Dark audacious thriller

Rating: 7/10 (30 November 2003)

Rating: 7 out of 10. Directed by Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes.
'From Hell' stars Johnny Depp as police Inspector Fred Abberline investing a series of murders in the Whitechapel area of London. His partner is Sergeant Peter Godley played by Robbie Coltrane. Heather Graham plays Mary Kelly, an Irish prostitute that helps Abberline with the investigation.

Abberline is an opium addict whose dreams provide a clairvoyant insight into his investigations. In fact, the movie opens and ends with Abberline in an opium den. Depp does a great job with this character, showing the viewers that his acting ability improves as he ages.
The story has a number of subplots that are interconnected. The Royal family is somewhat involved due to a little problem in their family that could cause a scandal; we see a secret society that is linked to Royalty and the government - even Abberline's superior officer is a part of this group; there is also a secret police described as the Special Branch involved with the plot. To top it all off, an appearance of the 'Elephant Man' makes its way into the movie. All these subplot points make this movie sound like an 'X-Files' story.
'From Hell' is dark and violent, similar to 'Se7en' and '8mm', yet the first three-quarters of the movie is quite stimulating. In my opinion the movie doesn't finish well. The alternative last scene shown on the DVD special features would have been better since it would have been less ambiguous with what happens to Abberline after the case is closed.