From Hell is a 2001 mystery horror thriller[3] film directed by the Hughes Brothers and written by Terry Hayes and Rafael Yglesias.

The film stars Johnny Depp as Frederick Abberline, the lead investigator of the murders, and Heather Graham as Mary Kelly, a prostitute targeted by the Ripper.

The film grossed over $74 million worldwide and received mixed reviews from critics, with many praising the performances (particularly those of Depp and Graham), atmosphere and production values, but was negatively compared to its source material.

Their friend Ann Crook is a former prostitute now married to a wealthy painter named Albert, and she has recently given birth to a daughter, Alice.

Abberline's investigations reveal that an educated person, likely knowledgeable in human anatomy, is responsible for the murders because of the highly precise, surgical methods used.

Gull was instructed to dispose of all witnesses to the forbidden marriage of painter Walter Sickert to Ann Crook, the mother of his legitimate daughter, Alice.

[7] When Connery dropped out, the Hughes Brothers met with Brad Pitt and Jude Law before deciding to cast Johnny Depp.

[8] Principal photography began on June 5, 2000[9] in and around Prague, Czech Republic and at Barrandov Studios on a massive backlot set recreating the 19th-century Whitechapel district of London.

[6] Additional exteriors were filmed in the United Kingdom, including at Crackington Haven, Boscastle in Cornwall and Goldings estate in Hertfordshire.

[citation needed] As some critics considered the film to be too violent and gory, it was edited in order to avoid an NC-17 rating by the Motion Picture Association of America.

[12] During the September 11 attacks, Graham was flying to New York City for a number of meetings with film directors when she saw smoke coming from the World Trade Center.

"[18] Joe Leydon of The San Francisco Examiner gave the film a scoring of three stars, saying "Much like Sleepy Hollow, From Hell will delight movie buffs with key elements of its lavish production design".

[19] Michael Sragow of The Baltimore Sun gave it a one-and-a-half star rating, stating that "a visionary sort of horror movie should ponder three words: Bram Stoker's Dracula".

[20] Robert W. Butler of The Kansas City Star described the film as "delivered with a visual flourish that puts even Tim Burton to shame".

[21] Empire's Kim Newman awarded the film four out of five stars, praising the "range of squirmingly superior British acting talent" although noting that "the script can't quite sell its Jack as at once a purposeful assassin and a mad killer.

French also praised the production design and cinematography, which evoked representations of London by the artists Whistler and John Atkinson Grimshaw.

[2] During its opening weekend, the film earned $11 million and finished in first place at the box office, beating Training Day, Riding in Cars with Boys and The Last Castle.