The Alphabet Killer (2008)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Unknown H

  
  Predictable and boring, this movie was stuck somewhere between a horror film and a crime thriller. Even though it may have been loosely based around true life events, as always I think Schmidt's poetic authority as director fabricated the more silly elements of what could have… More
  Predictable and boring, this movie was stuck somewhere between a horror film and a crime thriller. Even though it may have been loosely based around true life events, as always I think Schmidt's poetic authority as director fabricated the more silly elements of what could have been a really good story. I knew who the killer was the second time I saw him and without the risk of spoiling a plot that a toddler could unravel, the attempts made at hiding the killer are mediocre. Disappointing.

• Melvin W

  
  Megan Paige: Mostly the job is to ask questions. The frustrating part, the part that drives you crazy, is that the people you really want to talk to are dead.  This is how bad this movie is. No when I'm about to go to the bathroom I say, "I'm going to go take an… More
  Megan Paige: Mostly the job is to ask questions. The frustrating part, the part that drives you crazy, is that the people you really want to talk to are dead.  This is how bad this movie is. No when I'm about to go to the bathroom I say, "I'm going to go take an Alphabet Killer." This movie is horrible. I couldn't believe some of the stuff I was watching. I've seen some really bad serial killer movies, but this is probably the worst. It takes itself seriously and shows these horrible hallucinations of ghosts that is so cheap and bad looking. The lead character is horribly written and isn't believable at all.  The lead character is Megan Paige played by Eliza Dushku. She gives a horrible, horrible performance and is laughable in everything she does. Everything from how she stares at the pictures of the crimes, cries, talks and tries to get the audience to take her seriously. She's a pretty horrible casting decision. Now I know this is a direct to DVD movie and it isn't going to be great, but come on. If you can't even make a movie that can't even just be considered bad; don't make a movie. The movie is deplorable and should not be viewed by anyone. It's one of the very few movies I've seen that I see as a complete waste of my time. Most movies, be it good or bad, I can take something that I liked away from it. This movie has nothing good about it. There's nothing you can take away from it, except for how bad it is. If you want to watch a movie that will completely stun you, watch this. It's stunningly bad. Synonymous with Shit.

• Nicki M

  
  Quite dull and long feeling. I walked in and out of the room a few times while it was on and had still picked the killer halfway through, (or think I had, it is kind of confusing at the end). This looks like a tv movie, (not sure if it actually is), and the acting is nothing to rave… More
  Quite dull and long feeling. I walked in and out of the room a few times while it was on and had still picked the killer halfway through, (or think I had, it is kind of confusing at the end). This looks like a tv movie, (not sure if it actually is), and the acting is nothing to rave over either. Eliza Dushku is not an actress I usually mind, (I have liked a lot of her tv series), but she is very flat here. Maybe just a bad script, I don't know, but anyhow, could not recommend anyone waste their time with this. Really it is not even worth the rental, (and usually I can see redeeming features where something is worth watching in a B grade movie, but not this time).

• Bruce B

  
  Pretty good film, about a killer in Rochester New York, It was well planned, and at the end they said in credits they never caught the killer, which confused me because of last 15 minutes of the movie, but it left this movie open for a sequel, not sure that I would go out and buy it,… More
  Pretty good film, about a killer in Rochester New York, It was well planned, and at the end they said in credits they never caught the killer, which confused me because of last 15 minutes of the movie, but it left this movie open for a sequel, not sure that I would go out and buy it, but I would rent it. Its not a horror flick by any means, but more suspense. First film I gave more then four stars that I wouldn't go buy, hummm am I getting to tough.

• Todd S

  
  Way too dull for a movie about a serial killer.

• Deb S

  
  The mystery itself, allegedly based on a true story, surrounding a serial-killing spree that plagued Rochester New York in the early 1970s.Detective Megan Paige (Eliza Dushku) is tracking down a serial killer who murdered and raped a young girl. Throughout the investigation, she has… More
  The mystery itself, allegedly based on a true story, surrounding a serial-killing spree that plagued Rochester New York in the early 1970s.Detective Megan Paige (Eliza Dushku) is tracking down a serial killer who murdered and raped a young girl. Throughout the investigation, she has visions of the ghost of the murdered girl and realizes that the first letters of the girl's first and last name are the same as the first letter of the town where she was murdered. Dushku delivers a solid performance as a distraught, emotionally unstable and sometimes delusional police woman whose mental illness made her character more believable, and added interest to the film. Can former Megan Paige retain her sanity long enough to find the killer? See the movie to find out.

• Sarah P

  
  This felt like a made for tv movie. It lacked anything interesting including good performances.

