Johnny Depp is one of the more unheralded acting talents today. Capable of making the creepy fun (Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow) and the fun creepy (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), Depp can usually be counted on to fills voids most actors simply aren't able to. Yet even with that said, when it comes time to list Hollywood's elite, Johnny Depp is often short-changed. This performance could correct all of that.

In the dreary From Hell, Depp is Inspector Fred Abberline, an interesting character obsessed with getting his man almost as much as getting that next high. Abberline, who can regularly be found "chasing the dragon" with the lowlifes in dark basements, is requested in the Whitechapel section of England in 1888 after an "unfortunate" (prostitutes to those ill-informed) is brutally murdered in an alley. The evidence is scattered, but the heinousness of the bloody act is all over the walls--literally. After more ladies come up slain, the killer (who, by this time, has been rightfully labeled Jack the Ripper) gets sloppy, leaving clues in the mess he's created. With suspects abound, it's left up to the good inspector--Abberline "sees" clues in his dreams when he's high on opium--to track down the mad man before it's too late.

Brimming with suspense and finger-pointing, From Hell actually does more in the way of uncovering governmental corruption than providing terror this Halloween season. Of course, directors Albert and Allen Hughes know a few things about the social dichotomy. Their first two major films, Menace II Society and Dead Presidents, exposed an equally gruesome side of life in the 20th century inner-city. Where the camera-wielding twins fail this time is in re-creating the fright that resonated through the uneasy English community in the late 1800s. While some slick shot edits and a couple of neat tricks with the lens are helpful, they do little to aid the film in getting goosebumps bumpy or neck hairs raised. Nevertheless, this movie is deserving of the title "thriller"--if for nothing more than Johnny Depp's thrilling portrayal as the only person capable of catching Jack the Ripper. (C)