Ripper - Letter From Hell

Starring:A.J. Cook, Bruce Payne, Ryan Northcott, Claire Keim, Derek Hamilton, Daniella Evangelista, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Kelly Brook, JÃ¼rgen Prochnow, Courtenay J. Stevens, Robin Collins, Leanne Buchanan, Michael Copley, Sean Whale, Crystal Dalman, Josh Byer, Stuart Adamson (II), Christy Sandback, Dominika Wolski, Bruce Pinard
Director: John Eyres
Studio: Lions Gate
Product Type: DVD

Description

By the time she was 16, Molly had already lived to tell a bloodcurdling tale: she was the only survivor of a violent murderer who slaughtered all her friends. Disturbed by her horrific past, she focuses her energies on researching the minds of serial killers. Enrolled in a forensic science program led by famed author and man hunter Martin Kane, she joins a study group fixated on solving a local campus murder. When the students realize the killer's modus operandi mirrors that of London's legendary Jack the Ripper, Molly's friends, once again, begin to fall victim around her.

Customer Reviews:

Pretty, Ambitious, Clever, but just a mess........2006-10-23

This movie tries so very hard that you can't help but root for it! The plot is a very clever one, and the heroine is terrific idea for a character. That said, the film is constantly hampered by it's limits of budget, set and other factors that stumble it into contriving itself.

The detective's character is hampered by being only himself, and by listening to the profiler, who he believes is a suspect - and never shown to interact with other police makes him look not villianous, but incompetent. Molly's ablitity to hack in to police files and find answers about Kane and the current investigations are simply unbelievable and everyone's to quick to take them wholly at face value. Setting up everyone at the cabin for the final face off was so ham-handed that it becomes a stumbling block that the plot is hard pressed to over come. Let's face it, if that was the last turn in this steeplechase the horse would have broken it's leg.

However, Molly and Kane are wonderful characters and their chemistry together is part of the glue that keeps the film together. Their intimate scene alone is worth the price of admission. I only wish there had been more scenes with the two of them to build it up, because that payoff, and how it shapes how you see the rest of the film is sheer gold.

More about Molly's past before the island should have been revealed, and the other girls with the exception of Chantelle are seriously underdeveloped. Fewer characters and stronger development would have served better.

The Ripperology is absolutely excellent.

Though, I have one small correction. Ted Bundy didn't charm most of his victims beyond luring them in a trap and then cold cocking them. They went with him because he presented himself as being weakened and needing assistance, not for sex appeal.

Good Movie.......2004-12-23

This movie is really good but I have to say that most of the killings in thsi movie isnt done by the killer its done by the people themselves , Some fall into blades and one gets hit by a car its a movie that is good but the killer only had one true kill in the hole movie.

Failure every which way.......2004-07-19

If you are looking for a movie about the real life Jack the Ripper, this ain't it (one or more of the reviews below are obviously thinking that this movie was the From Hell movie starring Johnny Depp, which it definitely isn't).

If you are looking for a movie based upon some facts of the Jack the Ripper case but going off in a new direction, this isn't a good bet either. It's a typical low budget teen slasher with just enough loose mentions of the Ripper case so they could throw a name on it to catch all the people looking for the other movie. It basically steals the plot of Scream 2, replacing the nonsensical links to the first Scream movie with nonsensical links to the Jack the Ripper case.

If you are looking for a scary horror movie, this ain't it either. The characters are all idiots. For supposed top students in serial killer studies (that all look like teen models, right) none of them act in a way at all realistic for someone in their position. It's like basing a slasher movie at a music camp but with characters who can't play any musical instruments, except worse than that, because these people aren't just dumb for supposed serial killer experts, they make boneheaded mistakes that cheerleader characters in other movies are too smart to make. So right off the bat you couldn't care less if the characters die, which makes it hard to feel any horror. But then the movie manages to miss most every opportunity for suspense and instead makes fuzzy references to things that never appear onscreen but might have been interesting if they had.

If you are looking for a good cheesy teen slasher popcorn movie... nope, not here either. The ending is horribly muddled, the pace is bad, the dialogue is ridiculous, and the romantic or sexy parts they usually use to pad the storyline for those films are entirely absent.

And it doesn't even work as a movie so bad you watch to laugh at its unintentional jokes, because it's just not entertaining. It's not a "Hah hah hah. How stupid" kind of thing, more of a "What? They can't be serious, how lame."

There were a couple scenes and one or two actresses that might have been good in another movie, if only the people writing and producing it had picked what kind of film they wanted to create and then put a little effort into it.

STELAR RIPPER.......2004-03-20

The rating for this totally off by a thousand! This made jump quite a few times. This movie is not as scary as some other movies I have seen in the past. The other reviewers must have been half asleep when they watched this movie. Do not let the rating and the reviewers ratings discourage you. If you are a Jack the Ripper fan you will love this movie. The can be a little bit twisted,so you will have to pay close attention to the movie.

RIPPER OFF.......2004-01-22

John Eyres can't be totally blamed for directing this flick. The script must have seemed innovative and challenging at the time. However, I'm sure once he got into it, he must have been as disappointed as I was. The movie opens with a young girl (AJ Cook from Final Destination II) being pursued by a mysterious serial killer who has evidently wiped out all her friends. Five years later, Molly is taking a class in serial killers (do they really offer such stuff?). Her professor, the disturbingly sinister Kane (played with exquisite boredom by Bruce Payne), tells his class to think outside the box. Ho hum...but of course what happens is that this little group of serial killer students are being wiped out one by one. Enter Jurgon Prochnow in perhaps the most ridiculously funny performance ever given by someone who got rave reviews in DAS BOOT, and the plot sickens. Prochnow is so horribly bad, and whoever did his hair, well they certainly aren't touching mine!
This is also an incredibly sadistic movie, the murders being totally over the top; most of the film is shot so darkly you can't tell what's going on, and there's little redeeming qualities, except for a few tense scenes. The ending is so cryptic, you don't know what the heck really went on.
Could have, should have been better, but barely a decent time waster.

Average customer rating:

Pretty, Ambitious, Clever, but just a mess.
Good Movie
Failure every which way
STELAR RIPPER
RIPPER OFF

Ripper - Letter From Hell
Starring: A.J. Cook , Bruce Payne , Ryan Northcott , Claire Keim , and Derek Hamilton
Director: John Eyres
Manufacturer: Studio Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

( R ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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Ripper 2: Letters From Within
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ASIN: B00005U4VH
Release Date: 2002-01-15

Customer Reviews:

Pretty, Ambitious, Clever, but just a mess........2006-10-23

Good Movie.......2004-12-23

Failure every which way.......2004-07-19

STELAR RIPPER.......2004-03-20

RIPPER OFF.......2004-01-22

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