Visually stunning genre-transcending film.

Rating: 7/10 (17 January 2008)

While this comment does include spoilers technically, there's nothing in here that reveals more than a short movie premise...
I watched this film many years ago but recently saw it again and felt a strong tendency to write this comment. In 1999 I was only eleven years old and I feel I can really appreciate it more now that I'm older. Don't get me wrong, I liked it when I was a kid, but mainly because I was into horror movies and this movie really scared me.
Now, some time later, I do not feel the same way anymore, but instead can appreciate the other things about this film like the colors used, the acting and the various stylish elements applied(the great costumes, etc.)
As most of you will know, 'From Hell' tells the semi-fictionalized story of Jack The Ripper, the worlds most notorious serial killer and also one of the first ones and most brutal ones to date. He's known not so much for the quantity of murders, he 'only' made five victims in that dark fall of 1888, but for the brutal way he slaughtered them and the whole mystery that surrounds the murders. The popular rumor that went around London faster than a running fire back then and still lives on today, is that a secret organization called 'the freemasons' was behind the killings, an organization comparable to 'The Skulls' the, let's say, American equivalent. There's no real hard proof for this presumption, but there are some strong leads in the direction. Of course, people like to believe that the magistrates and aristocracy is evil so they are likely to accept this hypothesis without much proof.
Now about the movie itself, it has the benefit of a very strong lead cast, with the exception of the unfortunate choice for Heather Graham. She doesn't quite live up to the other actors, but she's not horrible either. I especially dug Robbie Coltrane, but Johnny Depp was fantastic too of course. He proves ones again that he is probably the most versatile actor of his generation, that he's not just 'Jack Sparow' like so many believe. That's a sad thing really, because he's been in some jewels like 'Donnie Brasco' and 'Blow'.
What immediately got my attention was the very dark look given to the film, lensed with very intense dark bloody reds, poisonous greens and yellows and a variety of mahogany-ish brown colors. The city of Prague never looked so evil and ominous. Of course Prague is a beautiful setting that lends itself easily to great film-making. Still, I found Prague to be one of the most gorgeous cities of the world, very charming and sweet. To make it look like an evil harbor for the wicked and twisted is really the director's great achievement. It really looked like hell sometimes. There are some other elements that can't be left unmentioned: the repetitive use of the metal stairs of the carriage(the click sounds horrifying for some reason) and the great way in which the first murder is filmed. This proves once again the strength of the power of suggestion. You really make the most horrifying images in your brain, which is so much more frightening than if we'd actually seen the gory images. Of course, later on in the film it gets pretty hard for the weak stomached, but I never had a problem with that.
Another great thing about this film, is the fact that it really is a multi-genre one, which is a rare quality these days (I mean this in the best way possible). It's not a horror film, not a pure thriller either, and not a drama. It's a little of all three and that is what makes the film so memorable in my opinion.
For those of you who may not have seen it when reading this comment, even though I included a spoiler warning, you might be interested to know that this film is based on a graphic novel by Alan Moore, the very same Alan Moore who created the fantastic 'V For Vendetta'. If you loved that, I can almost guarantee that you will like this too...
So that's it for my comment, if you're not shocked by the bad quality of this comment than please check 'useful'. I'd appreciate it.
A new review in a lil' while, keep track of them if you like, there are 75 now. This film gets 7.7 from me, well deserved.