The Alphabet Killer (DVD)

Everyone's a nut-job in The Alphabet Killer — from the title character himself, to the cop who's chasing him.

Obsessive-compulsive police detective Megan Paige (Eliza Dushku) is no "Monk" — she's the real crime-solving deal. When a 10-year-old girl is found brutally killed and dismissively discarded in a suburban wooded field, it sparks an odyssey of oddity for Megan and her colleague, Capt. Kenneth Shine (Cary Elwes) as they find themselves always a moment behind the alliteration-adoring assassin. Joining the fray is wheelchair-bound Richard Ledge (Timothy Hutton), who ingratiates himself into the life of mixed-up Megan and becomes a part of the investigation whether he likes it or not.

Loosely based on the true (still unsolved) case of the murders of schoolgirls bearing double initial that happened in Rochester, New York between 1971 and 1973, The Alphabet Killer takes great liberties, making it a perfect discount buy or rental for horror fans.

As Megan slips deeper into her madness, the ghosts of the decomposing dead girls follow her everywhere, imploring her to help them. As she reacts and responds to the specters, this (needless to say) affects her work and she's taken off the job.

But that does not stop Megan from searching for the strangler. She begins her own investigation, and meets with the parents and friends of victims Elizabeth Eckers, Wendy Walsh, and Carla Castillo. Her probe leads her into a darkness even she, in the worst throes of her mental illness, could not possibly have anticipated. But the horrific hallucinations open the door to an ultimate, ugly truth.

Directed by Rob Schmidt (Wrong Turn), it's obvious that The Alphabet Killer is a low-budget indie, but fortunately the cream rises to top with excellent acting performances (who knew Dushku had such depth?), a smart script (by one of the actors, Tim Malloy), and sharp, crisp cinematography by Joe DiSalvo. (Perhaps too sharp at times. The hi-def medium is used to merciless effect here. Now I'm not looking for beauty shots in a movie like this, but nor do I need to see every pore in Dusku's face in harsh detail).

The Alphabet Killer features a few fun cameos (Bill Moseley, Martin Donovan, Melissa Leo), but it's mostly Dushku and Hutton's show. There aren't any scenes of the actual murders, making this more a mystery and procedural, but the grisly ghosts aid in giving the horror aspects a leg-up. Well worth a look.

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