The Alphabet Killer (2008)

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

What potentially was a good story line which i can only assume is loosely based on true events was absolutely annihilated by the god awful acting of the lead actress. What the director was thinking when he thought of making her go crazy i'll never know.Thank god that is over!!Please don't waste your time on this

The story begins with a rape and murder of a a 10 year old kid, a girl has assigned to solve the case, but then she started to hallucinate things and got obsessed in the case. she thought it was because of the initials of the girl that starts with 2 "C"s and the town she was killed that has that same initial so they called it alphabet killer, but after her disease the put it in therapy there she found a guy that had a problem as well and they became friends, she told him the story and he believed it. After some days another murder happened, so like the other that was by the initials and so on,At last you will find out the killer was that guy, after hearing her story, he just did what she said, and the first murder was just accidentally with those initials. Nice and catchy movie, although you may don't like the end but it was from a true story it seems.

This crime thriller centers on a detective named Megan (Eliza Dushku) who investigates a series of child murders in upstate New York. But Megan suffers from a mental illness, the symptoms of which get worse as she delves deeper into the killings. She hears strange voices and sees "visions" related to the victims.With low light levels and muted colors, combined with creepy background music, the film's first half creates an effective thriller atmosphere. We see the outline of the killer, but never the face. Will Megan solve the murders and overcome her illness, or will the inept police supersede, to botch the case? As viewers, we root for Megan to succeed.Although the script idea originates from a real-life murder case, referred to generally as the "double initial" serial killings, which terrorized upstate New York in the early 1970s, the film's overall plot and main characters are fictional. The story setting is the present, not the 1970s. The scriptwriter created the Megan character out of thin air. And the story's outcome deviates considerably from the outcome of the real-life case. The film's writer wrote a fictional plot, based on a real-life premise. The film's second half fails to convince, largely because of its clichéd plot contrivances.Visuals consist of an annoying widescreen projection and some hokey CGI effects, in the form of "ghosts". But the low lighting contributes tension, as does some clever low-angle camera shots. And the director relies mostly on a hand-held camera, which enhances realism. Overall casting and acting are fine."The Alphabet Killer" gets off to a great start. But it falters in the second half, owing to fictional plot points that dilute the underlying real-life premise. I would have preferred a narrative that followed the true story, though I understand that the reason for not doing so was budget constraints. By lowering one's expectations, the viewer may find the film worthwhile, either as a fictional thriller or as a character study of a woman fighting her own demons.

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).