The Phantom Fiend (1932)

Earlier, I was reading an article on Jack the Ripper and yet another claim of solving that mystery. As a history buff, I have always been fascinated by the Ripper and enjoy consuming everything about the horrific tale. Incredibly, while searching for a movie tonight, I stumbled upon this 1930s entry based on a book about Jack the Ripper, The Phantom Fiend; a remake of the Alfred Hitchcock silent classic The Lodger.

Plot/ An enigmatic young man in a London boarding house becomes the subject of suspicion as the infamous Jack the Ripper begins his campaign of slaughter.

Being a fan of classic cinema (and of the Hitchcock silent gem), I figured I was going to be in for some head scratching moments with this one. Anytime someone attempts to remake Hitchcock, it never seems to end well. While this one is not unwatchable, there are a ton of flaws that make it fall well short of the inspiration. For me, any time Jack the Ripper is involved in the storyline, the movie has potential and this one does have potential. Unfortunately, between the uneven performances that made it feel like a poorly dubbed silent film, the poor sound quality (considering the dialog), and an ending that in no way serves justice for the original, this one is a tough watch. Sure, the storyline is not anything spectacular or groundbreaking, but there is something there that should have been better. In the end, this one is a bit of a disappointment. While it is not terrible, it is nowhere near anything that I would watch a second time.

The Lodger (2009)

Moving on from a couple of surreal thought provoking horror flicks, I decided to check-out something that has always caught my attention, films about (or referencing) Jack the Ripper. So, when I read the premise of this one on the info bar, I jumped at it. The flick is 2009s, The Lodger.  

Plot/ The tale of a serial killer in West Hollywood has two converging plot lines. The first involves an uneasy relationship between a psychologically unstable landlady and her enigmatic lodger; the second is about a troubled detective engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with the elusive killer, who is imitating the crimes of Jack the Ripper.

 

Jack the Ripper has always intrigued me, I can say that I have read quite a bit of material, not to mention penning a poem (published in Horrotica Magazine) about the exploits of the most famous serial killer ever, so when seeing this I found it a very interesting endeavor. The acting, setting, cinematography and storylines were all very good and the way the murders were kept just out of view definitely added something. Unfortunately, some of the storyline seems forced, almost padding the run time, not to mention that the direction missed out on the inherent potential to create a lot more atmosphere throughout.  All-in-all, this was a decent mystery, one that challenges your deductive reasoning to figure out the killer (which they mask very well) and one that has just enough to keep a viewer watching. If you see it on cable, check it out (I would not run out and buy it though).