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The Alphabet Killer
The Alphabet Killer
Actors: Eliza Dushku, Cary Elwes, Timothy Hutton, Tom Malloy, Michael Ironside
Director: Rob Schmidt
Genres: Horror, Science Fiction & Fantasy
R     2009     1hr 38min

A ten year old girl is found brutally murdered outside the small blue-collar city of Rochester, New York, and obsessed police detective Megan Paige (Eliza Dushku of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER and DOLLHOUSE) suffers a mental ...  more »

     

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Movie Details

Actors: Eliza Dushku, Cary Elwes, Timothy Hutton, Tom Malloy, Michael Ironside
Director: Rob Schmidt
Creators: Eliza Dushku, Tom Malloy, Aimee Schoof, Ashley Holloway, Brandon Baker, Daniel Sollinger, Greg Polisseni
Genres: Horror, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Sub-Genres: Horror, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
Format: DVD - Color,Widescreen
DVD Release Date: 01/06/2009
Release Year: 2009
Run Time: 1hr 38min
Screens: Color,Widescreen
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Total Copies: 0
Members Wishing: 0
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Languages: English
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Member Movie Reviews

Deidra C. (Deidra670) from GARRETT, KY
Reviewed on 11/30/2010...
THE ALPHABET KILLER is a compelling piece that is based on true events. Megan is a detective working on the murder of a little girl and she soon begins to see connections in the case. Unfortunately, she can't quite put the pieces together and suffers a breakdown. And it's there that the movie takes an even darker turn, if that's possible.

Megan is diagnosed as a schizophrenic which results in losing her reputation, her fiancee and much of her freedom. Yet she still can't let go of the case. And two years later when another murder occurs, Megan begins a downward spiral in her disease, sparking a race to solve the murders before she loses her grip on reality.

THE ALPHABET KILLER was very intense and it had a couple twists and turns that I didn't see coming. But my favorite aspect of the film was it's realistic portrayal of a mentally ill person who wasn't a killer, who wasn't a threat to anyone (except themselves) and was desperately trying to hold on to her life, and in that process, to save the lives of as many children as she can.

If you want an excellent story with an interesting slant to the lead character, try on THE ALPHABET KILLER. For me, it was a good fit!

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Nicole W. (sterju3) from SCRANTON, PA
Reviewed on 3/4/2009...
one word LAME!!!!! The worst acting ever. The camera work is crap, it jumps all over the place or is right up in the actors faces. This movie was horrid. Cant wait for someone to take it off my hands...
4 of 5 member(s) found this review helpful.

Movie Reviews

Let me spell it out for you
C. Christopher Blackshere | I am the devil's reject | 02/11/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)

"I'll admit, I have a morbid fascination with serial killer movies. They harness a raw energy that is almost overwhelming. There is often a strange connection with the victims, the detectives, and sometimes even the killers themselves(or is it just me?). Plus there is a stark fear generated by recognizing a pattern and watching people struggle to prevent further mayhem.

THE ALPHABET KILLER is a pretty well-crafted, fictional tale. It's derived from some unsolved murders that took place in Rochester, NY, during the early 70's. A few young girls with matching initials would turn up dead in nearby towns that were spelled with the same first letter (i.e. Carla Castille in Churchville, Wendy Walsh in Webster).

A female detective(Eliza Dushku) is on the case, and she quickly becomes obsessed with cracking it. Actually, she's the one that starts to crack. She gets completely consumed, the mystery eats at her mind as she starts talking to herself and hallucinating (same thing happens to me when I watch reality TV shows).

Anyway, the movie takes a pretty dramatic shift early on when this woman loses control and attempts suicide. She is diagnosed with scizophrenia and admitted to a mental hospital.

Several times throughout this movie, we're shown the visions that this crazy woman sees--ghastly dead children that constantly haunt her. This is done for shocking effect, but I thought it was completely overdone. Kinda seemed like a ripoff of a Japanese ghost story film.

The story then proceeds as the police are completely baffled by the subsequent Alphabet murders. The mentally unfit cop is put back on the case, possibly due to her past romantic relationship with the chief. And of course, crazy is not something you can just sell on amazon.com.

Director Rob Schmidt does a decent job at mounting suspense. This film attempts to be dark, but doesn't completely succeed. It is interesting as a psychological descent into madness. I thought the cast did a very solid job. This has no gore or reenactment of the murders themselves, so some might get bored. Worth a rental.
















"
Eh....it was okay
alaskanseminole | San Antonio, Texas | 07/31/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)

"Well, it's hard for me to give a movie more than three stars if I can figure out the ending (right down to the smallest detail) mid way through. This movie wanted to be good, it really did. It wanted to hang with the likes of se7en and Silence of the Lambs (given that's a really big "want"), but in the end this movie will dwindle into renter's obscurity.

The director, Rob Schmidt, does manage a few intriguing moments coupled with a touch of suspense, but if you really pay attention you'll solve this riddle with ease.

On a side note, I still can't take Cary Elwes seriously. He was great in movies like "Robinhood: Men in Tights" and the classic "The Princess Bride", but movies like Saw left me laughing hysterically when I should have been cringing with fear and angst (the desperate reaching for the phone scene still makes me laugh). Albeit his performance here was much better than Saw, I still struggle with him in serious roles. As for Timothy Hutton and Eliza Dushku, both are strong actors and did the best they could with what they were given.

In the end I'm rating this film 3 stars (would have been 2.5 had it not followed an even worse film--HORSEMAN staring Dennis Quaid. More to follow on that travesty!)
"
Pleasantly Surprised
A. Lynn Bowman | Modesto, CA United States | 02/28/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)

"The reason I bought the movie was because it has a buff scene of Eliza Dushku, what I got was a surprisingly good thriller. Not the best movie I have ever scene, not in the top 50, but it was entertaining, the acting was good, and it was suspenseful, defiantly worth a look."