Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
We've seen it all done before...and better at that!, August 10, 2002
I live in Holland. Though that doesn't have many advantages, sometimes straight-to-video fodder like RIPPER comes out over here months before it does in the States and that then gives me the oppertunity to cast my verdict a little earlier before any of you American horrorgeeks can.Now, on to the movie... The subtitle monicker LETTER FROM HELL may have this appear to be a cash in on the Johnny Depp/ Heather Graham movie, but don't be fooled. It is more in the SCREAM/ I KNOW WHAT YOU DID... vein. And it isn't a very good movie. The word 'rip-off' clearly comes to mind. Let me explain a little about the plot and you'll know what I mean. A girl is attacked by a serial killer who butchers her friends and she only narrowly escapes. Cut to 'five years later' and the girl is on campus where her criminology professor is giving a course on...you guessed it: serial killers. Before you can say 'haven't I seen this all before?' the killings have started and the girl and her classmates are the soon-to-be victims of a smart (?) killer who imitates (gasp) Jack the Ripper. So, from then on not only do these kids have to fear for their lives, they also have to find out who the killer is, in a very dull whodunnit subplot by the way. Alas RIPPER should have been called RIPP-OFF but though there aren't many, I'd also like to name the good points of this movie.
Bruce Payne (as the professor) is a good actor. I like him. He's become a real B-movie regular (HIGHLANDER: ENDGAME anyone?) and it's too bad the heavy from PASSENGER 57 has ended up like this.
Next to him we also have Jurgen Prochnow hamming it up (but in an entertaining way) as a police detective on the trail of the killer, and English pin-up Kelly Brook as the bimbo/ slut student of the group. She really is gorgeous, but is killed off way too soon in the movie. Finally there's a little spark of energy in the finale and the revelation of the killer. I myself figured it out before that, but for you who don't; it shows that the writer of RIPPER isn't a complete knucklehead and hints at what this movie could have been...namely so much more. In the meantime, if you wanna watch a good horror/ murder mystery I recommend a few Italian giallo's like DEEP RED and DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Failure every which way, July 19, 2004
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.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not a bad slasher movie, January 17, 2002
I was actually pretty impressed with this film, although there are a few plot holes and the idea of people who are being stalked by a maniac deciding to go hide out in a deserted cabin is silly. But if you are a slasher fan, this has got some pretty intense and insane murders...one in a wood cutter has got to be seen. Plus an homage to Dario Argento's Susperia in a goth club is cool... Also, the acting is good, the soundtrack is excellent, and the director does a great job. SO if you aren't expecting a brilliant or absolutely terrifying experience, you might be surprised at how good this B movie is.
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