Customer Reviews

Ripper - Letter From Hell [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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.

Massacre survivor Molly Keller (A.J. Cook) finds her life turned upside-down yet again when the students in her criminal psychology class start falling victim to a serial killer who appears to be a copy-cat of Jack the Ripper.

Considering the fact that "Ripper: Letter from Hell" is a low-budget Canadian horror film that went straight to DVD, it is a surprisingly good film. The structure of the film is that of your standard teenage hack and slash, but what makes this film stand out is the Jack the Ripper theme that holds the killings together. Unlike many other low-budget teen horror movies, the writer of this film has actually put a lot of thought into this script and it shows, and as someone who is fascinated by Jack the Ripper (ever since I saw "From Hell", another excellent film), I really appreciated the way that the writer took the story of the Ripper and placed it in a modern setting. Like the script, the acting is also above average for this sort of movie. The two leads, Cook and Bruce Kane as Professor Marshall Kane, both make their parts believable. And finally, the ending of the film is also truly awesome and will keep you thinking for the next day or so. After seeing this film, I recommend you have a look on IMDb to see all the different interpretations people have had of this ending. As with the case of Jack the Ripper, there is no one answer that everyone is in agreement on, which makes the film all the more fun.

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.

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.

I saw this movie today, and I was a little disapointed 'cause the critics of this film were really bad and i really wanted to see it.But, i was surprised.
I'm not saying this movie is bad, but it's just another slasher film, like Valentina or Urban Lyends: Final cut.But this one it's better than i thought.
Why?
Well, first it has really great moments and really scarry deads.
Second:The director makes an excellent job and the special effects are super.
And third: the acting is pretty good.If you're a fan of Jason or Michael Myers, or even Scream, you'll love this movie.
See you!!

I recently picked up this DVD and was really happy with it.I've been interested in Jack the Ripper for a long time and this copycat movie is one of the best I've seen.It has everything that a horror movie should have.......gore,suspence,cool murders and alot of twists and turns.

Ripper delivers the goods to some extent. There is blood and gore,like dude going head first into the mill saw! One down side is the beautiful ladies that NEVER get naked! With such potential, at least some topless scenes would have been nice. Compared to other recent genre pics like Valentine, Urban Legend II and Sole Survivor, Ripper leads the pack. That's not saying much but the script works, the actors can act, the blood is shed, the women are knockouts and the cast is international. The Jack the Ripper concept is a bit lame considering the Hughes Bros. awesome "From Hell" did it much better, it could have worked maybe with a bigger budget. It is pretty good though. I recommend it to gorehounds, the show delivers on a gruesome scale. Enjoy!

its not bad people stop being all weird its a pretty good movie i havent seen the second but it looks ok

"Ripper" might have been a decent "whodunnit" slasher flick, but it is just too far-fetched and over the top. There are no likeable characters whatsoever. There is some mystery to it all, but the plot tries to be too cute and too clever and the result is a convoluted mess of a movie that is too far-fetched and trendy for its own good. I would say that "Ripper" is a lot like "Urban Legend" (really kind of rips this one off and not quite as good) and even "Murder 101", although there are too many stupid and unrealistic ideas and scenes in this movie...some of it is just ridiculous. Also, did I mention that these characters suck? Also, I got really tired of the "new age" element in this movie. Overall, this movie had some potential believe it or not, but it's a very frustrating viewing experience. The acting was okay overall, the kills were not very impressive either. Plot execution was poor for the most part because they tried to do too much with it...they should have kept it simple. Finally, the ending was horrible and just plain stupid. In short, it is the mystery and suspense with the "whodunnit" theme that carries this "Ripper" as far as its merit is concerned, but that's just not enough to save this miserable mess of a movie that is totally devoid of scares and atmosphere. 1.25 STARS for the mystery, but that's about it.