Cross to Bear: Jack the Ripper Heads West

In Time After Time, Jack the Ripper eluded capture through the use of a time machine, whereas in this graphic novel, he opts for a more feasible escape route, into America’s Old Western frontier. In both cases, the Ripper is doggedly pursued by a hunter dead-set on halting his lethal predatory ways. However, the mysterious “Order” has a dark side to it that a former member is keenly familiar with in Marko Stojanovic’s graphic novel, Cross to Bear, illustrated by Sinisa Banovic, which goes on-sale today (in a tpb collection of all four issues).

The Order thought they had the Ripper cornered in Boston, but it turns out he had the drop on them. Only Simon survived that encounter with him. For redemption in the eyes of the Order, he follows the infamous serial killer all the way to Tombstone, where his estranged elder brother Edgar has reinvented himself as a barkeep and family man. Despite his reputation as one of their greatest hunters, Edgar is deeply disillusioned with the Order (which give off vibes not unlike the Millennium Group in the late-1990s Lance Henriksen TV series). Initially, he wants no part of another hunt, until his wife is brutally slashed to death.

In his author’s notes, Stojanovic explains much of his inspiration came from the Western films and comics he enjoyed as a child of the relatively open, pre-civil war Yugoslavia, (including those of the Hollywood, Spaghetti, and Euro varieties). As a result, he leans into traditional Western elements in Cross, just as much as those of noir Victorian thrillers, before the tale down-shifts into legit horror. Readers who are fans of each genre will enjoy the way Stojanovic incorporates them all, but a film adaptation (which definitely could be cool) would probably have to bring in the horror sooner.

Ripper Street: the New Watch on Whitechapel

It is the precinct with the worst cold case ever.  While they never did crack the Jack the Ripper case, the new guard carries forth.  Six months later, every new murder raises the same question: is he back?  Despite the baggage of the recent past, Detective Inspector Edmund Reid will pursue his investigations as best he can in Ripper Street (promo here), which premieres on BBC America this Saturday.

Though assigned to the case, Reid did not lead the original Ripper inquiry.  That is why he is still on the job.  His former superior, Chief Inspector Frederick Abberline, “retired” for obvious reasons, but he still follows events in Whitechapel closely.  In the series opening I Need Light, a woman is discovered in the murdered in a similarly gruesome fashion.  Not surprisingly, Abberline and the tabloid press jump to the same conclusion.  Reid will keep a lid on them temporarily, but he will need the extracurricular help of disgraced former Pinkerton and U.S. Army doctor Captain Homer Jackson.  Of Course, Jackson is more interested in his own dissolute pursuits and mysterious schemes, both of which involve Tenter Street “proprietress” Susan Long.  Nonetheless, the expat has reasons to stay on the copper’s good side.

Initially, Ripper Street is more about the long shadow cast by the notorious serial killer than the Ripper himself.  In fact, Ripper lore never really factors into the second episode, Under My Protection.  Cranking up the Dickensian vibe, Reid protects a street delinquent convicted of murder from a vigilante mob and the Fagin-on-steroids running his gang of juvenile cutthroats.

Given Reid’s lack of concern for cautions and solicitors, as well as his enthusiasm for “modern” pathology, Ripper Street could clearly be considered the British equivalent of Copper.  It is a sturdy formula, even if regular BBC America viewers will be quite familiar with its obvious influences.  Each episode (so far) also seems to highlight an unsavory aspect of Victorian society, such as pornography and anti-Semitism.

Best known for MI-5 (a.k.a. Spooks) Matthew Macfadyen is pretty solid as Reid.  Adam Rothenberg’s Jackson has the look and bearing of a riverboat gambler, which is more right than wrong.  While we do not see very much of her until the third act of the second episode, MyAnna Buring is clearly all kinds of danger in the femme fatale role.  Yet, Jerome Flynn might be the class of the ensemble as Detective Sergeant Bennet Drake, whom we meet whilst undercover as a bare knuckle brawler.

The jury is still out on Ripper Street, especially since it is still in the midst of its initial British run.  Based on the first two episodes, it clearly promises some historical color, a bit of lurid scandal, and a fair smattering of beat-downs in each outing.  That is certainly a good start, but the crime stories are rather standard issue thus far.  A safe bet for British mystery fans (but not yet appointment television), Ripper Street has its U.S. debut this Saturday (1/19) on BBC America.

(Photo: © Tiger Aspect/Jonathan Hession)

History is a Killer: Whitechapel

London’s Whitechapel neighborhood was originally named for a church that would eventually be destroyed in World War II, but it quickly gained a reputation for crime and vice. While former residents include Lenin and Joseph Merrick, it is Jack the Ripper who will always be most closely linked to the district in the public imagination. Whenever a murder happens there, the so-called “Ripperologists” come out of the woodwork smelling a copycat. Unfortunately for one ambitious Detective Inspector, this time they are correct. A gruesome series of murders will either make or break his career in Whitechapel (promo here), a stylish new mystery series written by Ben Court and Caroline Ip, which debuts this Wednesday on BBC America’s Dramaville showcase.

Well-connected Joseph Chandler is on the fast-track. All he has to do is clear a murder case and he can proceed to the next level. Obligingly, his superior officer, Commander Anderson, assigns him to the first case that comes up. It happens to be in Whitechapel. Initially, Chandler’s new sergeant, DS Ray Miles assumes the victim’s abusive husband simply went too far. Unfortunately, his alibi checks out. Shortly thereafter, Ripperologist Edward Buchan presents himself, offering his services to the team. Miles has no truck with these self-promoting amateurs, but Chandler is more indulgent.

