From Hell

Plot synopsis:
In 1888, Mary Kelly (Heather Graham) and her small group of London prostitutes trudge through unrelenting daily misery. When their friend Ann Crook (Joanna Page) is kidnapped, they are drawn into a conspiracy with links higher up than they could possibly imagine. The kidnapping is soon followed by the gruesome murder of another woman, Martha Tabram (Samantha Spiro); and it becomes apparent that they are being hunted down, one by one as various prostitutes are murdered and mutilated post-mortem.
The murder of Martha and her companions grabs the attention of Whitechapel Police Inspector Frederick Abberline (Johnny Depp), a brilliant, yet troubled, man whose police work is often aided by his psychic "visions." His colleague, Sergeant Peter Godley (Robbie Coltrane), tries to grasp his friend's wild theories. Abberline's investigations reveal that the murders, while gruesome, imply that an educated person is responsible due to the precise and almost surgical method used. Ann is found a few days later in a workhouse having been lobotomized after officials and doctors supposedly found her to be insane, though it is implied this was done to silence her.
Abberline consults Sir William Gull (Ian Holm), a physician to the Royal Family, drawing on his experience and knowledge of medicine. During this meeting, it is revealed Abberline is struggling with opium addiction. Gull's findings, coupled with his superiors impeding his investigations, point Abberline to a darker and more organized conspiracy than he originally thought. Abberline becomes deeply involved with the case, which takes on personal meaning to him when he and Mary begin to fall in love.
Abberline deduces that Freemason influence is definitely present in these crimes. His superior, a high ranking Freemason himself, then makes direct intervention and suspends Abberline. It is then revealed that Gull is the killer. He has been killing the witnesses to painter Albert Sickert (Mark Dexter)'s forbidden Catholic marriage to Crook, who bore his legitimate daughter, Alice. Sickert is actually Prince Albert, grandson of reigning Queen Victoria (Liz Moscrop), and therefore Alice is heiress to the British throne. Gull tells Abberline that "mankind will remember him for giving birth to the 20th century." Abberline draws his gun, vowing that Gull will never see the 20th century, but before he is able to shoot Gull, he is knocked out by Ben Kidney, another Freemason.
The Freemasons try to have Abberline eliminated without leaving any witnesses, but Abberline fights back and kills two of the assassins by overturning a carriage. Gull himself is a Freemason and his increasingly sinister behavior lends an insight into his murderous, but calculated, mind. Rather than publicly charge Gull, the Freemasons decide to lobotomize him to protect themselves and the Royal Family from the scandal. Gull defiantly states he has no equal among men, remaining unrepentant up to his lobotomy, resulting in him becoming invalid just as Ann had been.
Abberline tries to save Mary, but arrives too late, and blames his superior for not helping him or Godley on the cases. Abberline does nothing but watch Mary's mutilated body being taken away. Abberline receives a mysterious letter, which he soon realizes is from Mary, but he decides not to look for her as a way to offer her protection, as the Freemasons may be watching his every move. Abberline decides to burn the letter, knowing that he can never have a normal life.
Mary Kelly was not killed; Gull mistook Ada, whom Liz said was from France (but is from Brussels in Belgium), for Mary and he killed her instead. Mary lives with Alice as her daughter in a cottage on a cliff by the sea. Abberline is found dead of an opium overdose, knowing he can never see Mary again without endangering her. Sergeant Godley comes to pay his respects for the Inspector.

Tags: dark, psychological, gothic, murder, mystery, paranormal, cult, violence, horror, atmospheric, flashback, good versus evil, insanity, revenge, historical

Review:
The critics, nit-pickers and historical pedants who've trashed this superb piece of truly cinematic movie-making have totally missed the point.So what if Johnny Depp's English accent isn't exactly "right" for his character?
For the record, the theory behind the killings is pretty much right out of JACK THE RIPPER: THE FINAL SOLUTION by Stephen Knight, and it's been pretty well discredited since it first came out twenty years ago, even though it makes a hell of an entertaining piece of fiction.I completely discount any criticisms of the movie where people say "it didn't happen that way".
It's enough to make the film beautiful to watch.Yes, I know that four of the five victims of Jack the Ripper were women in their late 40's, which on the streets of Victorian London would mean that they would resemble crones in their late 60's or early 70's.
I have never seen Sir Ian in any role that I didn't find completely believable, and that ranges all the way from KING LEAR to his role in ALIEN, for heaven's sake.My interest in the whole Jack the Ripper case has been reawakened thanks to this movie, and I'm trying to hunt down a copy of Alan Moore's graphic novel (which is very difficult to find).
