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From Hell (film)

From Hell is a 2001 film based on the graphic novel of the same name by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell. It was directed by the Hughes Brothers, and first released on October 19, 2001.

Plot

It is 1888 in London, and the unfortunate poor lead horrifying lives in the city's deadliest slum, Whitechapel. Harassed by gangs and forced to walk the streets for a living, Mary Kelly and her small group of companions trudge on through this daily misery, their only consolation being that things can't get any worse.

Yet things somehow do when their friend Ann is kidnapped and they are drawn into a conspiracy with links higher up than they could possibly imagine. The kidnapping is soon followed by the gruesome murder of another woman, Polly, and it becomes apparent that they are being hunted down, one by one.

Sinister even by Whitechapel standards, the murder grabs the attention of Inspector Fred Abberline, a brilliant yet troubled man whose police work is often aided by his psychic "visions". Abberline becomes deeply involved with the case, which takes on personal meaning to him when he and Mary begin to fall in love.

But as he gets closer to the truth Whitechapel becomes more and more dangerous for Abberline, Mary, and the other girls. Whoever is responsible for the grisly acts is not going to give up his secret without a fight....will they be able to survive the avenging force that has been sent after them from hell?

Reception

Differences from comic

The film version of From Hell differs markedly from the graphic novel version.

In the film Abberline is a young opium addicted psychic. In the book Abberline is a middle aged married detective with limited psychic abilities, although very intuitive. Towards the end of the book he teams with a professed psychic in order to solve the crime, an act which eventually leads them to the killer.

Mary Kelly and Abberline have extensive dealings and an actual relationship. In the book their relationship is far smaller in scale, with the two being portrayed as having a coincidental friendship under false pretenses (Abberline claiming to be a saddle-maker and Kelly going by the name of "Emma"), completely unrelated to their respective involvements with the Ripper case, and with neither ever learning the truth about the other.

While the prostitutes in the film are generally portrayed as fairly attractive, the women in the book were shown, as in real life, to be middle aged women of average appearance. The film does follow the book in depicting Mary Kelly as the only one of the Rippers victims who was conventionally attractive.

The film treats the story as much more of a mystery, with the identity of the Ripper somewhat obscured, and Gull playing only a supporting role. In the book these roles are reversed with Abberline being a supporting character and Gull being the main character. Indeed, the book is mainly Gull's story and his identity as the Ripper is never in doubt.