• Doctor S

  
  Based on the real crimes near Rochester, NY in the early 1970s also known by the clunkier Double-Letter Murders. The criminal was never caught, but this movie takes an interesting tangential direction by supposing that one detective came close. Eliza Dushku is a cop in a precarious… More
  Based on the real crimes near Rochester, NY in the early 1970s also known by the clunkier Double-Letter Murders. The criminal was never caught, but this movie takes an interesting tangential direction by supposing that one detective came close. Eliza Dushku is a cop in a precarious mental state: her obsession with the first murder led to hallucinations and a mental breakdown. Two years later and back on the force, she knows more about the details than anyone so her boss & ex-fiancee reluctantly puts her back on the case when the killer strikes again. Good performances with some atypically sympathetic police officers (don't worry, there is a major a-hole among them) and Dushku's deteriorating condition give this serial killer story some fresh surroundings. Unfortunately the events become rapidly farfetched towards the end, with a very unsatisfying revelation of the killer's identity.

• Chosen 7

  
  Decent suspense flick, good performances by Dushku and Hutton. I need to give it a second more-attentive viewing though.

• Erin C

  
  It kept me guessing throughout. Dushku did a good job in her role.

• Rose G

  
  It was so boring that I had slept through most parts of it. The funny thing is, even if I did, I was still able to tell who the killer was way before the movie ended.

• Leo L

  
  Here is an interesting movie that centralizes on the case of a serial killer who rapes, and then murders young girls. The story plot centralizes on Megan, who once was a detective but soon is given a desk job after surviving a suicide attempt in which she desperately tried to solve… More
  Here is an interesting movie that centralizes on the case of a serial killer who rapes, and then murders young girls. The story plot centralizes on Megan, who once was a detective but soon is given a desk job after surviving a suicide attempt in which she desperately tried to solve the murder case and catch the serial killer. Eliza Dushku, Cary Elwes, and Timothy Hutton stars. Worth seeing!

• d j

  
  I like a movie that keeps me guessing. At first I thought I knew who the killer was, but then said no way it can't be that person. I then again thought that same person was the killer towards the end and again said no way. Turns out I was right all along, but I doubted myself… More
  I like a movie that keeps me guessing. At first I thought I knew who the killer was, but then said no way it can't be that person. I then again thought that same person was the killer towards the end and again said no way. Turns out I was right all along, but I doubted myself which I liked. Good movie.

• Magnus X

  
  "Mostly the job is to ask questions. The frustrating part, the part that drives you crazy, is that the people you really want to talk to, are dead." It's definitely not the average serial killer movie but I liked it. It's a very low key drama about a female police… More
  "Mostly the job is to ask questions. The frustrating part, the part that drives you crazy, is that the people you really want to talk to, are dead." It's definitely not the average serial killer movie but I liked it. It's a very low key drama about a female police officer (Eliza Dushku) and her battle to find a killer and her battle against her own disease. Eliza does a good job in the lead.

• ken j

  
  The Alphabet Killer is based on the true story of a bunch of unsolved child murders that took place in the 70's in Rochsster NY as a police detective played by Eliza Dushku who lets herself get way to close to the case and causes her o lose her job and her sanity in the process… More
  The Alphabet Killer is based on the true story of a bunch of unsolved child murders that took place in the 70's in Rochsster NY as a police detective played by Eliza Dushku who lets herself get way to close to the case and causes her o lose her job and her sanity in the process of trying to find this elusive killer, OK first off this doesnt have much to do with the real life case and its mostly used as a backdrop for this detective and showing her mental collapse trying to capture a killer so just make sure when or if you watch this its very *loose* wth the true story label. overall so so movie not horrible but only good for a one time watch.

• Robert F

  
  Unlike the awesome "Wrong Turn", this Schmidt-Dushku collaboration offers little more than 100 minutes of bland cop drama/J-horror mash-up.

• Lovable M

  
  I liked this movie and I'm usually pretty critical of crime based movies (whether true or fiction, it doesn't matter). The idea for this movie is based on a real killer but everything else is made up, so I'll call it "a truth within fiction". This movie… More
  I liked this movie and I'm usually pretty critical of crime based movies (whether true or fiction, it doesn't matter). The idea for this movie is based on a real killer but everything else is made up, so I'll call it "a truth within fiction". This movie wasn't perfect by any means, but is definitely watchable. Keeps you thinking and wondering if she's really nuts or what. The ending is total crap, I'll admit that. It's cliché, illogical, and kind of silly actually. The film was actually good up til then. I still ended up liking it though.

Read all 17 featured audience ratings