Based on an ambitious graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Eddie Campbell, From Hell (named for the signature on the Jack the Ripper letters written to the police), is one man's carefully researched theory into the eternal mystery surrounding the Whitechapel murders of 1888.
This is not a factual display of guilt or innocence, as many of the answers behind these crimes will never be known, but as theory mixed with fact, it creates with chilling detail the mood of lower-class London in the late nineteenth century, where life was cheap, bloody and oftentimes short.The Hughes brothers, noted for their stylish direction, do a very good job of creating the mood here, involving all the grunginess and hopelessness of the streets, and combining the more mystical elements of Moore's story into the crime tale.
Johnny Depp is Inspector Abberline - an opium-smoking criminal investigator that often follows up on hunches he receives during moments of hallucinatory revelation.The style of the film - dripping with violent murder of prostitutes in alleyways - leaves more to the imagination than it reveals, although the gore level is by no means light.
While the acting was good (minus some quite unconvincing cockney accents - Heather Graham and Johnny Depp, I'm talking to you) and the direction assured, the script seemed a little reserved.
While dismissed by all the other characters in the film (for a learned man would never commit acts of such debauchery), we as an audience know better not to trust a detective like this - their preposterous ideas are usually right.
Had the love story been more developed, the ending would have been much more depressing, as we would have felt for the characters more (This could be what kept the film from an A+ rating).As I said before From Hell is great.
"From Hell" is an interesting spin on the familiar Jack the Ripper tale, using the iconic cultural image of the cloaked man with the top hat as the source for a spin-off not of history, but of a graphic novel.The lead performance by Johnny Depp as Inspector Abberline (who really existed in 1888 at the time of the murders and really was an authority on the case) is wonderful.
All in all this film kept me entertained because it was unique, and very different, and not particularly because it was "great." I didn't expect a whole lot, but I felt that the movie was directed as ably as it could (or should) have been and the performance by Johnny Depp was deserving of a better film.
This time around Johnny Depp plays Inspector Frederick George Abberline, who is investigating the work of a killer carving up the bodies of prostitutes in Whitechapel, London.
There's also a rather interesting take on the murderer's reasoning, which is not entirely unwelcome, but does feel somewhat as if they need to pad out the story and distinguish it from other Ripper yarns.Depp is, as usual, good.
It is an ultra-stylish, nightmarish Movie with some modern Film flourishes that work well in this hallucinatory Hell.There are some impressive set details and the story is rich with Masons, Whores, Royalty, Physicians, and Police.
30 Second Bottom Line: The infamous Jack the Ripper serial killer mystery unfolds in Victorian England as a stylistic who dun it.From Hell is an exciting murder mystery with a number of hints about who dun it to keep things interesting every step of the way.
It's clearly Oscar caliber work.Although From Hell is based on a comprehensive novel of the same name by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell, with the focus on a real killer in 1888, the film is not trying to be a JFK and convince us how it really happened.
The fog in London finally is lifted on the murder mystery and on the Hughes Brothers being great directors.Message on the movie: We can't always have what we want from life.
It's so dark that it makes "Seven" look like "The Wizard of Oz." Then again, you wouldn't expect a movie based on Jack the Ripper to be light and cheery, now would you?London, 1888.
This film is a mix of historical fact ( Elgar), urban legend ( Take That) and surreal drama ( MOS Ibiza) coming together to form a strange yet enjoyable dance.The film is set in Victorian London when the poorer classes of London's Whitechapel area lived in fear of the most infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper.
Directed by the Hughes Brothers, much is made of Inspector Abeline's opium, Absynth and strychnine addiction, something associated more with Sherlock Holmes than Abeline although historically accurate as the drugs of choice for the Victorian gent in London .Johnny Depp, an actor who seems to pick roles which allow him to showcase his versatility is convincing as Abeline, the unfortunate detective who became a sacrificial scapegoat offered up to the frustrated and furious Londoners by a powerful Masonic order.
No one has ever sufficiently answered how Jack the Ripper was able to get in and out of east London unseen and un stopped, and the murders, swift and brutal over a short period seemed to end as quickly as they had begun without reason or answer.The plot is simple to follow and unfolds with ease as the film progresses, there are no surprises or ridiculous unbelievable twists but there are some problems with the film.
It seems like the Hughes brothers couldn't decide between historic reconstruction, blood soaked thriller, weird romance, and hell, so we get a little piece of everything, but nothing real good or convincing.
