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33 out of 45 people found the following review useful: Some good effort but not much of a story., 23 December 2008 Author: alven75
Eliza Dushku is the one who delivers in this fairly predictable serial killer story, reminiscent of such films as "Gothika" and "Jennifer Eight". There are also a lot of serial killer movie alumni populating the lesser roles of this film, like Bill Moseley, Timothy Hutton, Tom Noonan and Cary Elwes. They don't really matter though, because it's all about Dushku's character Megan Paige and her late onset schizophrenia which makes it very difficult for her to crack the case of the Alphabet killer, as well as keep the confidence of her fellow police officers. Movies that focus on characters with mental disorders are often interesting and unpredictable, like Polanski's "Repulsion" or Fincher's "Fight Club" because it makes the audience unsure what's reality in the movie and what's just playing out inside the mind of the main character. Unfortunately this isn't one of those movies. Instead of trying to make the audience share in Megan's delusions, they are clearly separated and labeled to avoid any confusion, or excitement for that matter. Instead we are made to watch her from the outside and see her struggling to connect with her colleagues and convince them that she's completely sane despite her textbook "crazy person" behavior. Like I said, Dushku delivers a solid performance as a distraught, emotionally unstable and sometimes delusional police woman. It's just hard to get invested in her character because of the boring predictable story she slowly fights her way through. There is not a single supporting character that comes off as more than some kind of one-dimensional stereotype. There's the honest cop, the crooked cop, the former lover, the one true friend, the calm doctor, the obvious suspect, the creepy priest and eventually, for a brief time at the end, the killer... non of them with any significant character development or depth. This movie isn't painful to watch and it's not poorly made, it just suffers from lack of imagination on the directors part and some sloppy writing. See it, don't see it... doesn't really matter.
15 out of 16 people found the following review useful: Fairly creepy, with an interesting story, 6 February 2009 Author: VelvetTipper from United Kingdom
I like films about killers, especially those with an interesting little story or something that makes them a bit different. The Alphabet Killer doesn't disappoint in this respect. I'll admit, the start was pretty poor, I felt it was quite disjointed and it seemed as though a lot of scenes that should have been there to develop the plot were on the cutting-room floor. However, once we get into the middle and latter stages of the film, we definitely see a marked improvement.I think Eliza Dushku played her role well in this, and I felt the slant of Megan's mental illness playing such a large part in the story made her character more believable, and added interest to the film.Overall, this was a nicely put together film. It had little gore or anything really adult-themed, so if that's what you're after this isn't for you. If you want a killer movie portrayed more through the eyes of the main detective than is usual, you might like this. Yeah, you'll probably suss it out, but that's half the fun.
39 out of 67 people found the following review useful: Painful, 29 December 2008 Author: bacon_bit19 from Canada
Saw the rating of 6/10 on here and decided to give this a try. Bad mistake!I thought this was the worst serial killer movie I have ever seen. You know it's a bad sign when the serial killer seems more sane than the lead character.The lead character was not very bright nor likable, and I spent most of the movie hoping for her demise.Just because it's loosely based off a real life event does not mean it should become a movie.I would NOT recommend this movie at all.
13 out of 18 people found the following review useful: Predictable, not Schmidt's Best Work, 11 January 2009 Author: Gavin Schmitt (gavin6942@yahoo.com) from Kaukauna, Wisconsin
Detective Megan Paige (Eliza Dushku) is tracking down a serial killer who finds girls with twin initials and dumps them in a city with the same beginning letter (such as Kelly Kapowski in Kingston). But when she gets too attached to the case, she suffers a mental breakdown. When the killings continue, can she overcome her problems to stop him from striking again? I thought the film would be a pretty decent one... the concept was interesting, even if the movie strays quite a bit from the real events this was based on. And the cast is impressive. Dushku is pretty amazing, Cary Elwes is one of my all-time favorite actors, Timothy Hutton is here, Michael Ironside, and genre fave Bill Moseley. So you can't beat this ensemble cast.But sadly, it just didn't add up for me. It was predictable (even the "twist" seemed obvious from early on) and not as engaging as one might think. It wasn't even as good as another recent murder / detective story I reviewed, "Anamorph" (which was itself not all that amazing). I've been a fan of Rob Schmidt's work, especially "Right to Die" and thought he'd be a good person to bring a dark angle to this story. Sadly, not so much... clichés such as a child-obsessed priest appear, and some (presumably imaginary) ghosts that don't really add to the film.I wouldn't say not to watch this one, but it wasn't gripping. There isn't one thing I can pinpoint as making this film stand out -- not the music, the lighting, the effects... it was all pretty standard. It almost would have been more fitting for a Lifetime movie. As far as serial killers go, this one comes off as remarkably tame. If you want your psyche thrilled, look somewhere else.
