Comic book nerds, you know who you are. Just like the classic “Star Wars” geeks and those people who come to college only to spend their weekends playing Dungeons & Dragons, leaving the girl-chasing to those without 20-sided dice, you have these obsessive little habits, like wearing your “Akira” T-shirt twice a week without washing it or posting your own page on the Net about which character made a better Green Lantern.
But comic book nerds will probably be the only ones who really understand how the new movie “From Hell” misses the mark. While it stands as a film unto itself, the source material (Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s graphic novel) is a much more engaging and visually spectacular work.
Now, while I will admit to a bit of comic nerd in my blood, I will also say the final product of “From Hell” is worth watching. It continues the Hughes’ brothers streak of quality flicks (if you haven’t seen 1995’s “Dead Presidents,” give it a rent - you won’t regret it) and continues to establish Johnny Depp’s abilities as an actor.
And it also gives Heather Graham another chance to be in a movie, as well as use about three dozen different accents throughout.
And while quite a bit has been made of the gruesome nature of the movie, it’s really not that bad, considering today’s standards.
It’s in the category of movies like 1995’s “Seven” - the horror is in what you don’t see, and there is a visible amount of restraint in holding back all the blood and guts from the audience’s eyes.
The plot is another take on the classic Jack the Ripper saga, dealing with why the killer, perhaps the person who created our modern image of the serial killer, began his crusade. And while at this point in history it really is impossible to know all the who and why, it is an interesting entry into Ripper-lore.
Those familiar with a fair amount of the Ripper’s history will recognize this plot rather quickly.
It centers around a conspiracy to cover up the shenanigans of a rather famous political figure, relying on the death of several prostitutes who have discovered the secret and are threatening blackmail.
The Ripper in this case is someone who is called upon to take on the killings, eliminating the problem. Altogether not an unfamiliar story, but it’s the way that it is done that makes the film engaging. Perhaps one of the most visually striking movies of the year, each frame is meticulously created to ensure the highest amount of drama and tension. And while it may lose some of the depth of the characters in pursuing this visual height, recreating the graphic novel, a huge tome of a book, is a task not to be taken lightly.
The movie plays Victorean-era London for all it’s worth, with drunks using the street as a toilet and alleys used for quick sexual encounters. This is the ghetto, and just as in their previous films, the Hughes brothers pull no punches.
The brothers also showcase the racist pomposity of the era. When Depp’s Inspector Abbeline suggests that the killer must be an educated man, perhaps even a surgeon, his higher-ups laugh it off, saying that it must be a Jew butcher, or even a Native American, escaped from some Wild West show.
The movie is dramatic, exciting and thrilling. But the thrills replace the enhancement of the characters, leaving an audience without much hope for any of the victims.
We’re there to see them die as a result, a gruesome feeling that may make you feel guilty for paying to see it. But then again, that may be the point - and exactly the reason why movies about Jack the Ripper’s exploits still thrills to this day.
