niche market that peaked in the '90s but is considered influential today. We are talking about the interactive movie game, or FMV, which uses footage of actors inter-spliced with gameplay. As the name implies, the point was to create an interactive movie that players could go through, and often, the duration lasted the same length, if not longer than a feature film; Ripper, for example, takes around 4 hours to complete.

While the first FMV game, the arcade game Wild Gunman, was released in 1974, the genre hit its stride in the 1990s with games like Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within (1995), The Pandora Directive (1996), Phantasmagoria (1995), and The X-Files Game (1998). While these games can be seen as a predecessor to series like The Dark Pictures Anthology, and interactive movies have made a slight comeback with titles like The Complex on various gaming platforms and Black Mirror's Bandersnatch on Netflix, the genre essentially began to fizzle out shortly after it peaked in the mid-'90s. This was due to improved computer graphics garnering more interest, the cost of making FMV, and the poor quality of the videos throughout the capturing process.

Released across six CDs and for the PC in the '90s through Take 2 Entertainment — the video game holding company behind the powerhouses Rockstar Games and 2K — unless you were an avid fan of FMV genre, it is unlikely that you know of Ripper's existence; even with its $4 million budget was a considerable amount for gaming at the time. While an oddity, fans of Christopher Walken have missed out on one of his most bizarre yet iconic performances.

Cast and Plot of Ripper

A cyberpunk approach to the story of Jack the Ripper, Rippersets itself in New York City in 2040, where a string of murders mimics past crimes. The player takes on the role of Jake Quinlan, a reporter for the Virtual Herald newspaper, receiving messages from the killer detailing his plans before each murder. It is then up to the player to navigate Jake to try to stop the crimes before they happen and figure out the killer's identity through puzzles and dialogue prompts. The game leaned into a film-noir aesthetic with a splattering of blood throughout to make for a sensational crime thriller.

Scott Cohen took on the role of Jake Quinlan. Cohen may not be a heavily recognized name, but as an actor, he has amassed over 100 credits with many notable supporting roles, including Wolf in the 2000 miniseries The 10th Kingdom. Christopher Walken plays Det. Vince Magnotta. Magnotta is the leading investigator in the case and antagonist to Jake Quinlan, who constantly berates him for interfering.

Rounding out the cast of Ripper is an impressive selection of other screen icons; this includes John Rhys-Davies best known for his role as Gimli in the Lord of the Rings movies; Karen Allen, who played Marion in Raiders of the Lost Ark; Paul Giamatti who led critical successes Sideways and American Splendor; Jimmie 'JJ' Walker who became a household name thanks to his role on the hit tv show Good Times; and screen icon Burgess Meredith of Rocky fame.

Why Ripper Is Christopher Walken's Most Iconic Performance

Even though Christopher Walken is not the main character of Ripper, whenever he appears, he steals the scene with what has to be some of the heaviest Christopher Walken deliveries of all time. While the reason behind the way he approached the role remains unknown, whether it was under direction or in part due to the format of FMV, Walken's body reactions and random emphasis on words are all overly exaggerated. This results in a weird delivery and awkward body movements that make it seem like Christopher Walken is playing a caricature of himself.

Every line of dialogue from Christopher Walken is golden in Ripper. It slightly verges on comedic but still maintains the charm the actor is known for when leaning into his more comedic persona; think SNL appearances by Christopher Walken. While largely unknown, the clips from the game have made their way to others in the media, including Vince Mancini of UPROXX, who wrote in 2015 that the "performance belongs in a museum," and, oddly, Ripper was included as part of the collection at The National Video game Museum in Frisco, Texas.

While Ripper is far from Christopher Walken's best performance, the interactive movie offers the actor at his most eccentric and over-the-top. Moreover, Ripper's obscurity adds to the appeal of discovering Walken's exaggerated performance as a forgotten relic. Walken would appear in one more FMV, 1996's Privateer 2: The Darkening (1996), but his performance is not nearly as explosive as in Ripper. The actor would also offer his voice as an LA desk clerk named George in the 2003 game True Crime: Streets of LA.

Where to Watch or Play Ripper

The history of Ripper is equally fascinating as the game itself. Wired provided a deep insight into how the project came about, including behind-the-scenes photos with the cast they shared in the 2019 article 'Ripper'—the Inside Story of the Egregiously Bad Videogame. To appreciate Walken's performance, background information on the project does help, but for those just wanting to watch the clips, scenes from Ripper have been collected on various YouTube playthroughs, highlights, and a few deep dives. You can also check out the trailer on YouTube, which adds a layer of humor as it features the song "Don't Fear the Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult, which years later would become synonymous with Walken asking for more cowbell.

Those wanting to play the game and experience the FMV firsthand won't find the work commercially available. However, as with most PC games from a bygone era, there are still ways to grab it, with the game being hosted on popular sites like Abandonware and the Internet Archive. Proceed with caution when downloading any game onto your PC.