Wednesday 8 February 2012

Horror Hotel Cinema : The Veil - Jack The Ripper




Hi kids, it's Hotel Management here, with the return of the sometime dormant, in-house cinema. And in lieu of my recent review of WHITECHAPEL, today's little number is a real treat for any Jack the Ripper fans, (I'm loathe to call us 'fans', as its not like we cheer on the murder of prostitutes. Lets just call us Ripper Aficionados. Yeah, that'll do....).

This little ditty will also be of interest to anyone and everyone who has a taste for the grand Universal Classics that helped kick off our favourite genre, as it features the mighty Boris Karloff, as narrator. In fact, he narrated all ten episodes of this little known and delightfully old school Horror anthology. In a sense, old Boris was a blueprint for the crypt-keeper. Its worth watching for historical reasons alone, friendos! The short-lived show was titled, THE VEIL, and this episode goes by the name of.....you ready? JACK THE RIPPER. Shocking, I know, at least a little more thought went into the plot than the title.....

The tale concerns a Psychic who begins experiencing visions of bloody, savage murders in the Whitechapel area, and becomes a suspect in the eyes of the local 'bobbies'.

Those who's knowledge of Horror and its past will also find another very familiar face, in Niaill McGinness, who is most famous among lovers of the macabre, for his portrayal of Dr Karswell, in Jacques Tourniers excellent adaptation of M. R James CASTING THE RUNES....NIGHT OF THE DEMON, (also known as CURSE OF THE DEMON, in a re-edited, uncut form). If you haven't seen it, do so immediately and then send your old pal Kyle a bottle of Scotch as a thank-you.

So, with no further adieu, here's THE VEIL : JACK THE RIPPER. Twenty five minutes of eerie time-travelling fun, for all you good folk.

See you at the next show....


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