Excellent, weird, hallucinogenic... you'll love it!

Rating: Null/10 (5 November 2001)

I just saw this movie today in the local theater, and *it*  *was*  *AWEsome*!!! Never mind that the whole conspiracy-theory thing was farfetched, or that it was filmed in Prague, Czech Republic (a most beautiful and delightful city, to be sure, but London it ain't). What this movie has going for it  and what really counts in a movie like this anyway  is ATMOSPHERE! The whole movie is SO eerie and atmospheric, that you almost feel like you, the viewer, have magically inhaled a few tokes from that ivory opium pipe that you see Abberline puffing on in the opening segment.
As has been noted elsewhere, it is hard to pin this movie down. It's not truly a horror story  though the bloody deeds of Jack the Ripper are indeed horrifying. Nor is it truly a detective story  though Depp's Inspector Abberline and his sidekick Peter Godley (played by Robbie Coltrane) more than a little resemble the detective duo of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. I guess what you end up with is really more of a dark, DARK hallucinogenic mystery encased in an historical slice-of-life snapshot of the dark underbelly of 19th century London.
I liked virtually everything in the movie except for the scenes where Mary Kelly's friend Liz ventured into lesbianism - that to me just seemed stupidly gratuitous (somebody else commented that they felt the same way about the inclusion of the scene with The Elephant Man/John Merrick, but I didn't mind that scene, I thought it only helped contribute to the overall eerie, weird atmosphere of the movie).
It's worth commenting that the background score and sound effects are employed to the utmost: if you watch this movie in a modern theater with all that high-tech surround-sound stuff, you will definitely rock, roll, and vibrate!
Anyway, this movie can proudly boast of brilliantly executed visuals, set design, sound, weirdness, and just about everything else. I would heartily recommend this movie to anyone who wants to go on a trip... and a strange, strange trip it is.