From Hell (2001)

In Victorian-era London, a troubled clairvoyant police detective investigates the murders of Jack the Ripper.

Directors:

Albert Hughes (as The Hughes Brothers), Allen Hughes (as The Hughes Brothers)

Writers:

Alan Moore (graphic novel), Eddie Campbell (graphic novel)

Stars:

Johnny Depp, Heather Graham, Ian Holm

10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Johnny Depp	...	Inspector Frederick Abberline
Heather Graham	...	Mary Kelly
Ian Holm	...	Sir William Gull
Robbie Coltrane	...	Sergeant Peter Godley
Ian Richardson	...	Sir Charles Warren
Jason Flemyng	...	Netley, the Coachman
Katrin Cartlidge	...	Dark Annie Chapman
Terence Harvey	...	Benjamin 'Ben' Kidney
Susan Lynch	...	Liz Stride
Paul Rhys	...	Dr. Ferral
Lesley Sharp	...	Kate Eddowes
Estelle Skornik	...	Ada
Nicholas McGaughey	...	Officer Bolt
Annabelle Apsion	...	Polly Nichols
Joanna Page	...	Ann Crook

Storyline

It is 1888 in London, and the unfortunate poor lead horrifying lives in the city's deadliest slum, Whitechapel. Harassed by gangs and forced to walk the streets for a living, Mary Kelly and her small group of companions trudge on through this daily misery, their only consolation being that things can't get any worse. Yet things somehow do when their friend Ann is kidnapped and 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, Polly, and it becomes apparent that they are being hunted down, one by one. Sinister even by Whitechapel standards, the murder grabs the attention of Inspector Fred Abberline, a brilliant yet troubled man whose police work is often aided by his psychic abilities. Abberline becomes deeply involved with the case, which takes on personal meaning to him when he and Mary begin to fall in love. But as he gets closer to the truth, Whitechapel becomes more and ...

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Plot Keywords:

queen victoria character | bare breasts | jack the ripper | prostitute | opium | 

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Taglines:

Only the legend will survive.

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence/gore, sexuality, language and drug content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 October 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jack

Filming Locations:

Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,014,818, 21 October 2001

Gross USA:

$31,602,566

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$74,558,115

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, Underworld Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Some of the real photos from the Ripper victims are pinned to the walls in the police station sets. Directors Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes placed them there to unnerve the cast, so they'd give an edgier performance after having seen the real victims.

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Goofs

William Gull says that he is the Royal Family's "physician-in-ordinary," misspeaking the scripted line "physician-in-extraordinary."

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Quotes

Polly Nichols: [in Jack the Ripper's carriage] That was the thing that was in my dream. What's it called again?
Jack the Ripper: Cleopatra's Needle.
Polly Nichols: Cleopatra, she was a beauty.
Jack the Ripper: They were carved 1450 years before the son of God was born. Six men died bringing it here.
[kills Polly]

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Crazy Credits

Thanks to the Megerdichian family

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Alternate Versions

Two endings were filmed: one where Abberline dies of a drug overdose and one where he sneaks off to be with Mary.

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Connections

Referenced in Fred Dinenage Murder Casebook: Jack the Ripper (2013)

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Soundtracks

Duke Street
Written by John Hatton

User Reviews

A psychotropic thriller

There are many things in media that have nearly insurmountable preconceptions that lead to generic truisms. One of these is 'comic books are pure fluff,' and another is 'no good movie is ever based on a comic book'.

From Hell is a project that takes both of those truisms and tosses them completely out the window. 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. The vicious throat-slashes and bloody crime scenes are definitely grotesque, but most of the time we are shown the crime after the fact, letting the viewer decide how horrible the murder itself was.

All the performances are strong, fitting together into an ensemble piece, with Depp being as much a chameleon as ever as Abberline, and Robbie Coltrane equally strong as his colleague Godfrey. Ian Holm, Heather Graham, and Ian Richardson also provide good supporting roles.

For an historical perspective of the Jack the Ripper crimes, best to watch an A&E documentary. But for a theoretical description of the crimes, and an artful depiction of a carefully constructed tale, definitely check out the very chilling, very calculated, and very good From Hell.