Jill the Ripper sticks inside your head and haunts you. If you want a high-tension suspense movie, here it is. Its alternative culture is chilling.

Set in 1977 Boston, this movie does not rely on special effects and glamorous sets. Instead, it uses solid camera work and great acting.

Matt Sorenson (Dolph Lundgren), a former cop, returns to Boston from Los Angeles for his older brother Michael's funeral. He learns that Michael's body was found floating in the river, after having been tied up by an S&M professional. There were no sedatives in his system, so presumably he was awake and willing when he was bound.

Matt believes Big Jim Conway (Charles Sexias) had Michael killed because he had a geological survey that proved Conway's latest tunnel construction is unsafe. When Matt confronts Conway, Conway shows him a movie of Michael tied and hanging upside down, being beaten by a dominatrix dressed in shiny red vinyl. Conway explains that he did not need to have Michael killed. The film was enough to shut him up.

Matt is back at square one. He enlists a cop friend, Eddie (Richard Fitzpatrick) to help him find the dominatrix. Things get a little bit complicated when -- three bodies later -- Eddie kills the wrong woman.

Lundgren fans are not used to seeing him play characters like Matt, a disheveled alcoholic who cracked under pressure. We tend to think of him in the clean-cut, unwavering leader/hero role. His part in Jill the Ripper proves his versatility as an actor.

Someone should have given Danielle Brett, who plays Irene Sorenson/Ursula Reed, an Oscar for her performance. From her first appearance, she makes you believe that she is hiding something, although she is so nice, soft-spoken and "helplessly feminine." How she manages to exude guilt while being so sweet is a secret of her trade that she has mastered. She pulls it off without a hitch.

Jill the Ripper is a serious, heavy movie without one moment of levity. It will entertain you unless you get squeamish about sexual deviance. It's definitely not a run-of-the-mill movie, so if you are looking for something a bit different, here it is.