London in the 1880 was not a safe place. The street were full of working girls who were threatened by a ruthless man demanding payment from them on a weekly basis and when one of them is murdered the finger of suspicion is pointed at this man. The murder is a strange and brutal one so the expertise of Inspector Fred Abberline is called for.
Inspector Abberline has psychic abilities and he dreams of things which are going to happen or the details of things which have already happened which enables him to solve cases. He is called upon for this specific murder as it was so brutal and vital organs have been taken from the body. Abberline has to try and work out who would do this but when other working girls start to be murdered he has to find out who would have the knowledge and talent to be able to remove the organs in the precise way in which they have been taken.
Will Abberline be able to use his psychic abilities to solve the case of the now named murderer, Jack the Ripper or will London be destined to be run by this notorious murderer and is there a method to his killings?
I really did want to watch this film as it stars a favourite of mine, Johnny Depp but the storyline was not one which I though I would enjoy and I thought it would actually terrify me. I have to say I did manage to get through the whole of the film without having to look away or fast forward parts. I found the storyline and the way it was told to be excellent and very easy to follow.
Johnny Depp took the lead role of Inspector Abberline and he was excellent. He looked the part and I loved how he used his crazy eyes to show us when he was under the influence of drugs so he could get his visions. He really did make his role very believable and interesting. I liked how not much of his past was told to us at the beginning of the film as it made him seem very mysterious. He worked well with all the other actors and actresses in the film and he had a good partnership with Robbie Coultrane who played his Sergeant. Robbie was a surprise actor in this film for me but he too did a great job.
There are a lot of good supporting actors and actresses in this film and I have to say it was nice to see the British playing the majority of the roles. They were all good and there was also a very good mix of characters which gave the film some needed depth and variety.
The film was based in London back in the 1880's and I have to say all of the sets and scenery looked very good and well made. A lot of effort must have been put into making the costumes and props look so good and authentic for the year it was based on. The music was also a very big part of the film as it was what added to the drama and tensions of the murders and the storyline. I enjoyed all of the music in this film and thought that it was all very well composed.
The special effects throughout the film really were excellent. I have to say we did not get to see much of the murders which for me was great but when we got to see the bodies then they all looked very real and gruesome and a lot of effort must have been made with these. The other special effects were all very good and fitted well into the film.
For me I was put off as I though this film would be very brutal and gruesome and I will confess to being a big baby with scary and brutal films but I was comfortably able to watch this, we did not get to see the whole of each murder but we did see the shining of the blade which was used and the rest was left to the imagination which for me was excellent. I do say there are still a few scenes which are stomach turning when we see the bodies and when we do get a glimpse in the hospital where an operation is taking place but if I can manage to watch these then everyone else will as well.
The DVD which I have does contain some bonus features and these are:-
Audio Commentary by the Hughes Brothers
21 Deleted scenes with Optional commentary
Scene Access
Interactive Menus
I have not watched any of these so I am not able to give comment on them.
The running time of this film is 117 minutes and found this was a great length and the story moved at a good pace from start to finish and I was not loosing interest at any point. The certificate is an 18 and I do agree with this due to the subject matter and some of the scenes which we get. I paid just £3 for this in Tesco and I felt this was a complete bargain. I am defiantly going to recommend this film as it has an excellent cast list, excellent effects and a great story which will keep you guessing if you don't know who the real Ripper was.