Indeed, the two men do not mesh well, at first. Chandler is a by-the-booker, who insists his team wear ties when on the job. Miles has seen plenty of fast-trackers come and go, so he would prefer to go about his job as he sees fit. He also has some anger management issues rooted in his painful family history, which will come to the fore in Whitechapel’s second story arc.

Due to complications in the Ripper case, Chandler is on the outs with his Commander as the fourth episode opens. However, he has won the trust of his team, even forging something of a friendship with the crusty Miles. In another mixed blessing, the Detective Inspector is told to be ready for another high profile case headed his way. Like clockwork, a badly butchered body is soon fished out of the river, bearing similarities to one of the victims of the notorious Kray gangster twins.

Of course, Buchan (who is still hovering about) recognizes the pattern immediately, but Miles is having none of it. The Kray connection hits quite close to home for him. His father was a small time thief on the outskirts of the Krays’ world, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Unlike the secretive Ripper copycat, the prime suspects in the Kray killings are not anonymous. Rather, they crave attention, much like original Krays. In fact, they claim to be Krays themselves—the secret offspring of Ronnie Kray and a devoted fan.

Court and Ip cleverly integrate the “canonical murders” of the historic cases into Chandler’s contemporary inquiries, maintaining a genuine sense of mystery throughout the first storyline and ratcheting up the angst and paranoia in the second. They really put Chandler through the wringer, giving him some unusual demons that surface during the second case.

What really makes Whitechapel crackle and hum is the evolving dynamic between Chandler and Miles. Rupert Penry-Jones keeps Chandler just on the right side of uptight, ultimately becoming a very human protagonist. Phil Davis is compulsively watchable as Miles, projecting ferocious intelligence, while hinting at deep-seated insecurities. They develop some smart and convincing chemistry that should make Whitechapel a longstanding series. However, a little of Steve Pemberton as the pompous Buchan goes a considerably long way.

Featuring a talented supporting ensemble, including Alex Jennings (perhaps best known for playing Prince Charles in The Queen) as Commander Anderson, Whitechapel nails the gritty cop aesthetic. Highly cinematic, directors S.J. Clarkson and David Evans both build the tension steadily and effectively in their respective story-arcs. Evans also quite deftly handles the Craig Parkinson’s work as both modern day Kray Twins, convincingly showing them interacting together in several scenes.

Whitechapel’s first series (technically two combined into one by BBC America), definitely leaves viewers eager for more. Fortunately London has plenty of infamous murders to draw upon (Sweeney Todd maybe?). In fact, another season of Whitechapel has been commissioned in Britain, this time as a two-story six-episode run, in the manner of its initial American broadcast run. As a result, viewers should have no reservations investing in the Whitechapel detectives. Highly recommended for British mystery fans, it premieres this Wednesday (10/26) on BBC America.

(Photos: Carnival Film & Television)

Inspired by Hitchcock and the Ripper: The Lodger

In an eminently defensible decision, BBC History magazine’s 2005 readers’ poll selected Jack the Ripper as the “Worst Briton in History.” At least Whitechapel’s notorious serial killer would inspire some interesting fiction, including Robert Bloch’s classic short story, “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper” and Marie Belloc Lowndes’ novel, The Lodger. The latter would become the source material for several motion picture adaptations, including Alfred Hitchcock’s classic 1927 silent film and David Ondaatje’s contemporary updating of The Lodger story (trailer here), which opens in New York tomorrow.

While Ondaatje’s Lodger takes place in present day Los Angeles and Hitchcock’s Lodger is set in foggy London eighty-some years prior, both films start in roughly the same place. As a serial killer stalks his victims, sensational press coverage heightens the city’s growing anxiety. Against this backdrop, a reserved stranger with a mysterious black bag rents living quarters from a family, but insists the portraits be removed from his walls, because their eyes disturb him. From there, the films diverge completely.

Malcolm, Ondaatje’s secretive lodger, explains to his prospective land-lady, Ellen, that as a writer he keeps odd hours and can never be disturbed. He refuses to meet her husband, but offers plenty of up-front cash. Ellen has no problem with any of his conditions, particularly his cash, but she is also clearly attracted to her new tenant.

Simultaneously, Chandler Manning of the L.A. County Sheriff’s department is pursuing a serial killer who is re-enacting the murders of Jack the Ripper. As an expert in Ripper history Manning would seem to be the perfect cop for the case, but the forensic evidence from the recent killings has exonerated a man Manning previously sent to death row for a similar pattern of murders. With his career in jeopardy, Manning is convinced the key to the case lies in determining which historical Ripper suspect the killer believes he is emulating, so he enrolls his unfortunate partner in a crash course of Jack the Ripper 101.

In what is more-or-less the lead role, Albert Molina is an impressive screen presence as Manning, elevating the film above standard thriller fare. The British actor is great fun to watch as he growls politically incorrect abuse at his partner and delves into the Ripper lore. A number of interesting character-actors flesh out Lodger’s cast, including Philip Baker Hall (who was probably born stern and flinty), as the territorial LAPD Captain Smith. Unfortunately, Simon Baker (star of TV's The Mentalist) fails to convey a true sense of menace as the title man of mystery, but Hope Davis is quite convincing in the surprisingly tricky role of Ellen, his on-screen foil.

Ondaatje and cinematographer David A. Armstrong (known for his work on the Saw franchise) often visually channel Hitchcock and the script even lifts an entire scene from Psycho (not the shower sequence) as a tribute. Unlike Armstrong’s previous films, Ondaatje wisely keeps most of the gore safely off-screen. While the clichéd final ending is a bit of a disappointment, The Lodger is still a modest, but enjoyable little thriller, thanks in large measure to Molina’s thoroughly entertaining performance. It opens tomorrow in New York at the Quad Theatre.