With a slash to the throat and unspeakable atrocities, Jack the Ripper has made his way into the 21st century.

The Hughes Brothers (Menace II Society, American Pimp) bring the story of the definitive murderer of the 19th century to screens in time for the Halloween season in their cinematic creation, From Hell.

Adapted from the graphic novel by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell, From Hell deals with the story behind the murders of five prostitutes on the darkened cobblestone alleyways of London in 1888.

Johnny Depp (Ed Wood, Blow) plays the part of Inspector Frederick George Abberline, the officer in charge of finding the killer. Although he uses psychic powers to help solve cases, he is hampered by an addiction to opium and spends most of his free time in the basements of opium dens. In fact, one of the first scenes in the movie shows Depp with a pipe to his lips. He continually has psychedelic flashes of quick camera shots showing cutting, dead bodies and the outline of the killer.

Through the case Depp becomes involved with a prostitute named Mary Kelly, played by Heather Graham (Boogie Nights, Swingers). Although she lives on the streets, Graham still has the ability to keep her teeth perfectly white and her long red hair combed neatly, a slight imperfection in the authenticity of the movie.

Despite slight imperfections in the appearance of some characters, the comic book feel of the streets of London (reminiscent of the first Batman) and stunning shots of an orangish-red sky set as the backdrop behind Big Ben more than masks the characters' looks.

Billed as a gory slasher film, From Hell relies more on psychological images along with the sounds of flesh and bone being sawed. The sound element in the movie really adds to the hidden horror happening on the screen.

However, not all gruesome scenes are hidden from the moviegoer (imagine a boiling heart and a knife piercing the neck of an unsuspecting victim).

With a new twist on the story behind Jack the Ripper, From Hell will please audiences looking for a suspenseful mystery or an emotional rollercoaster horror film for Halloween.

— Reviewed by Michael Yoder