Cinema Review (From Penarth Times)

Cinema Review

From Hell (18)

"ONE DAY men will look back and say I gave birth to the twentieth century" - Jack the Ripper.

It is 1888 in London's deadliest slum, Whitechapel. Harassed by gangs and forced to walk the streets for a living, Mary Kelly (Heather Graham) and her small group of companions trudge through the misery, their only consolation being things can't get any worse.

They do when their friend Ann is kidnapped and when the kidnapping is followed by the gruesome and ritualistic murder of another woman, Polly, it becomes apparent the group of friends are being hunted one by one.

Sinister even by Whitechapel standards, the grisly murders grab the attention of troubled clairvoyant police inspector Frederick Abberline (Johnny Depp), he becomes directly involved with the case, which takes on personal meaning to him when he and Mary become friends and begin to fall in love.

As Abberline gets closer to the truth, not only does Whitechapel become a more dangerous place, but his superiors begin to hamper his investigation when he reveals that the crazed but meticulous killer could be a man with expert medical knowledge or even a member of the aristocracy.

Depp reprises his performance of Ichabod Crane in 'Sleepy Hollow', but this has more conviction. Heather Graham, Ian Holm and Robbie Coltrane also give outstanding performances as they play off each other with great ease.

'From Hell' depicts the notorious and brutal killings by Jack the Ripper in a new way, and directors Albert and Alan Hughes use all the latest effects, set designers and costumes experts to bring one of the most infamous serial killers back to life on the big screen.