From Hell (2001)
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A troubled police inspector investigates a series of gruesome murders in 1888 London, only to uncover a conspiracy involving high society.
The story
In 1888, a group of women in London are targeted and murdered by a killer known as Jack the Ripper. The gruesome crimes catch the attention of Frederick Abberline, a brilliant but troubled police inspector who uses his 'visions' to aid his investigations. As Abberline delves deeper into the case, he discovers that the killer is not a common criminal but someone with extensive knowledge of human anatomy. His investigation leads him into a complex web of secrets, where the line between the law and a high-society conspiracy begins to blur, and he finds himself increasingly drawn into a conspiracy that has profound personal implications.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1888, a group of women in London are hunted and murdered by Jack the Ripper. Inspector Frederick Abberline, a man struggling with grief and opium addiction, investigates the crimes. He discovers the killer is Sir William Gull, a physician to the royal family. The investigation reveals a conspiracy involving the Freemasons to hide a forbidden marriage between a painter and a woman named Ann Crook. It is revealed that the painter is Prince Albert, and the woman's daughter is the heir to the throne. After a confrontation where Abberline is incapacitated, the Freemasons lobotomize Gull to hide the scandal. Abberline eventually learns that Gull had killed the wrong woman, and he is left to mourn the loss of his ability to have a normal life. Years later, Mary is shown living in a cottage in Ireland with the girl she adopted.
- First release year
- 2001
- Runtime (minutes)
- 122
- Production countries
- United States; United Kingdom; Czech Republic
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- The Hughes Brothers
- Writers
- Terry Hayes · screenplay; Rafael Yglesias · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Johnny Depp · Frederick Abberline; Heather Graham · Mary Kelly; Ian Holm · Sir William Gull; Robbie Coltrane · Peter Godley; Ian Richardson · Sir Charles Warren; Jason Flemyng · John Netley
- Genres
- historical slasher; horror; thriller
- Themes
- conspiracy; identity; religion; medical ethics
- Tone and mood
- dark; gothic; tense
- Premise and plot tags
- serial killer; historical fiction; mystery
- Source material / true-story basis
- From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell
- Content notes
- violence; gore; drug content
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews, with critics praising its visual style and production design while criticizing the script and the portrayal of the main characters.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 56% · scale: percentage · review count: 151; Metacritic · score: 54 · scale: 100 · review count: 32
- Production trivia
- The film was edited to avoid an NC-17 rating.; Nigel Hawthorne was originally cast as Sir William Gull.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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