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*** Official "FROM HELL" Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

Justin_S

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This great looking horror film starts tomorrow, and being the huge horror fanatic that I am, I can't wait to see it! I'll post a review here once I see it. Anyone else here gonna go see it?
 

Rob T

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It's not really a horror movie. Don't go into the theatre thinking that it's your regular old slaher movie. It's more of a murder mystery.
I love Jack the Ripper stories and will hopefully be going to see this one.
From Hell is based on a graphic novel by the same name. I think you can still get it at your local comic book shop
[Edited last by Rob T on October 18, 2001 at 09:49 PM]
 

Hubert

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Not that I'm one to go on Ebert and Roeper, but they gave it 2 thumbs up. I'll probably give it a go.
 

Rob T

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Howard Stern also said that he'd reccomend it for sure.
smile.gif
 

cafink

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I saw "From Heck" tonight. I didn't like it at all. It was very boring, I was not made to care for anyone in the film. Johnny Depp plays a guy who trips on drugs and has visions of the murders. Fun, fun, fun!
Save your money.
 

Rob T

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it's too bad that you don't like the Jack the Ripper stories, Carl, but I do and I'll be watching happily.
 

cafink

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I hope you enjoy it, Rob. It's been getting good reviews from what I've seen, so I guess I'm in the minority on this one.
 

Justin_S

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I've read the graphic novel and seen the previews of the film, and I classify it as suspense/horror. Just my opinion. I know its not just some slasher movie, but there are tons of horror films that aren't slashers. Anyways, I'll be seeing it later tonight. I'll post my thoughts later.
 

cafink

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The movie is about two hours. For what it was, it didn't seem to drag or anything. I said it was boring, but that's because this sort of film doesn't really interest me, not because there wasn't anything going on.
 

DanR

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Well, I just got back from seeing this. It's weird, but I don't know what to think about it. I didn't like it, but I didn't dislike it either.
I agree with Carl that it was kind of boring. I was looking at my watch frequently during the last hour of the movie. It was so blatantly obvious who the killer was so perhaps that was what made it boring. The characters seemed somewhat distant to me, and I found myself not really caring what was going on. Since I knew the killer's identity and couldn't connect with the whores (no pun intended), it got to a point where it was like "Ok let's kill the next one and get on with it." Perhaps that's why I kept checking my watch.
The production value of this film is very high though. It is wonderfully shot and I liked the score.
That said, I doubt I will ever watch this film again. It is quite forgettable, and I wished I had gone and seen that Last Castle movie.
Regards,
Dan
 

Justin_S

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Well, I saw it, and I must say that it was pretty damn good. The London setting is very realistic, and has a very menacing feel to it. There is also lots of surreal imagery in this film that I enjoyed watching. The acting is great on all accounts, except for Graham, but I've never really liked her so... Quite a bit of gore for a mainstream release, and it all looked authentic and nasty. I loved how the plot played out, and the music score was quite good. I recommend this film, and I for one didn't find it boring.
 

Robert Crawford

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This thread is now designated the Official Discussion Thread for "From Hell". Please, post all comments, links to outside reviews, film and box office discussion items to this thread.
All HTF member film reviews of "From Hell" should be posted to this thread .
Thank you for your consideration in this matter.
Crawdaddy
------------------
Peter Staddon: "I didn't say you can put 'Monkeybone' back!"
[Edited last by Robert Crawford on October 20, 2001 at 06:31 AM]
 

Doug Miller

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Well, like a lot of you, I saw From Hell tonight. Was surprised by the size of the crowd. I knew quite a few would come out for it -- there were a couple of "goth" looking kids, and plenty of couples. I found this to be a pretty humorous choice for a "date movie".
I'm going to jump into a few spoilers in a second, so if you haven't seen it, here's your chance to turn back.
Let me start by saying I was always pretty interested in Jack the Ripper. Being a teenager with not a lot to do, I found the subject of serial killers to be pretty intersting. (Now, let's head off any joking right now! I'm happily married, dated plenty in high school and college, and never think about killing anyone!) Jack the Ripper was something I read about, and had some knowledge about heading into the movie. While I hadn't read the graphic novel, I felt that like Titanic, I knew how this one was going to end.
So, did I like it? No. Not really. I thought it was very boring, and pretty laughable. I didn't like tying the prostitutes together in a club of sorts. I thought that this group of women who were all being butchered, maybe should have thought a little harder before heading out at night. I found myself thinking of Scooby Doo -- Hey gang, let's split up!
This movie was pretty damn predictable. You would have to be dead to not see that ending coming.
The best part of the movie for me was sitting there wondering about the people around me. When my wife said that she wanted to see this, I laughed. I didn't think this was going to be a fun movie for her. The gore about the killings was toned down to a point that I guess it was safe. The funniest thing for me, was wondering how many people had read about the Ripper. I mean, I knew who was dying, and knew (generally) how they were cut. The last killing was actually downplayed from how gruesome it really was. The thing for me was wondering how many people were thinking Johnny Depp was going to get there in time. (Having the extra girl rooming for the night is the BIGGEST COPOUT in movie history!)
For me, this movie ending should/could have been something to rival Se7en if it was done properlly. Unfortunately, the director treated it a bit more like a slasher pic. From the graphic novel reviews I've read, it sounds like the movie took some liberties with the story (not that that's unusual) and that the graphic novel is very well done. I will check it out, and definitely avoid this movie on DVD.
Doug
 

