Rating of
2/4
"From Hell" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 05/25/12
Based on a graphic novel, this pseudo-gothic serial killer movie based on the case of Jack The Ripper would probably have been ignored if it weren't for Johnny Depp's presence in the lead role. "Whitechapel" is populated by "corlummeluvvaduck" cockernee extras wandering dark cobbled streets in a way that reminded me of The Comic Strip Presents...Strike!, a fact not helped by Robbie Coltrane's appearance as Depp's literary cliche-spouting sergeant. But the biggest problem is that it's all so half-baked...all of the characters are superficially realized cliches and the mysticism angle that seemed so interesting, particularly Depp's drug-fuelled "visions", is completely irrelevant. The plot will probably be interesting to those not familiar with the whole Ripper conspiracy theory, but anyone with the discovery channel will have heard it all before. It does have it's moments, notably when Depp and Holm are together on the screen, but they are a little too few and far between.