4 out of 4 people found the following review useful: Predictable fare; but, well acted, 1 November 2009 Author: catfish-er from Orlando, Florida
I watched THE ALPHABET KILLER on Showtime last night. It is based on a true-life serial killer case in Rochester, New York. However, I'm not sure if the true events that inspired this thriller included a dogged homicide investigator who pursues a child murderer, despite suffering from schizophrenia. It's an interesting take, though.Eliza Dushku, does an incredible job playing Megan Paige, the detective, whose condition makes her believe she can see the spirits of the victims. I found her character very sympathetic; and, quite believable.Unfortunately, the movie was a bit predictable (even the "twist" seemed obvious to me).
13 out of 22 people found the following review useful: There's a Hole in Your Talent...Dear Eliza, Dear Eliza, 5 January 2009 Author: frankenbenz from Sydney, Australia
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
http://eattheblinds.blogspot.com/If you ever cross paths with Rob Schmidt or Tom Molloy, the director and screenwriter of The Alphabet Killer, then take the opportunity to insult their intelligence, the way they did yours for claiming their movie, The Alphabet Killer, is based on a true story. This movie is so loosely based on the real Alphabet Killings, it needs both a belt AND suspenders to keep it from falling down to its ankles. Artistic license is one thing, but these two go off on such amateurish tangents, you'd swear they were first year film students desperate to impress their teachers and peers with their cleverness. Problem is, there's nothing clever about AK and if these two had any talent, it should have been the ability recognize the source material didn't need embellishment. As it is, Schmidt and Molloy's treatment is so ridiculous, all it needed to complete its film student predictability was a scene with the protagonist lying naked on the floor, in the fetal position, after suffering a mental breakdown. Oh but wait, she slashes her wrists instead! What a novel substitute.Eliza Dushku acts her little heart out and the harder she tries, the more embarrassed you feel for her and her complete and utter lack of talent. Dusku may be eye candy, but her inability to act natural is such a distraction it even seems the other actors are staring back at her with pity. And there actually are a few talented actors in this film, but they're working with such poorly written material and are horribly misguided by Schmidt's inept, blunt-force direction. Did Timothy Hutton burn every bridge known to actors to be left with no other option but to accept a job on this shameless piece of on-the-nose garbage? Avoid at all costs. Shutoff time: 32:14.
3 out of 3 people found the following review useful: great class b movie, 17 October 2009 Author: lord woodburry (deanofrpps@aol.com) from The Society NY
i was astounded at the rash of negative comments. in my view this was a great class b movie. while it might not rank with the Cagney genre of gangster movies, for a crime drama, it catches the angst a decent detective trying to find the logic in the irrational might feel.meet Lt. Megan Paige (Eliza Dushku). she's the detective with the brain. why she asks herself would a deranged killer murder a little girl with the initials cc in Christs Church? The percentage of the population with identical initials is small. What is the perverted logic behind the irrational act? She pours into the case but can find no answers. As she is steadily driving herself crazy with trying to second guess the irrational mind, her finance Capt. Kenneth Shine (Cary Elwes) orders her off the case. Hr attempt at suicide lands her in the funny farm where in group she discusses her overreaching toward a solution.Zoom ahead to her discharge. A benevolent ex-fiancé restores her to uniform in the records department, but with a recurrence of the alphabet murders she is allowed to tag along with the investigating detective through a series of dead ends until a nearby small town force pins the incident on a hostage taker shot in the act.Can former LT Megan Paige retain her sanity long enough to find the killer? See the movie.The cast is not composed of world class actors but the acting is credible.