Andy Sheets

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For me, this movie ending should/could have been something to rival Se7en if it was done properlly. Unfortunately, the director treated it a bit more like a slasher pic. From the graphic novel reviews I've read, it sounds like the movie took some liberties with the story (not that that's unusual) and that the graphic novel is very well done. I will check it out, and definitely avoid this movie on DVD.
The main difference between the comic and the film is that the film is a mystery while the comic wastes little time in establishing who the killer is and then delving into why he's committing these murders. Abberline, instead of being the main character, is a supporting character (and he definitely is not psychic, an opium addict, or a widower :)). I'm not spoiling anything; they're just very different works with different approaches to the material. I do think the comic is vastly better than the film, which I just got back from seeing.
 

Michael Reuben

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I thought that this group of women who were all being butchered, maybe should have thought a little harder before heading out at night. I found myself thinking of Scooby Doo -- Hey gang, let's split up!
They venture out at night because if they don't, they starve. (Not to mention that there's a nasty gentlemen threatening to cut them up if they don't pay protection, which requires them to go out and try to earn money.) And when one of them suggests sticking together, another points out, quite correctly, that it's very hard to turn tricks in a group.
M.
 

Wes Ray

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I too have researched the subject of Jack the Ripper quite a bit, and while the movie did take liberties with a few things that happened (considering no one knows still, who Jack the Ripper was, any movie identifying him won't be entirely historically accurate), I enjoyed it quite a bit. It's not as good as the old mid-80's TV mini-series with Michael Caine and Jane Seymore, but I thought it was well-done on most levels.
The killings were toned down quite a bit. I was expecting to be really disturbed by the violence in this one, given the subject matter. However, the killings were relatively tame. In comparison, I found actual photos of the women killed by Jack the Ripper while researching it on the internet one night. The photographs were so frightening...their killings so violent for a time period that you don't think anything like that could've happened...that I turned my computer off. Didn't log off first. Just turned it off. I was completely freaked out. The only time I've ever been that freaked out in my life.
That's what this movie lacked. A truly unsettling descent into the killings. Still, all things considered, I'll be getting the DVD. Hopefully, they'll include a lot of Jack the Ripper info on it. Can't wait!
 

Rob T

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I agree with Carl that it was kind of boring. I was looking at my watch frequently during the last hour of the movie. It was so blatantly obvious who the killer was so perhaps that was what made it boring. The characters seemed somewhat distant to me, and I found myself not really caring what was going on. Since I knew the killer's identity and couldn't connect with the whores (no pun intended), it got to a point where it was like "Ok let's kill the next one and get on with it." Perhaps that's why I kept checking my watch.
It's more about the why than the who.
 

DanR

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It's more about the why than the who.
That's a good point. However, since I didn't really care about any of the characters, it's hard to care why they do anything.
I read Harry Knowles review at AICN today. While his reviews are usually ridiculous, I do have to agree with him that the likeable character is the one played by Robbie Coltrane (Zukovsky from the James Bond series).
Regards,
Dan
 

Alex Spindler

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Many of the concerns voiced here were in my mind when they were going to film James Ellroy's Black Dahlia. It's a fictional story built off of the real life murder of a woman, which may quite possibly be the most disturbing thing I've been exposed to. The entire story is focused around this murder, but I can't imagine a) showing it an keeping the audience or b) obscuring it (such as they do in From Hell) and still maintaining the story, which is based on the emotional scarring and obsession of the cops who are investigating it. If they choose option A, the movie probably couldn't be made. If they choose option B, they may sabotage the movie, because audiences may never connect with the driving force of the movie.
I think FH was well done, but was certainly more convoluted than necessary, and laden with a bunch of pointless subplots (espcially the Lesbian one). I did enjoy the underlying story enough to stay interested and found the resolution satisfying. I'd say, a worthy effort and well done as well.
[Edited last by Alex Spindler on October 20, 2001 at 10:54 PM]
 

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