From Hell

2001 "More than the legend will survive."
6.7| 2h2m| R| en| More Info
Released: 19 October 2001 Released
Producted By: 20th Century Fox
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

Frederick Abberline is an opium-huffing inspector from Scotland Yard who falls for one of Jack the Ripper's prostitute targets in this Hughes brothers adaption of a graphic novel that posits the Ripper's true identity.

... View More
Stream Online

Stream with Max

Director

Producted By

20th Century Fox

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

All Prime Video Movies and TV Shows. Cancel anytime. Watch Now

Trailers & Images

Reviews

Wordiezett So much average
Console best movie i've ever seen.
Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.
Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.
Leofwine_draca The story of Jack the Ripper has long been of interest in the horror cinema. Right back in the creaky old days of the silents he made his appearances in the likes of 1926's WAXWORKS and Hitchcock's THE LODGER. An infamous black and white British version of the tale, made in 1959 by a cheap rival to Hammer, has fallen into obscurity but is still best remembered for the final reel, in which the killer is caught beneath a lift and the screen turns to glorious blood red colour for an instant to capture his gory demise. In the 1970s, European horror veteran Jess Franco gave us his typically sleazy variant with 1976's nasty JACK THE RIPPER, with Klaus Kinski in the leading role, whilst Spanish stalwart Paul Naschy made his own variant. In 1988, to mark the centenary of the Ripper murders, a supposedly definitive television miniseries was made in America starring Michael Caine as the investigating policeman. It's a good but flawed telling of the story marred only by the TV-movie level it never rises above. And now, to mark the new millennium, two brothers best known for their gangster rap movies have given the world FROM HELL, which is for a change based on a graphic novel (which I haven't read) of the Ripper story rather than the real-life murder investigation itself.As a horror film, it works. Everything about this film screams style and class. For a change the gory murders and surgical operations that Jack carries out on his deeply unfortunate victims are shown in graphic detail, rather than only being spoken of like in previous versions of the tale, and no expense is spared in giving us graphic, stomach-churning scenes of the cloaked Ripper calmly sawing out the internal organs of his female victims, kneeling above their prone bodies. Entrails are torn out and wrapped around necks and throats are slashed emitting geysers of crimson gore. Police surgeons repeatedly vomit at the sight of the mutilated corpses and quick flash cuts show us all we need to know about the severity of the crimes, so on a visceral level at least FROM HELL offers pure horror, sometimes nausea-inducing and all the more effective for it. Scenes of the victims being stalked at night by the cruel killer are highly suspenseful, heightened by the dark, baroque music that accompanies them and a high class of acting from all concerned.Attention to detail also contributes to this movie's success and I would go so far as to say that this is the most authentic-looking Jack the Ripper film that I've yet to see. Although some of the choice language is a little too modern to be that convincing the rest of the dialogue, the sets, the scenery and the costumes are spot-on. You have to love the brief appearance of the Elephant Man into the thick of the action and the secret society of Freemasons who operate below ground. Characters sport lived-in clothes rather than the off-the-shelf garb of the Caine miniseries and the London setting is brilliantly portrayed as a rancid den of sleaze and open depravity, packed with opium dens, pubs full of drunken angry men, and streets littered with filth and beggars.The cinematography is spot-on and helps to transport you back to 1888, putting you into the realism of the action as we watch drug-induced nightmares of the Ripper slicing up his victims and taking them to pieces. After the initial half hour which bluntly introduces Jack's figure into the depressing London streets the film takes the form of a detective tale as policeman Johnny Depp searches for clues to find the identity of the killer. Once again the film takes the well-worn conspiracy route of there being a royal connection to the killer, so whilst it lacks the element of surprise (aside from those who are complete Ripper novices) the final unmasking of the villain is still a fine piece of shock cinema and the last reel very exciting, incorporating a violent cab ride and the most gruesome murder saved for last into the proceedings.The cast is bolstered by a host of familiar British faces like Ian Richardson who bring a touch of class to the production although ironically the two leads are American (though you wouldn't guess it, as they do sport impeccable accents as is the norm these days). Johnny Depp once again proves he can do no wrong and it's fair to say that he's become a mini-horror star in recent years with all the genre productions he keeps making. Depp's opium-addicted young policeman makes a nice change from the decent, elder investigators (like Michael Caine in the 1988 miniseries) and he plays a charming, interesting central figure and one which the audience can thankfully emphasise with. Robbie Coltrane plays it tough as Depp's sergeant and basically acts as the comic relief of the production (and boy, does this horrific outing need it). Heather Graham (BOOGIE NIGHTS) is also delightful as Mary Kelly, a would-be victim of the Ripper, and as well as looking spot-on in the role, all flowing red locks and heaving bosoms just like in one of the old Hammer films, plays her part with some skill.I don't have an unpleasant word to say about anyone else, but special kudos goes to Ian Holm who plays a kindly retired surgeon in one of his last major roles. Subtle use of black contact lenses turn the killer into a deeply scary-looking man and the actor playing Jack really does deserve an Oscar for his role here - the final murder in which he believes he is teaching a class is magnificently-evoked stuff and very clever indeed. FROM HELL is a quality production and one of the better versions of the tale and it will certainly take some doing to better this in the future; for now be content in watching what is a well-paced, scary, sometimes disturbing modern horror yarn.
SnoopyStyle It's 1888 London haunted by Jack the Ripper. Mary Kelly (Heather Graham) is a prostitute in the Whitechapel District. Her friend Ann Crook has a baby and a rich mystery patron. Ann gets kidnapped while others are getting killed. Mary Kelly hides the baby. Police Inspector Frederick Abberline (Johnny Depp) has visions which help in his brilliant investigations with his partner Peter Godley (Robbie Coltrane). Sir William Gull (Ian Holm) is a physician to the Royals and a respected medical teacher.I love the dark, murky, brutal style. It's fitting for the times and the subject matter. The story is a bit disjointed which I like for this movie. It's a jumble of pieces from two sides of a story coming together. It is bloody and ominous. Granted, the story doesn't flow smoothly but the style more than makes up for it.
Rainey Dawn This film is an interesting spin on the story of Jack the Ripper. It will be up to the viewer if they agree somewhat, completely agree or totally disagree with what happened, how it happened, who Jack the Ripper was and his connections.What really happened during the rein of terror from Jack the Ripper remains a mystery to this day. Police and hobbyist are still trying to solve the case to this very day. It's interesting when people come up with a new theory of what happened and who Jack was.Now, watching this movie as "purely Hollywood cinema" and not from a point of historical accuracy the movie is good, to me. There is some very scary scenes - quite horrifying really. The movie has a good story even if it's not quite accurate and has some flaws it's still a good horror film over all.8/10
Filipe Neto This film, directed by The Hughes Brothers, has Johnny Depp in the main role and deals with the story of Jack the Ripper, probably one of the most successful killers of all time, as not only was never caught and tried as, even today, we don't know what their true identity. The film plays with this situation to show us one of the most famous theories about the killer's identity: that would be a figure of British royalty or someone close to the ruling circles. The film also shows us the misery and poverty in which the lower classes of London lived, in a time when being poor often meant to live in the limits of the law to survive, and numb the pain of life in abuse of drugs or alcohol. Depp plays one of the inspectors highlighted by Scotland Yard to investigate and arrest the mysterious killer, who only kills prostitutes but that is so fierce and so meticulously bloody that quickly spread terror through the streets of Whitechapell. The actor shone in the role, managing to give the character a contradictory personality, spread in their desire to do justice, in the way he falls in love and in the addictions he feeds.A film recommended for all who enjoy a good cop movie, with a minimum expenditure of bullets and bloodshed.