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The Alphabet Killer
 
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The Alphabet Killer (2007)

Starring: Eliza Dushku, Cary Elwes Director: Rob Schmidt Rating: R (Restricted) Format: DVD
3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
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Product Details

Editorial Reviews

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In the spirit of suspense films and television shows that focus on the sleuth’s attempt to make something out of senseless violence, Alphabet Killer is less about the murders it details than about the detective, Megan Paige (Eliza Dushku of Buffy the Vampire Slayer), who suffers mentally for studying brutality. Though opening scenes show young girls slayed at various wooded Rochester, New York crime scenes, the film quickly digresses into Megan’s stressed relationship with her co-detective lover, Kenneth Shine (Cary Elwes), who watches her obsession with the case spiral out of control. As murders continue, Megan gets psychic leads and is haunted by the ghosts of the wrongly deceased, but cannot solve the case. Megan’s diagnosis as a schizophrenic complicates matters greatly, and elevates the film into deeper story, especially when one senses, through subtle filmic clues, the creepiness of Megan’s therapist, Richard Ledge (Timothy Hutton). Some silly, dramatized enactments of mental illness on Dushku’s part do not help convince the viewer through fine acting, though one may be willing to look past this in hopes for pending potential spookiness. And the conundrum posed by Megan in her therapy group is engaging: manic people do often excel due to intuition, yet it is their ability to experience the world differently that gets them into trouble. Although the ghosts hallucinations are unconvincing, and Dushku probably could have used more research before she took the role, Alphabet Killer captivates because it shows how convoluted layers of reality can confuse even the sharpest detective. The disturbing thing about Alphabet Killer is not the film itself but the idea behind it: that the majority of what we know and trust is illusory, and that truth is discovered best through madness. --Trinie Dalton

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Product Description

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 breakdown while trying to solve the crime. But when the child-killings resume two years later, Megan’s return to the investigation also brings back her own horrific hallucinations.  Even if she can prove a ‘double initial’ connection to the slayings, will she hang onto her sanity long enough to catch a psychopath? Cary Elwes (SAW), Michael Ironside (STARSHIP TROOPERS), Bill Moseley (THE DEVIL’S REJECTS), Carl Lumbly (ALIAS) and Academy Award® winner Timothy Hutton co-star in this chilling thriller directed by Rob Schmidt.

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Customer Reviews

21 Reviews
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 (8)
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Average Customer Review
3.2 out of 5 stars (21 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Let me spell it out for you, February 11, 2009
By C. Christopher Blackshere "Mackshere" (stalking you from the shadows) - See all my reviews
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.
















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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars eh....it was okay, July 31, 2009
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!)
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8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A Tight, Well-Crafted Little Thriller, January 5, 2009
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Eliza Dushku makes a return to the film screen in this taught thriller featuring an all-star cast (Timothy Hutton, Cary Elwes, etc.) starring as an obsessed detective who suffered a mental breakdown a few years earlier and now must track down a killer who got away. This movie is based on a true story, and it is similar in some ways to other abduction/serial killer movies such as "The Watcher," "The Pledge" and "Evil Has a Face." The acting is generally superb (including an appearance by Larry Hankin, one of the great character acters), and that is what puts this film above others that typically fit the pattern. If you are a fan of Cold Case/CSI/Without a Trace series, you will like this, although there is more along the lines of drama that there is on the forensics side of things. Dushku once again embraces the role of a person with a troubled past who is eager to solve a mystery. If you were a fan of Tru Calling, you will love this.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Eliza Dushku with some weird neurological disease
This movie might have been crafted into, at least, a fairly conventional cops & serial killer movie, but fails. Read more
Published 20 days ago by D. WISELY

3.0 out of 5 stars AVERAGE FILM WITH INTRIGUING PLOT
This film is well acted and based on a real case from the 1970s. The film has an interesting theme - is being mentally sound a handicap in catching criminal deviants... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Margaux Paschke

3.0 out of 5 stars So-so
The Alphabet Killer tracks an investigator (played by Dushku) who has the unique ability to become obsessed with cases until they are solved. Read more
Published 2 months ago by C Wahlman

3.0 out of 5 stars ...Now I Know My ABC's
The Alphabet Killer was surprisingly a good thriller. The production values were high, the cinematography was adequate though spotty and the actual "visions" of the dead children... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Brian Lueth

4.0 out of 5 stars Great movie
I live in Rochester, New York, so this was particularly interesting to me. I went to see it because of the tie to Rochester and I know one of the extras in the movie. Read more
Published 5 months ago by K. Delgrosso

3.0 out of 5 stars Half-decent serial killer flick
The Alphabet Killer is a pretty standard serial killer flick that manages to stay compelling enough to keep you interested despite its flaws. Read more
Published 9 months ago by N. Durham

3.0 out of 5 stars Horrific Hallucinations
Ostensibly based on an actual murder case that is still unsolved, this Rob Schmidt-directed thriller is more about obsession that it is about the ghastly crimes at its center... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Michael B. Druxman

3.0 out of 5 stars Watchable, but forgettable at the same time
Eliza Dushku plays the lead in this and does a good job, but the problem is that she's completely miscast. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Kevin Hunter

2.0 out of 5 stars dvd
the actual story was poor, but it was filmed in my hometown of Rochester NY so I enjoyed seeing locations that I knew
Published 9 months ago by Steven Cassano

3.0 out of 5 stars HOW DO YOU SPELL MURDER?
THE ALPHABET KILLER makes its way to DVD with a limited run elsewhere. After witnessing some of the things that DID make their way to the hallowed halls of the cineplex, it makes... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mark Turner

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