The Alphabet Killer Has Both a Sequel Hook and Eliza Dushku Topless

Details

The Alphabet Killer
Directed by Rob Schmidt
Anchor Bay Entertainment
Opens December 12, Cinema Village

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More About

• Eliza Dushku
• Tom Noonan
• Rob Schmidt
• Michael Ironside
• Cary Elwes

Any number of TV shows in recent years have depicted an out-of-the-ordinary investigator who either talks to ghosts, sees what the killer sees, or believes what no one else will. Eliza Dushku, veteran of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Tru Calling, is perhaps the perfect choice to tweak this formula a tad, as a detective who does indeed see dead people . . . because she's schizophrenic. A mixed blessing, that, as it makes her obsessive enough to figure things out, but also subjects her to visions of scary zombified victims that really aren't as helpful as they could be. The mystery itself, allegedly based on a true story, is fairly rote: Someone is killing little girls with alliterative initials, and the perpetrator will presumably turn out to be one of the principal cast members. But when that roster includes the likes of Michael Ironside, Tom Noonan, Cary Elwes (massacring a Noo Yawk accent), and Bill Moseley, it makes the guessing game a little tougher and the story a lot more entertaining. Wrong Turn director Rob Schmidt ably goes through the motions, though the hook for a sequel at the end is truly annoying. Still, The Alphabet Killer may well make enough money to justify a Part II, as it features a split-second shot of Dushku topless, guaranteeing hefty rental revenues from the Buffy-ites.