Quite original plot wherein Jack the Ripper steals the Time Machine--which, in the film, H. G. Wells (rather than his fictional "friend") actually built--and escapes to 1979 to continue his killing spree uninterrupted. Wells follows him into the future and must find him in present day San Francisco.

Warner is superb as the diabolical Jack, who drinks in the violence of modern society and declares it "My Time." McDowall is also excellent, and shows his range by playing a somewhat mousey hero rather than his usual psychotic villain. The movie is not without plot holes, however and is pretty damn bloody for a 1979 PG-rated flick.