From Hell Reviews

[Highly rated reviewer]

superb

this film is superb. Jack the Ripper is perhaps one of the most infamous, serial killers ever known. he has become somewhat of a household name, that has withstood the test of time. The Whitechapel murders, to this day, remain unsolved, and many people find themselves morbidly drawn to this slew of ghastly occurrences.

The Hughes brothers are no different, from the countless others, who seek to dissect the facts, surrounding these heinous crimes, and they approach this fascination with cinematic fervour, creating this excellent movie.

Inspector Fred Abberline (Johnny Depp), is hot on the trail of the murderous monster. He enlists the hallucinatory effects of absinthe, which enable him to induce visions, that aid him in his quests.

Throughout his investigation, he gradually begins to fall for one, of the Whitechapel prostitutes at risk (Mary Kelly played by Heather Graham), this serves to up the ante, regarding the challenge to find the villain and, furthermore, accelerate his efforts.

Sir William Gull (Ian Holm) is a doctor, who contributes to Inspector Fred Abberline's profile of the meandering butcher. Add to this an illegitimate marriage and a royal scandal, and this equates into an enticingly dour, dark and moody thriller.

well worth renting out.

Heaven or Hell?

I am a great believer in appreciating film adaptations for their own worth. Comparing a film to its literary predecessor is generally a worthless exercise as the two mediums are poles apart.

"From Hell" is a dark and disturbing tale of a dark and disturbing act. With Johnny Depp at the helm you can generally be assured that a film will have worth and originality - and this is no exception.

The cinematography is interesting and has pace - providing an excellent transition between the world of visions and the world of reality.

The dialogue is perhaps a bit awkward in places and the forced cockney accents can be off-putting to say the least. Some of the cast members are rather implausible, Heather Graham in particluar fails to pull off a convincing east-end whore.

However as a whole I think that the film works and is worth a viewing.

Do bear in mind the graphic scenes of violence though - they are certainly not for the faint hearted.

Brilliantly shot, compulsive viewing

This is a promising start for the Hughes brothers who deliver a bleak, atmospheric potrayel of 19th Century England during the Jack the Ripper murders. Dodgey accents aside, Depp and Graham are superb, with fantastic support from Ian Holm and Robbie Coltrane. Ripper fanaticts may not be satisfied, its perhaps not the best depiction, but its certainly a visual treat that marks the Hughes brothers as highly talented directors.

A Complete Failure

Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's brilliant graphic novel 'From Hell' is one of the most original and intelligent works of fiction in recent years, and something I cannot recommend highly enough. Please don't let this useless film adaptation put you off the superb original.

'From Hell' the movie is simply awful. The basic thing which sinks it from the outset is a lousy, illogical script that seems to totally miss everything that made Moore's work so enthralling. All the original and thought provoking elements are thrown out, and the bare bones of the plot are recast as a tired, cliched murder mystery, which holds no surprises or suspense, and which, let's face it was done much more convincingly in 'Murder By Decree' back in the 1970s.

Johnny Depp is badly miscast as the middle aged Inspector Abberline, his accent is very shaky, and his drug use and clairvoyant visions are bogus and unnecessarily tacked on. The rest of the cast struggles with the poor material. Heather Graham is also a strange casting choice and not very convincing. Robbie Coltrane is reasonable. Ian Holm is well chosen but his character is a major disappointment. And so it goes, on and on.

I liked The Hughes brothers underrated 'Dead Presidents', and enjoyed their documentary 'American Pimp'. They were good but this one isn't. No matter how talented they are with a script as bad as this one there's very little that can be done to rescue this misguided and embarrassing project.

Johnny Depp as a Cockney!

The rather scarily-titled 'From Hell' is an entertaining piece of Hollywood hokum about Jack the Ripper. Without giving too much away, it offers a new spin on old material (although seasoned 'Ripperologists' will find little to surprise them). Johnny Depp works surprisingly well as cockney detective Inspector Abberline, and the cast is uniformly strong - although some might think that casting Heather Graham as an Irish/Cockney prostitute is pushing credibility a bit! Still, this is an enjoyable romp and there's no need to let realism get in the way of the fun. Frankly a lot of the characters seem to have stepped straight out of 'Oliver', but it hardly seems to matter. That said, the atmosphere is genuinely chilling at times, and it's interestingly filmed in a style reminiscent of comic books (the script was based on a graphic novel). Not one to take too seriously, but fun fodder for a wet Wednesday evening with the curtains drawn.

thrilling

this is one film that i can say i really enjoyed.johnny depp is a great actor in this on the edge of your seat film. go johnny!!!!

Mockney Murder

Almost cartoon like direction and city scape, with comedy Jack the ripper cockney accents throughout.

Heather Graham remained perfectly dressed, clean, immaculate make-up and basically very non-19th century Lady of the night with an accent more "Parklife" than real life. Johnny Depp obviously will always hold his own in a period drama, but the whole film screamed "could try harder" the plot and drama of the Jack the ripper tale could be made so much more.

Cockney Depp

This film is excellent. Johnny Depp once again shows his brilliance of acting as an opium addicted 'psychic' cop. Although this differs from Moore and Campbells graphic novel, but I think it takes it to a new level. The way it deals with Jack The Ripper and how he just disappears is class.

Lesley Sharp shows that she can play something other than a deranged medium. The reason for it being an 18 is shown in it's graphic nature and two particular words near the end of the film.

Brilliant.

Uncertain of its Whitechapple setting at first, this improves as its focus narrows onto the principle characters. Very strong story and good ending. Doesn't so much provide a new Jack the Ripper theory as play with the exisiting theories and weave its own around them.

Depp is good again

A very enjoyable film, especially if you have very little knowledge of the comic book upon which the film is based.

Depp provides a very watchable opium-addicted officer, Coltrane is equally entertaining, Graham lacks any conviction as a Londoner but this is covered reasonably well by a great collection of support casts and good dialogue.

The rich variety of London accents (some undeniably pretty far off-par) and the great sets and dark camera shots sets a very haunting and enjoyable scene. The story moves at a brisk pace while generally always looking visually great.

There are many 'hunt the killer' films, however, this one feels fairly refreshing with a good story, tense scenes and rather brutal murders that keep you watching happily to the end.