From Hell (2001)

From Hell is a 2001 American thriller-horror-mystery film about the Jack the Ripper murders, loosely based on the graphic novel of the same title by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell. It was directed by the Hughes brothers, the first film that they directed outside of the hood film genre. It was first released on October 19, 2001.

It is 1888 in London, and the poor lead horrifying lives in the East End's Whitechapel district. Harassed by gangs and forced to work the streets for a living, Mary Kelly (Heather Graham) and her small group of prostitutes 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, Martha, and it becomes apparent that they are being hunted down, one by one as the various prostitutes are murdered and mutilated post mortem. Sinister even by Whitechapel standards, the murder of Martha and her companions grabs the attention of Police Inspector Frederick Abberline (Johnny Depp), a brilliant yet troubled man whose police work is often aided by his psychic "visions." Abberline's investigations reveal that the murders, while gruesome, imply that an educated person is responsible due to the precise and almost surgical method used. Ann is found a few days later in asylum having been lobotomized after officials and doctors supposedly found her to be insane. It is implied this was done to silence her. Abberline consults Sir William Gull (Ian Holm), a physician to the Royal Family, drawing on his experience and knowledge of medicine. These findings coupled with his superiors impeding his investigations, point to a darker and organized conspiracy. Abberline becomes deeply involved with the case, which takes on personal meaning to him when he and Mary begin to fall in love. Abberline deduces that Masonic influence is definitely present in these crimes. His superior, a high ranking Freemason himself, then makes direct intervention and suspends Abberline. It is then revealed that Sir William Gull is the killer. He has been killing the witnesses to Prince Eddy's (a fictional portrayal of Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale) forbidden Catholic marriage to Ann (Joanna Page), the prostitute who bore his legitimate daughter (Alice), who is therefore the heir to the British throne. Gull himself is a Freemason and his increasingly sinister behavior lends an insight into his murderous, but calculated mind. Rather than publicly charge Gull, the Freemasons decide to lobotomize Gull to protect the Royal family from the scandal. Gull defiantly states he has no equal among men, remaining without guilt right up to his lobotomy, resulting in him becoming invalid just as Ann had been. Mary Kelly doesn't die; Gull earlier mistook Ada, the Belgian girl, for Mary and he kills her instead. Mary lives happily ever after with Alice in a cottage on a cliff by the sea. Inspector Frederick Abberline is found dead of an opium overdose, knowing he can never see Mary again without endangering her.