Review of From Hell (2001) by Mitchell B — 16 Apr 2009

Jack the Ripper; one of the most infamous serial killers of all time is still very much an unsolved enigma to this day. ?From Hell? tells the story through partial fact and partial theory, which opens the suggestion to a high level conspiracy surrounding the murders, which at least leaves you pondering the possiblity.

The set build was accurately constructed to represent the dark streets of Whitechapple, with the alleyways providing the murder sites of the women who were killed, which was shown with great effects by the flashes of the steel of the blade along with an almost subliminal images, which were effective.

Possibly an equally frightening thought was the surgery carried out on perfectly healthy people to render them catatonic, where they carried out out the rest of their days in a mental institution.

The sub-plot of Johnny Depp?s character, was to reveal a dark, fearless character who seemed to have given up on his own life, this goes on to show an addiction to ?chasing the dragon? along with drinking ?absinthe?, which we probably think of more as a modern day issue and so was a revealing factor of that time.

The acting was far from perfect, with Robbie Coltrane coming across very much as the humour of his tv character ?Cracker?. Many of the accents weren?t entirely convincing (even Johnny Depp) but they weren?t unbearably bad either. This film still remains to be a favourite of mine though and Ripperologists and Serial Killer film fans will certainly enjoy, if they have not already managed to have watched this.

As an extra the Special Features include a vast amount of information on the original case and a lot of behind the scenes footage and certainly worth the watch.