You won't be disappointed!

Good concept, poorly executed.

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The Alphabet Killer is based very, very loosely on a real story. But screenwriter Tom Malloy pretty much made this story entirely his own. The basic facts of the case are that there once was a killer whose victims were young girls whose first and last names started with the same letter. And that killer dumped the bodies in towns with names beginning with that same letter. For example this film's first victim is Carla Castillo, found in Churchville. Where does this movie want to go from there? Well, it turns out not to really be about the killer but about the young detective investigating the crime, Megan Paige. Eliza Dushku plays the role and the movie was always going to sink or swim on her performance. Dushku just about manages to keep the film afloat.The film veers toward the supernatural and/or psychological as Megan Paige begins to be haunted by visions. Is she really seeing things or just losing her mind? She ends up having a nervous breakdown and losing her position as a detective, demoted to a desk job. But when the bodies of more young girls turn up, following the alphabet pattern Megan had obsessed on, she's back on the case. Her new partner, played by screenwriter Malloy himself, is understandably wary. Eventually the two bond and make some progress in the case. But the killer remains elusive and Megan will not let the case go. Her frustrations manifest themselves in more of these visions or hallucinations or whatever they are. Megan is losing it again and it's a race against time to solve the case before she goes completely crazy. And of course before the killer strikes again.All in all it is pretty familiar serial killer stuff like we've seen in so many other films. The focus on an investigator who happens to be losing her mind is a bit of a different angle. But ultimately things play out pretty much as you would expect from the genre. Dushku performs a challenging role reasonably well. The supporting cast, including some familiar faces such as Cary Elwes and Timothy Hutton, is fine as well. But the film never threatens to make the leap from being decent to being really good. The story starts with promise but once it settles into its rhythm there is the sense that initial promise is not being paid off. The story kind of lags, things are a little mundane. They try to spice things up a bit by throwing in those haunting, sometimes scary visions of Megan's. But that gets a little repetitive and loses its impact. You know the film is going to go for a big reveal at the end but when it does the effort falls somewhat flat. The ending is actually rather predictable, not nearly as thrilling as it needs to be for the film to really excite you. Ultimately The Alphabet Killer is a decent little movie but that is about the best that can be said. Not a terrible way to spend 100 minutes but far from spectacular.

I'm not only into horrors I'm also a collector concerning serial killers. Books have never failed but most of the movies are a deep disappointment. So far I have seen a few flicks that I would recommend if you are into serial killers. Try to find To Catch A Killer. It's the best version about a serial killer I have seen so far. Brian Dennehy gives a perfect performance playing Gacy. No fictional facts in that flick. But it is a extreme hard one to find and if you do, expect to pay more than 100$!! But I am supposed to tell about The Alphabet Killer. The Alphabet Killer is a 2008 thriller-horror film, loosely based on the Alphabet murders that took place in Rochester, New York between 1971 and 1973. Eliza Dushku stars as the main character, alongside Cary Elwes, Michael Ironside, Bill Moseley and Timothy Hutton. The film is directed by Rob Schmidt, director of Wrong Turn, and written by Tom Malloy, who also acted in a supporting role. All promising but don't count on that. The story is based on the role of Eliza Dushku, the police officer involved in the search for the killer (fictional), but can't find him so she's loosing her mind and tries to kill herself. Nothing of this happened in the real story. The storyline takes place nowadays while the killings happened in the seventies. The only correct things are the facts that he killed 3 girls, and takes place in Rochester N.Y. and the case is up to today unsolved. Another teaser are the actors involved. Bill Moseley, good actor but is only maybe 2 minutes in the movie. Michael Ironside, also maybe 10 minutes in it. So forget that. There are no killings shown, no blood, no gore, only what is happening with the officer concerning the research for the killer. It's sad that a movie is sold with the headline "based on a true story" and gives us names that aren't really a long time in the movie. Luckily I found it on Blu Ray for 2 euro's. If you really are into the story than I can give you this, Between 1971 and 1973, three young girls, ages ten to eleven, were found sexually assaulted and slain near Rochester, New York. The girls all had double initials for their first and last names and were found dead in suburbs with names in which the first letter co-ordinated with the girls' initials. Two prime suspects later committed suicide. A third suspect, Kenneth Bianchi, went to California where he went on to become one of the infamous Hillside Stranglers, but to this day he insists he had nothing to do with the so-called Double Initial, or Alphabet, murders. The crimes remain unsolved...

