The Ripper is hunted, in this moderately enjoyable production

Rating: Null/10 (14 November 2003)

FROM HELL **1/2
An investigative opium smoker sets out to solve the case of Jack the Ripper during the late 19th century following a spate of killings of a number of prostitutes. The investigator has one special gift though especially when getting his daily fix of the drug in that he sees premonitions and snapshots of the killings to come, kind of giving him small insights into who the killer may be and where the killings will happen. The movie plunges into some unexpected areas, especially the unravelling of the Freemason's and its part in the jigsaw which the inspector must solve.
Friends may not be what they seem in this case. A number of prostitutes, who have been friends for years it seems, try and console each other and pledge to stay together in these dark times. When they slowly get picked off though by someone who the inspector believes to be distinguished (the killer entices the women with grapes, a delicacy) panic and fear sets in. It's an intriguing film in many ways which is also too unconvincing. We get to know the killer a long way before the end, and a lot of the plot isn't relevant. The overall plot can be pieced together with ease though, and there are no real surprises if indeed that is what the film sets out to do.

Although the backdrops were quite real for the time, everything seemed to be too organised for this period. The prostitutes were sometimes too clean and neatly primed, and there didn't seem any indication of the great poverty line that was all too evident in London at that time. Depp was okay, Coltrane was very good and Heather Graham was quite believable. But it didn't strike a lasting chord personally.