Jack the Ripper - History Documentary

Via Wikipedia

Jack the Ripper is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter written by someone claiming to be the murderer that was widely disseminated in the media. The letter is widely believed to have been a hoax, and may have been written by a journalist in a deliberate attempt to heighten interest in the story. Within the crime case files as well as journalistic accounts the killer was known as "the Whitechapel Murderer" as well as "Leather Apron".

Attacks attributed to the Ripper typically involved female prostitutes who lived and worked in the slums of London and whose throats were cut prior to abdominal mutilations. The removal of internal organs from at least three of the victims led to proposals that their killer possessed anatomical or surgical knowledge.

Rumors that the murders were connected intensified in September and October 1888, and letters from a writer or writers purporting to be the murderer were received by media outlets and Scotland Yard. The "From Hell" letter, received by George Lusk of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee, included half of a preserved human kidney, supposedly from one of the victims. Mainly because of the extraordinarily brutal character of the murders, and because of media treatment of the events, the public came increasingly to believe in a single serial killer known as "Jack the Ripper".

 
Extensive newspaper coverage bestowed widespread and enduring international notoriety on the Ripper. An investigation into a series of brutal killings in Whitechapel up to 1891 was unable to connect all the killings conclusively to the murders of 1888, but the legend of Jack the Ripper solidified. As the murders were never solved, the legends surrounding them became a combination of genuine historical research, folklore, and pseudohistory. The term "ripperology" was coined to describe the study and analysis of the Ripper cases. There are now over one hundred theories about the Ripper's identity, and the murders have inspired multiple works of fiction.
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From Hell (2001) Film Starring Johnny Depp & Heather Graham

Via IMDB

In Victorian Era London, a troubled clairvoyant police detective investigates the murders by Jack The Ripper.  

IMDB gives it a 6.9 rating.  I rate it higher than that.  Although it comes from a standpoint of its own conspiracy theory, the entertainment value was still immense.  I'd give it at least an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10.  

I'm also surprised it only got these meager ratings from Rotten Tomatoes, too.  In my opinion, people didn't like the historical inaccuracy and while this doesn't work in  other films, in this one, I thought it did.  Again, this is just my opinion, though.

I Love the Victorian (Gothic) Horror Genre!

I don't know about you guys, but my favorite horror genre to read and watch has to be Victorian/Gothic Horror, which I classify as horror reading and viewing from the late 1800's and the early 1900's. 

Some of my favorite horror flix, mostly adapted from novels in said era, are set in Victorian England or in North America during the Victorian/Gothic era.  From the popularity of Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula to the popular play Sweeney Todd - Demon Barber of Fleet Street, I have to say, this genre is more realistic and terrifying than any other.  Of course, I have to mention Edgar Allen Poe, the man that got me reading for enjoyment in the fifth grade. Not only did he get me reading, but he got me writing.  Not long after, H.P. Lovecraft got me to love science fiction infused with horror.


The notions and backdrops for these stories come from a time when science was in its infancy and we began to realize that science fiction, which can translate quite well into horror has no limits!


Some of my favorite stories that either come from this genre or are set in this genre are, of course...

1.  Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), Dracula (1958) & Dracula (1979)

2.  Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)

3.  Sleepy Hollow (1999) (not really Victorian, but it fits the genre very closely).

4.  From Hell (2001)

5.  The Others (2001)

6.  The Woman in Black (2012)

7.  Masters of Horror (mini movie short) - Poe's The Black Cat (watch it here, free.)

8.  Masters of Horror (mini movie short) - Lovecraft's Dreams in the Witch House (watch it here, free.)

(This movie is set in modern times, but is a modern adaptation of a Victorian novel.)

9.  The Turn of the Screw (adapted from Henry James' 1898 Novel) - Its got many versions and I can't seem to locate the best one from the seventies/early eighties online, but it was creepy!

10.  The Wolfman (2010) - Though werewolf movies are not my favorite, this movie was the best adaptation and probably one of the better werewolf movies I have seen in quite some time aside from The Howling franchise, which of course, is not Victorian or Gothic in nature.

10 Best Serial Killer Movies of All Time!

You all know of my fascination and love of serial killer flicks. I don't know that I actually love serial killers, because they are not very nice, well, except for Jeffy, you know, Jeffy Dahmer, he seemed like a stand up guy when you disregard all the dead lovers' parts hanging out in his house and that he sometimes feasted on them and if you leave out Mr. Gacy's rapey ways, he was probably ok, too, but yeah, love, a strong word, anyway, on to my top 10 list of the most killer serial movies of all time!

1. Silence of the Lambs - For obvious reasons and for Dr. Hannibal Lecter's charming and mischievous ways, I give this 1991 "killer" serial killer flick, number one. Also, I will say that Buffalo Bill, played by Ted Levine is near and dear to my heart and the hearts of many, Preciousssssssss!!!!! Say, are you  about a size 14?

 

2. American Psycho - Christian Bale does a hack up, I mean bang up job of playing the world's most original serial killer, well, for a movie anyway, in American Psycho, where he plays yuppy serial Killer, Patrick Bateman, who exfoliates before he goes to work and if handy with an axe, what a guy!

