From Hell

From Alan Moore, the Hughes brothers and Johnny Depp RELEASED IN 2001 and directed by the Hughes brothers, "From Hell" details the Jack the Ripper slayings in the slummy Whitechapel district of London in autumn, 1888. Johnny Depp plays an opium-addicted detective while Robbie Coltrane appears as his colleague. Heather Graham is on hand as a prostitute that captures the Detective’s interest. The film was based on Alan Moore’s graphic novel of the same name. Moore condemned the change of his "gruff" version of Frederick Abberline with an "absinthe-swilling dandy,” referring to the protagonist played by Depp. In real life, there’s no evidence that Abberline “chased the dragon” or that he had “psychic visions.” Speaking of real life, Moore’s graphic novel was based in large part on the royal conspiracy theory popularized in Stephen Knight's 1976 book “Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution.” This is one of several theories on the identity of the slayer. True or (probably) not, it makes for a good story. “From Hell” plays like a Hammer film, but with a blockbuster budget in the modern era. A couple of comparable Hammer flicks are “Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed” (1969) and “Taste the Blood of Dracula” (1970). “From Hell” even shares a minor subplot with the latter (high society ‘gentlemen’ in the Victorian era secretly partaking of taboo hedonistic pleasures). Like Hammer’s Gothic horror catalog, you can expect top hats & black coats, cobblestone streets, alluring women, a ghastly killer (or monster) and lush colors. THE MOVIE RUNS 2 hours, 2 minutes and was shot in Prague, Czech Republic, and England (Boscastle & Goldings). GRADE: B