Synopsis
Based on a true story.
Based on the true story of double killings occurring in Rochester, NY during the 80’s and the troubled police officer determined to solve them, with or without the help of her department
2008 Directed by Rob Schmidt
Based on the true story of double killings occurring in Rochester, NY during the 80’s and the troubled police officer determined to solve them, with or without the help of her department
Abecadło mordercy, O Assassino do Alfabeto, Ábécé-gyilkos, 字母杀手, El Asesino del Alfabeto, Alfabe Katili, Alphabet Killer, Алфавитный убийца, Az ábécés gyilkos, Vraždy podle abecedy, רוצח האלף-בית, Азбучният убиец, 알파벳 킬러, Žmogžudystės pagal abėcėlę, Abecedni ubojica
My wife really does make me watch some right old shit. I should have known better when Eliza Dushku was the first name to come up on the screen. Don't get me wrong I like Buffy's replacement, but on the acting front she's hardly going to trouble Cate Blanchett for any starring roles.
This is called The Alphabet Killer, but a more fitting title would be The Alphabetti Spaghetti Killer, as this is just a mess from the opening minute.
The Alphabet Killer is apparently loosely based on 3 murders back in the early seventies. Three girls were raped, strangled and left displayed in plain view. Each girl's first and last names started with the same letter and then they…
Good morning and welcome fellow Children of Chaos.
So I am going to get this off my chest right off the back. Why did Eliza Dushku do a topless scene here. I mean, I am a hetrosexual male and if I am complaining about an attractive woman's boobs you know they are REALLY out of place.
And man is her topless scene pointless. Like she is changing in front of a doctor and with no effort they could have hidden it. It's just very gratuitous in a movie that is very restrained all things considered.
This is another movie I am very torn on. See it is based on the Alphabet Murders in Rochester NY where 3 kids (11, 11,…
Schmidt greift in "Alphabet Killer" wahre Verbrechen auf und verarbeitet sie zu einem packenden Serienkiller-Film. Dennoch bezieht der Film die Spannung nicht nur aus der Jagd nach dem Killer oder der Enträtselung der Zusammenhänge (Initialen), sondern auch durch die filmische Umsetzung der Erkrankung der ermittelnden Polizistin. Bei der wird nämlich eine Schizophrenie diagnostiziert, deren Ursache wiederum in ihrer Arbeit vermutet werden kann. Glaubwürdig wird die übersteigerte Sensibilität, anhaltender Stress und die belastende Suche nach dem Verbrecher als Nährboden für die Erkrankung geliefert. Die unweigerlich folgenden Halluzinationen und der ständig wachsende Verfolgungswahn sind anschaulich inszeniert und verstehen es, mit der Wahrnehmung der Protagonistin, überraschenderweise aber nicht mit ihrer Glaubwürdigkeit, zu spielen.
Sluggish pacing and dull acting from most, aside from Tom Malloy and the lead actress who do fine.
Nice to see another film shot locally here in Rochester, although the subject matter is quite grisly!
While this didn't exactly feel exploitative of the real life murders, it didn't feel realistic at all. A victim's cell phone comes into play about ⅓ through the movie. Flip phones were not a thing in the 80s. Without knowing much about the real story I could tell this wasn't considering itself a retelling of what happened. I don't necessarily have an issue with retelling of people's lives or tragic events veering from realism. Blonde and Spencer are recent examples of this.
To be honest,…
The third act isn't the greatest and it goes crazy, but Alphabet Killer is a pretty decent little mystery thriller that does keep it interesting thanks to the direction, Eliza Dushku's performance and the supporting cast members does very good.
Grade: Stream It
With each passing day I get more depressed about all the garbage Tom Noonan is forced to appear in. I'm fine with Cary Elwes toiling in the pit of despair - it's what he was put on this earth to do - but man... I think Noonan might rival even Brad Dourif in terms of "talent vs quality of material". At least Brad got paid to chase elves around in Lord Of The Rings or whatever the fuck those movies were about
I do love true crime and I also love serial killers. Wait scratch that, I love stories about true crime and serial killers. That is better. This movie has been beaten up pretty hard on here and I don’t understand why. The acting was convincing and Eliza Dushku did a great job in her role. She was a bad ass and I would treat her like I treat the Wu-Tang Clan and that is she ain’t nothing to fuck with. The reveal of the killer could have been better but I was into the story that I didn’t even let that bother me. I can watch this again.
I'm fairly certain everyone has an idealized image a truly terrible movie to give all other films' awfulness or greatness a point of reference. For me, it used to be, "Welp, at least I didn't just watch a morbidly obese man work his way down a line of homeless people, methodically squatting and defecating on each of their chests while strangling kittens to death, scored to monotonous Gregorian chants, and periodically interrupted by random bible-verse intertitles for an hour and a half."
Now, I can say, "At least I didn't just watch The Alphabet Killer again."
Even though I was laughing hysterically during many scenes, this is not a 'so bad it's good' film. If anything, I feel immensely sorry…