So in that respect I was rather neutral on the whole accent business throughout the film.Yes, I know what an authentic B-C-I accent sounds like, and I too noticed that these weren't flawless, but I never gave it much thought, as both of them seemed at least realistic and convincing enough to allow me to enjoy the overall atmospheric "look and feel" of the movie, which was far more important.That being said, I can see where you are coming from.
Very well shot and stylish backdrops helped provide the movie's gothic setting giving London a truly creepy touch.My only disspointment was that the murders weren't so shocking and brutal as I'd come to expect (maybe the Hughes Brothers should've looked at some Giallos of Lamberto Bava or Dario Argento in order to help gain more reference to the blood and gore portrayed).Overall not a bad attempt, though it was a tad bit dissapointed.
This movie never succeeded at the box office, and I can see why: bad vibes and poorly told, despite the fine cinematography.Most films starring Johnny Depp are entertaining, and this is no exception.
Just curious because everyone with the exception of Robbie Coltrane`s character is either a cockney or a former public schoolboy , and of course by casting a bunch of native Brits you can`t help notice how bad the accents coming from Johnny Depp and Heather Graham are .
I'd suggest a trip to the Modern Classics section in the video store for the Hughes brothers too see how it should be done.If you approach this film expecting something other than an average teen slasher movie set in the Victorian era, I think you will be disappointed.
"From Hell", yet another "Jack the Ripper" flick, is somewhat over wrought with lavish cinematography imbuing what we'd like to believe is a bleak and dank Whitechapel District of London with richness; a street whore protagonist (Graham) somehow insulting in her sweetness; and a Scotland Yard sleuth (Depp) uncharacteristically dashing considering his beginning and his end.
Second, because I wanted to watch Johnny Depp's performance.I have watched many reports about Jack the Ripper and based on these TV reports, I can say that the film is fairly true to the reality, at least, what we are told about it.It's like travelling back through the years to this Victorian era and living the life of the most poor people.It's an interesting but also very dark and somewhat shocking film, the kind of films that remains printed in your mind.
But OK, it's a show, and the real background story remains captivating enough, as well as Depp's acquired accent and Coltrane's presence.Too many things strangle the effort, however, starting with the main weakness of Heather Graham being cast and outfitted as Mary Kelly.
Which is another very ill-advised idea, and we see virtually all cliché Hollywood-rules unfolding, a killer when it comes to this particular crime-case.The movie superficially shines with a cast of very able actors, Depp, Richardson, Holm, Coltrane, the late wonderful Katrin Cartlidge, to name a few, and yet, although the fantasy- and horror-genre ever so often tickles surprising performances out of well known stars, nothing breathtaking happens here, with the exception of Holm's play (although watch, he's doing the chin-thing again), too deep the tracks of expectation in character-behaviour are, and too dominant.Fusing an inspector and a self acclaimed medium, who both had been involved, to a clairvoyant inspector might have, with some tolerance, given this re-telling of the story some spice, but the idea went out in a puff in the end.
The choice to stick to the graphic novel's conspiracy-take and involvement of the Freemasonry, which Moore himself, with good reason, didn't insist on being the most promising one, decides a course, of course, one that had already been taken once with 'Murder By Decree', and by taking it a lot of rather interesting theories, indicators and characters have to go out the window, but here we go.'From Hell' is pure entertainment, shallow, spotless, with a camera-work good for the eye, lines that fit together and no claim for authenticity.
Basically any film with Johnny Depp in it will be pretty good, due to the fact that he is an incredible actor, and so is Ian Holm who holds another big part.
One suspected his heart was not really in this hotly steaming turd and he just went through the paces playing the exact same role as he did in "Sleepy Hollow," which, though it also had a tired old plot, still turned into a great movie.There are several interesting (and even believable) speculations on the Ripper murders, and of course most scholars have a pretty good idea who it probably was (hint: it wasn't a doctor, a royal prince or a Freemason).
No No No.....what have the Hughes Brothers done to this factual historical story, it`s awful....there are so many bad points, l think it is dreadful that a story like this can maline people so much...The good points...the atmosphere was good, the sets were good, the acting (apart from Johnny Depp-mind you his accent was superb)...The BAD points...(l have studied the Ripper Case-this is the known truth)Fred Aberline was not a drug addict, he did like his drink though...
"From Hell" contains a few nice sequences, exquisite performances by Johnny Depp, Heather Graham, and Ian Holm, a very convincing technical department, and it has a superb third act.
I usually enjoy Johnny Depp for his acting prowess, and in this movie, he did show his talent at doing an English accent and keeping it constant (unlike Heather Graham).
