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Change my point of view in horror mystery films


This is exactly the contrary of every horror film. And guess what ? I LOVE IT.

I entered this movie in the 1880s thinking's gonna be the same thing with every horror film just a bunch of killing and frightening. This is the opposite.

This is not like Scream or Final Destination or other Pacino/Stallone/Cruise thriller stuff (they're great too by the way).

This is the boring side and not the highlights that you expect and that's the beauty of it. It's not gonna be women screaming getting stabbed and running in the 1880s, no. There's gonna be a man commiting simple serial murders.

Also loved the ''not happily ever after'' ending although would like to see more romance between Heather and him but maybe for the best of not ruining it just a little spark.

Now I get why Depp's movies have been box office poison. A dumb audience that most of the world is is not gonna want to overly think and look into this deep mystery horror film they want some action stuff blow up people get killed while screaming and a happy ending well you're not gettin' in this one !

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But it still pretty much is a slasher fest. It is certainly above the level of junk like the Friday the 13th movies, but it is no where NEAR the level of potential that the subject matter has.

The kills still are still done in the cliche slasher style (the murder of Martha Tabram depicted in this movie is a perfect example). The film never bothers to go into much detail & information as something like Zodiac did.

The plot of the film was already proven to be nonsense years before. The screenwriters just lazily copied what had been done before with films like Murder By Decree & the Jack the Ripper mini series with Michael Caine.

There is nothing thought provoking about this film. There are so many aspects to the case that would make for a really complex film, but From Hell didn't bother to do that.

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But it still pretty much is a slasher fest. It is certainly above the level of junk like the Friday the 13th movies, but it is no where NEAR the level of potential that the subject matter has.

The kills still are still done in the cliche slasher style (the murder of Martha Tabram depicted in this movie is a perfect example). The film never bothers to go into much detail & information as something like Zodiac did.

The plot of the film was already proven to be nonsense years before. The screenwriters just lazily copied what had been done before with films like Murder By Decree & the Jack the Ripper mini series with Michael Caine.

There is nothing thought provoking about this film. There are so many aspects to the case that would make for a really complex film, but From Hell didn't bother to do that.


In retrospect now, I accept with everything you say.

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I disagree 100%. This movie is MUCH more then a typical slasher movie. It's a beautifully made film, and (save for Heather Graham) has amazing performances. So what if the theory regarding the murders is fiction? Many "non-fiction" works take liberties from real life.

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I'm a follower of Jack the Ripper lore. The story does not follow what is now widely accepted as the facts behind the murders. I realize this movie was made before many of those facts revealed.

So I watched the movie as a fictional account. I expected a good mystery. What I got was a slasher movie. And every one of the characters had a major flaw, with the exception of Robbie Coltrain. I was so disappointed.

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