From Hell starring Johnny Depp, Heather Graham, Ian Holm and Robbie Coltrane is a dark and disturbing horror movie set in London in 1888.
Made in 2001 and set at the time when people were living in fear from the attacks of the notorious Jack the Ripper the story follows Scotland Yard Inspector Fred Abberline (Depp), and his partner, Peter Godley (Coltrane) as they attempt to find out the real details behind who ‘The Ripper’ is and what motive he has for killing women, all of whom are prostitutes.
Fred Abberline has an upper hand on the case however, because through his ever growing addiction to opium he has discovered that he seems to have developed some kind of sixth sense or psychic ability that allows him to see into the future and catch glimpses of things that have not yet happened.
As he works on the case he finds himself falling for one of the prostitutes who is being questioned and must find out the identity of The Ripper before it’s too late.
Directed by the Hughes Brothers, ‘From Hell’ has some of the best cinematography, camera angles and lighting effects that I’ve seen in a long time. It is atmospheric, dark edgy and does a great job of portraying what life must have been like back then, and how the case of Jack the Ripper would have affected those who lived in Whitechapel.
Johnny Depp was fantastic in this role and although he did seem to struggle to grasp an English accent perfectly this doesn’t distract from the film itself. Heather Graham looks a bit too over glamorous for her role, and in my opinion her performance was the weakest of them all but maybe that was because she was up against some of the best British and American actors of all time.
The murder scenes in this film were brutal, convincing and gory enough to keep the true horror fans entertained and the plotline itself was fantastic.
If you don’t mind watching a bit of violence and gore then I highly recommend that you check ‘From Hell’ out when it hits Channel 4 screens on August 5th.
Full cast list for the film From Hell: Al Ashton, Amy Huck, Andy Linden, Annabelle Apsion, Anthony Parker, Bruce Byron, Bryon Fear, Carey Thring, Charlie Parish, Cliff Parisi, Danny Midwinter, David Fisher, David Schofield, Dominic Cooper, Donald Douglas, Estelle Skornik, Gary Powell, Gerry Grennell, Glen Berry, Graham Kent, Heather Graham, Ian Holm, Ian McNeice, Ian Richardson, James Greene, Jason Flemyng, Joanna Page, John Owens, Johnny Depp, Katrin Cartlidge, Lesley Sharp, Liz Moscrop, Louise Atkins, Mark Dexter, Melanie Hill, Nicholas McGaughey, Paul Moody, Paul Rhys, Peter Eyre, Poppy Rogers, Ralph Ineson, Robbie Coltrane, Roger Frost, Rupert Farley, Rupert Holliday-Evans, Samantha Spiro, Simon Harrison, Sophia Myles, Stephen Milton, Steve Chaplin, Steve John Shepherd, Susan Lynch, Terence Harvey, Tony Tang, Vincent Franklin, Vladimir Kulhavy.