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Ripper: Letter From Hell

2001, Movie, NR, 99 mins

Ripper: Letter From Hell: Review

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This riff on Jack the Ripper lore transposes the world's first media-obsessed homicide case into the era of computers, DNA, and fiber matches. The sole survivor of a five-year old killing spree, college student Molly Keller (A. J. Cook) takes a criminology class with renowned expert Professor Marshall Kane (Bruce Payne). The class taps into Molly's unresolved pain, and she bristles when Aaron Kroeker (Courtenay J. Stephens), a nerd from her past life, tries to foist his friendship on her. And because she knows about serial murder first-hand, Molly holds herself aloof from the other students. But Molly crosses the line into paranoia when someone starts killing members of her study group, all of whom have the same initials as Jack the Ripper's victims. Marisa Tavares (Kelly Brook) gets stabbed at a dance club; Mary-Anne Nordstrom (Daniella Evangellista) is forced off a highway and then slain in Ripper-fashion. Detective Kelso (Jurgen Prochnow), who investigated the thrill killing Molly survived, takes on this new case and can't help but wonder whether Molly is acting as a magnet for the original maniac, or has become a murderer herself. Theorizing that trauma could induce psychosis, Kelso grills Professor Kane, who, like Molly, escaped from a maniac years earlier. Kane and Molly become lovers, as the neo-Ripper stalks Molly's classmate Chantal Etienne (Claire Keim) at the morgue and then comes after her entire class, who've convened at Professor Kane's mountain retreat. This splatter flick jacks up the Ripper legend for bloodthirsty modern-day genre, combining speculation about the Victorian Era crimes with the kind of crime scene lore that fascinates today's murder buffs. Though the film sacrifices clarity for the sake of obscuring the Ripper's identity, it's still good creepy fun. leave a comment --Robert Pardi
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