As per usual he does steal the show...but you cannot credit a film just because the producers had the budget and sense to enlist a decent actor to play the main character.Please, please, please just read one of the thousands of factual books that are out there documenting the Jack the Ripper killings if you want to know what actually happened....DO NOT watch this film expecting to see the truth because it merely portrays one of the FIVE quite plausible theories on the killings.However, if you are a fan of terrible films that merely give you hollywood glitz and gore rather than telling you the truth, then be my guest, stay ignorant and enjoy the movie.1/10...watch the michael caine tv movie, at least it gives you the vague truth on the killings..
The plot, characters and setting quickly had me believing that this was going to be "Sleepy Hollow Redux," which is never a bad thing.As with the aforementioned 1999 Tim Burton masterpiece, Johnny Depp plays a Brit-accented police detective who tries to solve a series of grisly murders.
Their partnership ultimately reveals an exciting twist in the plot.Ian Richardson is effective as Abberline's pompous, anti-Semitic superior (he immediately believes a Jew is responsible for the killings), as is Robbie Coltrane as the inspector's sidekick, confidante and sounding board.I'm always in the mood for a good murder mystery film, and "From Hell" fits the bill nicely.
The exterior master shots of London are so beautiful that they look more like paintings borrowed from an art gallery.There are no real negatives about this film; my only gripes were that the scenes involving Dr. Gull's medical procedures and John Merrick (the Elephant Man) served only to shock the audience and did little to advance the plot, and it also seemed rather odd that Jack The Ripper would have a partner in crime (a nervous, bottle-swigging carriage driver played by Jason Flemyng), which, as a result, doesn't make him as imposing as he should have been.
A police inspector (Johnny Depp) in 1888 London tries to capture Jack the Ripper.
This isn't the first movie about the notorious late 19th century serial killer Jack The Ripper and it sure as 'hell' won't be the last.
Johnny Depp plays an Inspector Abberline who is assigned to investigate the murders in Whitechapel attributed to Jack the Ripper.
The film follows the theory explored in an earlier film, "Murder by Decree" (1979), that the Ripper murders were really the act of a mad palace surgeon who was killing the witnesses to a scandal involving Prince Edward.I can't think of a more unlikely pair of actors to portray Victorian Londoners than Johnny Depp and Heather Graham.
In 1888, Inspector Abberline investigates the case of `Jack the Ripper', who is murdering his through a group of poor whores on London's streets.
This concept, added to the excellent mood and direction make up for the weaknesses in the plot and the occasional bad performance.Depp is good as Abberline - a stronger willed man that his Sleepy Hollow character, and manages to do a good accent for most of the film.
Great film, excellent acting, one for your home library -- one of Johnny Depp's best performances.
From Hell is meticulously produced and has some of the best cinematography I've ever seen in a horror movie.Although the story about who Jack the Ripper is is a little contrived at times, in general the plot is interesting.
It keeps you interested and involved for the whole two hours, not to mention it looks beautiful.Heather Graham and gang as prostitutes put in a great and touching performance, showing the human side of the women that are unfortunate enough to have been in this profession in the Victorian era, and Johnny Depp is amazing, as usual, although (as others have pointed out) his English accent may be a little off, which I wouldn't know about since I'm American.This film is great entertainment and I would highly recommend buying the DVD (if you rent it you'll more than likely end up buying it anyway, it's that good).
After watching this movie for the first time, I thought it was really good, but throughout that next week, images and the look of the film stayed with me.
His English accent was very surprising.I hope any history buff or person that is interested in the Jack the Ripper case watches this film.
I just watched this movie a little bit ago and I think I was able to confirm this as my favorite Johnny Depp film.
He'd be nowhere without the friendship of his sidekick played by Coltrane Perhaps the biggest problem with this movie is it is hard to see Inspector Abberline's (Depp) motivation to solve the murders, at least until he develops some interest in one of the potential victims, Mary Kelly (Heather Graham).
The sets are dark and atmospheric, some of the cinematography is stunning.We watched this with my husband, not a Jack historian who had been put off by the title but he enjoyed the film as much as we did.So the moral of this review - Don't let the title put you off, it is not a horror movie more of a period detective/drama, well worth taking the time to watch..
Set in 1988 in whitechappel, London, this film follows the story of Jack the Ripper, and the detective that is assigned to the case, inspector Albiline (johnny Depp).
"From Hell" is an excellent Jack the Ripper film, really well produced with good solid acting.
Loosely based on the Alan Moore graphic novel which itself is based on the Jack the Ripper murders this is a beautiful looking film.
Continuing my plan to watch every Johnny Depp movie in order, I come to From Hell.I have always liked this one, and find it enjoyable.