A thrilling crime drama full of intrigue and anxiety. Megan Paige(Eliza Dushku)is a Rochester, NY detective with a devotion for her work that borders obsession. She gets deeply involved with the case of a ten year old girl that is brutally raped and murdered. Megan works herself into a frenzy and when she begins seeing visions and talking to herself she is taken off the case. She suffers a total nervous breakdown and is institutionalized for two years. She returns to work as a records clerk. Her ex-boyfriend(Cary Elwes)has been promoted to head of the department and wants to keep a safe distance from her. When another young girl is abducted, raped and murdered Megan finds a connection that no one else immediately sees. This new case is off limits to desk jockey Paige and she slowly begins suffering a relapse and the only one that seems to understand her situation is a friend from her time at the psychiatric hospital(Timothy Hutton). Paranoid schizophrenia gets in the way of Megan's new work as an adviser in what has become a hunt for a serial killer. Director Rob Schmidt is able to present the grim story in a convincing fashion. The atmosphere is dark and cold and frazzles the viewers nerves...and that is a good thing. Dushku is fantastic in the role. Others in the cast: Michael Ironside, Tom Noonan, Carl Lumbly and Tom Malloy.

This film is a true story and it is not a flashy film which tries to make money by the sufferings of these poor young girls. I cannot stress how much I loathe these paedophiles and rapists. I am a 20 year old guy and if I had any superpowers, I would kill every one of them. If you have read my other reviews, you will know that sometimes I feel very strongly about some issue and burst out like that. I am sorry if that makes you uncomfortable, its just who I am. I was browsing through my friend's DVD collection when I came across this and the cover was very interesting. So, I brought it over a couple of days back to see and the movie was very heart-breaking.A 10-year-old girl, Carla Castillo is found brutally murdered outside the small city of Rochester, New York, and obsessed police detective Megan Paige (Eliza Dushku) suffers a mental breakdown while trying to solve the crime. Megan is diagnosed with adult onset of paranoid schizophrenia and her fianceé breaks of the engagement. The police department is letting the case go into cold storage as there are no leads and the murder seemed to be a dead end. But Megan is convinced that there is a serial killer who goes after children with the same initials. When the child-killings resume two years later, Megan's return to the investigation also brings back her own horrific hallucinations. The only friend she has through all her ordeal is the wheelchair bound Richard Ledge (Timothy Hutton). Even if she can prove a double initial connection to the slayings, will she hang onto her sanity long enough to catch the paedophile psychopath? The director of 'Wrong Turn', Rob Scmidt directs 'The Alphabet Killer'. He is one director who looks very promising. He directs this film with a real reverence to the true events. Eliza Dushku gives her best here as the woman who can see the ghosts of the dead girls. The whole story revolves around her perspective of these killings and sometimes it is very confusing. Is she really schizophrenic or does she actually see those ghosts? Whatever the case maybe, those little girls really suffered from that psycho killer. I really hope that killer is brought to justice soon. The way those little girls are lured into the killer's car is very real. Many of the times, the killer will be a person who you trust. This sick guy doesn't need therapy, he deserves to die for his sins. The ending is chilling with the killer eyeing his next victim. Kenneth Shine, Tom Malloy and Timothy Hutton all give credible performances. This film can be quite traumatizing to below 16 year olds, so the R-rating is definitely deserved (there is also one scene where the beautiful Eliza gets naked, and there is also language and moderate violence, so beware).7/10