I SAW RIPPER UNTOLD

I've watched another Steve Lawson (High Fliers Films/Creative Films) effort: Ripper Untold. 

Though the account doesn't adhere to historic names or precise events as they unfolded in the Jack the Ripper case, writer/director Lawson creates a wicked tale that thrives from characterization, capped by a startling catch. 

The tale isn't only about the Whitechapel murders, but two, career men impacted by them: a Frederick Abberline-inspired, chief inspector named Edmund Rees, played by the affable and resolved Phil (Outlawed) Molloy and a coroner/medical examiner named Thomas Locque, played by Jonathan (Axed/The Fourth Musketeer) Hansler (who in this instance, exudes an apt, Gary Oldman/Sam Neill aura). Rees is diligent, principled and at times frustrated in his relationship with a caring madame named Miss Levine, played by Dawn Butler; Locque is sad and beleaguered, prone to drink and at odds with his desperate and dissatisfied wife, Elizabeth, played by Sylvia Robson. 

The men's hope to halt the killings leads to worrisome introspection, as they question their lives and abilities, facing obstacles that only worsen their predicament, such as Chris (The Mummy: Resurrection) Bell's Sebastian Stubb, a self-serving, London Morning Times journalist, and vigilant socialite/suspect, Barry Shannon's George Lowry. Meanwhile, Marcus Langford's steadfast constable is on hand to survey the murder sites and roam officious settings, while Jacob Anderton pushes the envelope as a corner's assistant, who finds inexplicable humor in the prostitutes' deaths.

Again, the precise, historical details are absent, but this is a melodrama, which like many Ripper dramatizations, makes utmost use of its gory foundation, inserting misleads and revelations where it can. At times, one will think one person to be the culprit, and the next, another. However, in the end, the tug of war snaps the leads in opposite directions: one destined for overwhelming despair; the other a chance at redemption. How they get to these pivotal places is part of the intrigue. 

The movie is sleek and credible in its look, due to Jon O'Neill's warm, if not foreboding photography. In this respect, Ripper Untold feels rather like a color version of The Body Snatcher, Corridors of Blood and The Flesh and the Fiends, while remaining on an aesthetic par with the radiant The Doctor and the Devils and Showtime's graphic Penny Dreadful.

This is one of those stylish productions that one should engage with a cup of tea on a chilly night: a movie that spurs the scares but never looses sight of the sort of depth that makes any movie worth indulging. (BTW: A sequel has emerged, which focuses on the unscrupulous Mr. Stubb; I'll be reviewing soon.)