From Hell

During a 10-week span in London in the fall of 1888, Jack the Ripper, a man whose identity was never uncovered, committed five ritualistic, grisly murders of prostitutes. This film is based on the graphic novel which assembled a theory behind the century-old mystery.

Awesome! I love dark movies, I love stylish movies, I love good mysteries and I love Johnny Depp…so yes, I really dug this movie! The Hughes Brothers are back with a vengeance, out to show the world that they are directors to be taken seriously, and this movie, my friends…is very serious! In fact, it’s also very gruesome and bloody and morbid and creepy and black as hell. It ain’t for the kids, I’ll tell you that much. And if any of those recent hack directors of two-bit SCREAM-esque slasher flicks want some advice on effective “kill scenes”, do not look any further, because each one committed to this film is a cinematic stunner, especially when compared to their generic slice-and-dice contrivances. In fact, most of this film’s structure is very creative, the actors, all solid, the atmosphere and “feel” of the picture, remarkably real (gotta love those “unfortunates”), and the descent into darkness, well honed by the filmmakers. You can almost taste the seediness off the screen and quickly come to appreciate the politics of the time. But it’s also an impressive mystery film, based on the true-life tale of Jack the Ripper, a man whose identity was never discovered.

The theory in this film is based on the graphic novel “From Hell” written by Alan Moore and presents a compelling story, which despite being a little Oliver Stone-ish, did manage to tie up all of its loose ends quite nicely, and present us with an entertaining bowl of mayhem, sexual depravity, drug usage, insanity, murders and love? Yes, the Brothers even managed to slip a little “love” story in here, and despite not truly being developed, I guess it could’ve been much worse and taken up more time than was provided already. That’s right, there’s no real need to put any “romance” in a film about a mass murderer! But that aside, you gotta give up the props to actor extraordinaire Johnny Depp, who once again possesses the strength in character and flawless acting abilities, to center this movie all the way through. Sure, he’s just playing a less goofier version of his Ichabod Crane character from SLEEPY HOLLOW, but he does it so well and even added a Michael Caine accent to his mixed bag of tricks in this one. I was also surprised at how little Heather Graham annoyed me in this film (I was sure that her presence would ruin this movie, but she was fine) and how little the dreams/fantasies of Depp’s character had to do with the film’s development (from what I had seen in the trailer, I thought the filmmakers were going to make this the crux of the story, but thankfully, it wasn’t).

On the downside, the film doesn’t really explain the whole Freemasons cult organization real well and lacks character development. But then again, a story about the most mysterious serial killer of all-time is probably not the ideal spot for character refinement. I mean, the less I knew about each person, the more suspicious I became of each one’s motives, reasons, etc… In fact, I was actually quite surprised by who was presented as the killer in the end, and that was in part, due to the distance to which I’d been held from the film’s characters…or am I giving the filmmakers too much credit for something that might not have been their intention? Perhaps. Overall, this is an extremely creepy production, with glorious cinematography (reminiscent of Coppola’s DRACULA and Burton’s SLEEPY HOLLOW), a grim score and solid acting. But it’s not for everyone. Some may be utterly repulsed by the gory particulars of these tragic events, and even though the murders aren’t shown as graphically as you might think, there’s enough here to send the squeamish right out the doors. But I for one love movies that blend their eclectic visual style with an interesting mystery and palpable, gothic atmosphere, and this flick is just that and plenty more! And God knows that I will certainly not be surrendering the burnt image of Jack the Ripper’s haunting cape silhouette and gleaming silver knife from my mind anytime soon…brrrrr!

(c) 2021 Berge Garabedian