2 out of 2 people found the following review useful: Reverse Order, 26 December 2009 Author: tedg (tedg@FilmsFolded.com) from Virginia Beach
Pretty good portrayal. Slow but effective. The horror of knowing something imposing and being unable to communicate it must be the deepest pain, deeper than dental nerves, than bones. This moves slowly, and it is a bit too obvious in the showing of the victim's ghosts. But there is a certain beauty in working with an insane narrator — especially if you know that the actress here commissioned the thing for herself. The story here is of three deceptions. The first is the ordinary detective form: a murderer kills innocent girls and is intent on obfuscating the narrative. This is always present. We have a second baffle; the local police kill an innocent fellow and frame him for the murders simply because they need to make progress. This is an American story, this justice. It appears less frequently in detective films as a genuine blind instead of a simple obstacle. But here it is a full on crime. But there is a third element, a third deception at work: the narrator/ detective is schizophrenic. She makes the normal number (using the Poirot metric) of mistakes. We have several suspects, including the insider cop/lover. She ends up fooling her listeners: us and her police peers, into believing that she did not solved the case.The end is satisfying, and is worth the grind if you have the time to invest. These things rarely end competently, and this one does.Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.
2 out of 3 people found the following review useful: The frustrating part, the part that drives you crazy, is that the people you really want to talk to are dead., 13 September 2009 Author: lastliberal from Florida
There is not a lot that is original here. After all, the Alphabet killer first made his appearance in 1966 in London, and was sought by none other than Hercule Poirot. This is an up to date version, based loosely on a real killer in America, and with currently hot stars.Rob Schmidt, who directed Wrong Turn, is at the helm, and he brought along Eliza Dushku from that film (also "Tru Calling", "Buffy the Vampire Slayer").The rest of the cast is very familiar: Cary Elwes (Saw), Oscar winner Timothy Hutton (Ordinary People), Oscar nominee Melissa Leo (Frozen River), and Bill Moseley (Halloween, The Devil's Rejects, Grindhouse).Dushku is a police Lieutenant who has visions and attempts suicide in pursuit of a killer.The movie was fairly interesting because of the actors, but it was ultimately just another police procedural with nothing special to set it apart from and episode of the Ghost Whisperer.
A "White Cat's" tail, 27 September 2009 Author: sol1218 from brooklyn NY
***SPOILERS*** Besides seeing actress Eliza Dushku as Rochester police Let. Megan Paige go topless which she always said she'll never do in films, as she's changing into her street clothes, for the very first time there's also the fact that the movie "Alphabet Killer" was photographed in and around beautiful downtown Rochester NY the "Photo Capital" of the world.As the title says the movie has to do with this mysterious killer who murders young girls in and around Rochester with identical first and last name initials. To make things even more bizarre he also dumps their bodies in towns in and around the Rochester city limits with the same initials as the girls whom he murdered! Let. Megan Paige who had suffered a mental breakdown in trying to solve the case of the killer's first victim Carla Castillo, Bailey Garno, has been reinstated back into the Rochester PD only as an adviser and is suddenly confronted with the same kind of case that put her in the hospital. That after out of sheer frustration in not being able to solve the Castillo murder case Megan tried to kill herself over it!Local Rochester girl Wendy Walsh's, Kristina Jewell, strangled body is found in far off, some 30 miles away, Webster NY under the very same conditions that Carla's was found two years earlier. This sets off a serious shock in Megan's brain that soon lands her back into the hospital and on high doses of of anti depression and anti psychotic medication. A deeply troubled and hopped up on mediation Megan breaks out of the hospital against the sound advice of her kind and caring physician Dr.Ellis Parks, Carl Lumbly, who in fact did very little to stop her. On the run from the police and men in the white suites and butterfly nets Megan ends up in the home of fellow psychiatric patient, and very good friend, crippled Richard Ledge played with the utmost of feeling and sensitivity, towards Megan, by actor Timothy Hutton.***SPOILERS**** It's at Richard's place that Megan gets her head together as well as comes to the conclusion to who this mysterious Alphabet Killer really is! With Richard providing the clues Magen now knows that the killer was actually murdering the girls as a favor to Magen in making it look like her strange alphabet theory is correct! It was his strange way of curing Megan of her severe psychosis by showing her both boss and lover Capt. Kenneth Shine, Gary Elwes, that she was perfectly normal! It was also a way of him being able to get into the sexy Megan's pants which seemed to be the main reason for his insane and murderous actions!P.S Of course the contrived conclusion to the Alphebeth Killer's true identity and motives is pure speculation on the movie's part. Since the killer was never found now some 35 years after he made his grand appearance he may well be dead and buried for all we know.
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