Chilling

Rating: 8/10 (9 February 2002)

_CONTAINS SPOILERS_ From Hell is based on (but not fully faithful to) the murders of Jack the Ripper, a serial killer who lived in 19th century London. Johnny Depp and Heather Graham are the leads (as Inspector Abbeline, the man in charge of solving the case, and Mary Kelly, the tart with a heart). This is one thing that always annoys me about American movies set outside of America: they always feel the need to cast someone American in the lead role, no matter how appalling their accent is. After seeing plenty of good films spoiled by accents (Ordinary Decent Criminal comes to mind) i was worried about this one, and my fears were half justified. While the accents aren't bad, they still have a hint of fakeness about them. This is almost made worse by the decision to cast decent British actors too, such as Robbie Coltraine as Depp's sarcastic helper. I suppose I should just be thankful they didn't try to get Heather Graham to put on a traditional Irish accent. However, despite this fault, it is a brilliant movie. The leads aren't too bad when they're not speaking, and the rest of the cast are excellent. The directing and camera work is stylish, for example a blood-red sunset is shown between two of the scenes, and Depp's visions are suitably hazy and unclear. The film is gory in the extreme, but not for the sake of it. It is showing the horror of the Ripper's crimes, and the brutality within it all. The picture of 19th century London is very realistic (the poor treatment of the whores, the old boy attitude of the chief of police claiming "it couldn't be an educated man, it must have been a butcher, a foreigner or a Jew" & the general dirt, grime and seediness of it all). The plot is dotted with holes and the ending is a bit hard to swallow (the concept that there is an entirely separate line to the English crown living somewhere in Ireland is possible, but very unlikely). However, the film achieves its goal, creating a real sense of fear as Jack lures his victims in, then viciously kills them. I would recommend it to anyone with a strong stomach, tell them to ignore the plot holes and enjoy an atmospheric horror film. Score: 8/10