3. Natural Born Killers - Mickey and Mallory Knox hold a place in my heart no other serial killing murderer couple can fill, not even that of greaser slash literal 50's, leather jacket white tee shirt clad Charlie Starkweather and his little kitten, Caril Fugate. Mickey and Mallory are two star-crossed lovers with a murderous streak in them, cross country, might I add. I also am impressed with the sick characters in this flick played by Robert Downy Jr., whom I adore as well as Detective Scagnetti, played by none other than Mr. Tom Sizemore. Don't forget the first and only serial killer flick in which Rodney Dangerfield was featured as "dad". He didn't last long, though, but he did a cut up job!

4. Hannibal - I can't put Hannibal in slot number two, because there are flicks that definitely win over this flick, but the Ray Liotta scene in which he depicts do*cheb*g, Paul Krendler having his brains eaten out and sautes while its still attached, well mostly, to his head, I can't leave that out of the list. I also have to give props to my favorite actor, of course, who also appears next on the list, Gary Oldman, who portrays the faceless kid f'er, Mason Verger. I love that Verger has a b*tch. Yeah, I'm referring to poor Dr. Cordell, who just gets referred to as Cordell and follows the orders of a faceless invalid all day long!

5. Bram Stoker's Dracula - Most would not consider Dracula to be a serial killer, but eff if I don't call a man who's hundreds or even thousands of years old, who lives in a cold stone castle and feasts off the living a serial killer. To call him a cannibal might be going too far, but hey, he's rich, romantic, and charming, and so what if he drains the blood of the living for sustenance, he's a catch in my book!

6. Seven - I want to make out with Kevin Spacey in Seven. He is such a sick f**k of a serial killer in this movie! The fact that he packages up Gwenyth's head, who plays Brad Pitt's wife in the 90's flick's wife, gives some thumbs of mine up, precisely two of them, that's all I got!

7. From Hell - Jack the Ripper was a twisted mo fo in his day. Johnny Depp plays one hell of a junkie cop, who's hobbies include chasing the dragon, trying to win the heart of a hooker with a heart of gold, the portrayed by Heather Graham, Mary, and also trying to catch Jack the Ripper. He also enjoys Opium, did I mention that? I have to say that Sir Ian Holm, aka the guy with the black eyes, Sir William Gill, scares the crap out of me! I also have a large crush on a ginger, the coach driver, Netley, portrayed by Jason Flemyng. I want to stick my tongue between the gaps in his black teeth.

 

8. Hannibal Rising - How much do you want to have intercourse with young Hannibal, even if you are a straight man. He's noble, he's romantic, and so what if he kills all of his adversaries. They were rude to his aunt slash girlfriend and they ate his little sister, a-holes! Hannibal is just doing what any good brother slash nephew slash boyfriend would do for his sister and aunt. How dare you be a meat cutter who comments on what way Hannibal's aunt slash girlfriend's vee jay faces!

9. The Devil's rejects - I think they might be inbred and their father is a clown. Their mother is an ex-prostitute, and they live in a creepy shack in the woods. All I have to say is Chinese, Japanese, look at these!!! Oh Baby, you are my hero! Although, I think Mother Firefly might be my hero. The first mother firefly was portrayed by Karen Black in House of 1,000 Corpses, this was my only disappointment, where this dark flick is concerned, who kinda looks like Stiffler's mother with that blonde wig on.

10. Psycho - Anthony Hopkins portrays the best serial killer ever, because we are not sure if Norman Bates actually knows what he is doing when he kills those little slags who don't meet up with mommy's expectations. What can I say, a boy's best friend is his mother! This flick was even good enough to be followed up with a sequel and a TV series, which I faithfully watch, more than 30 years later!

Watch Horror on Amazon With Your Free $5 Credit Tonight!

 If I hadn't seen these, these flicks would be some of my picks to watch free on Amazon.com with a free $5 Twitter credit given to you for tweeting the below post, not this post, the one before this one, guys and dolls!

From Hell - Johnny Depp is a detective, much like an FBI profiler today, who chases not only Jack the Ripper, but he chases the dragon at Opium dens as well.  He enjoys solving crimes, Opium, and Absinthe, and oh, yeah, a hot little hooker played by Heather Gram, Mary Kelly!

The Uninvited -  is actually the American version (remake) of the Korean horror flick, A Tale of Two Sisters.  Anna, portrayed by Emily Browning is released from a psychiatric hospital after attempting suicide due to her terminally ill mother being incinerated in a fire on the grounds of her home (a boathouse). Nearly a year later, she has no memory of this.  She and her sister believe their mom is trying to tell them something about her death from beyond.  There is an obscure nurse in the home getting jiggy with the dad, and that's an interesting twist as well. 

Stir of Echoes - Kevin Bacon and the chick from Law and Order are a couple who end up with some issues. Kevin Bacon's character likes to dig through the floor of their home without a shirt, and drink lots of orange juice. Why, you ask? Because, the spirit of a dead mentally disabled girl is communicating with him from beyond after he is hypnotized at a get-together with he and his wife's friend, played by Illeana Douglas, who is into that sort of thing. The spirit appears to him, and commands for him to dig, so he's got to dig. I'm grateful for that, because, Mr. Bacon, without a shirt, make the movie alone good enough to eat, I mean watch!

The Skeleton Key - Kate Hudson gets down on the Bayou. She is a home health care nurse for an elderly man and his wife, the old broad from the Notebook, in Louisiana. There is lots of strange things going on in this house. But, this is the sort of thing the bayou brings, strange country folk, voodoo, and lots of buried secrets....