Review – The Ripper

Of all the Jack the Ripper movies I’ve seen, this is the most recent. Honestly, it really left little impression on me one way or another. The plot is the usual bit about a detective (Patrick Bergin) under pressure from Sir Charles Warren (Michael York) to catch England’s most notorious serial killer before he strikes again. And of course he falls in love with a hooker with a heart of gold (Gabrielle Anwar) who’s naturally one of the Ripper’s targets. The picture follows the theory that syph-infected Prince Albert Victor Edward (Samuel West) was the perp, and if that’s a spoiler then it isn’t much of one, as the killer’s identity is revealed early on. The screen time that isn’t squandered on dull romance is mostly devoted to the awkwardness of trying to investigate and arrest a member of the royal family. Mildly amusing