Review of The Alphabet Killer (2008) by Eric C — 04 Jun 2010

Well it's been a while since my last review, but here I am. I'm watching this film and have so far found it to be very good. Some of the plot may be a bit predictable, but with over 100 years worth of ideas thrown toward audiences its very hard to not have some that in any kind of film.

Unfortunately this is loosely based on the real life killings dubbed "The Alphabet Killings" which took place in the 1970's.

Just like in the film three young girls are found raped and killed all with one thing in common, their first and last names start with the same letter and the town in which they were found also has the same letter.

Eliza Dushku comes in fine acting form as the main investigator on the case. She happens upon the case to a point in which she has a breakdown, however, this little mishap doesn't cause anyone to say later on that maybe she shouldn't be on the case, so in retrospect the whole breakdown scene doesn't exactly do much to further the plot. Dushku still does give a fine performance, showing us that she can in fact stray away from her stereotypical "Faith" persona.

There's a good amount of star power here as well, some are there that everyone knows and others only genre fans may know, but all in all some great acting is had. The pacing of the film does drag at times, but after the drag time the film picks back up.

Cary Elwes, becoming known now as an authority figure in his films as of late(Kiss the Girls, Saw, Saw VII)plays the police officer/boyfriend of Dushku's character and the reason she is put back on the case. His character is dealt with good, but he isn't on the screen for very much time, just enough for filler, still good performance. The other performance I dug was that of horror legend Bill Moseley, who is most famous for his outlandishly crazy performances in Texas Chainsaw Massacre II, House of 1,000 Corpses and Devil's Rejects). Here he's a normally lower class looking guy, but still manages to create an eerie presence on screen.

Bad guy actor Michael Ironside kicks ass on screen as he play the Captain of one of the Police Precinct where one of the little girls were found. He's a good guy here, but as usual gives his bad guy performance nicely.

Writer Tom Malloy also has a part as Stephen Harper another officer on the case, he does a fine job, but is left kind of as a background character.

Definitely a film worth a watch, like many it has many highs and many lows, but its entertaining and THAT is what a film is meant to be. 4 out of 5 stars.