Conspiracy Theory

Rating: 7/10 (27 October 2001)

The Hughes brothers have again infused social commentary into their innovative filmmaking. The theme is familiar: The affluent turning a blind eye to the impoverished of 19th century British society echoes much about today's world. Like virtually any period film, "From Hell" is intended to reflect something about the present times, demonstrating that no matter how much things change, history repeats itself in different forms.
"From Hell" deals with social issues in its own way. Normally I'd say that art peddled as entertainment should stay off the soapbox unless it's prepared to be serious. "From Hell" tries to do both and misses most of the time. Still, it's a decent thriller/murder mystery with a definite horror film structure, but still passes as a historical piece.

The script is where the film runs into its biggest problems. Foremost of them is that it may take itself too seriously. The slayings are certainly nothing to chuckle about, but some humor would have provided some much-needed balance. They could easily have sacrificed the love story between Abberline (Johnny Depp) and Mary Kelly (Heather Graham), which never finds its feet.
Even in the late 19th century, these ritual killings seemed ancient; they were hideous and barbaric, like something out of some long forgotten age, committed by someone whose state of mind should not still exist in a modern society. The killer's savagery woke people up to the enduring possibility of such acts, just when civilization really started to seem civil.
"From Hell" takes liberties with the truth, following closely to the graphic novel by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell. It stays faithful to the details of the murders, based on the actual police and coroner's reports. Mary Kelly's post-mortem for instance, is re-enacted verbatim by the examiner. Kelly's murder was the last and by far the most gruesome. Little is actually shown but it's true that your imagination can come up with far worse images than a make-up effects person can.
No one ever figured out for certain who the Ripper was, which affords comic book artists and filmmakers the opportunity to romanticize the character for profit--here done at the expense of the royal family (always an easy target) and the freemasons. But at least these artists offer a reasonable, original revelation of the Ripper's identity that just happens to make good cinema.

Grade: B-