Alphabet killer
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Alphabet killer |
| Original title | The alphabet killer |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2008 |
| length | 94 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Rob Schmidt |
| script | Tom Malloy |
| production | Tom Malloy, Isen Robbins , Aimee Schoof , Russell Terlecki |
| music | Eric Perlmutter |
| camera | Joe DeSalvo |
| cut | Frank Reynolds |
| occupation | |
| |
Alphabet Killer (Original title: The Alphabet Killer ) is an American thriller from 2008. Directed by Rob Schmidt , the screenplay was written by Tom Malloy .
action
Megan Paige investigates the Carla Castillo murder. The young girl was kidnapped, raped and killed in the neighboring village of Churchville . There was white cat hair on the body. After several months, the case has not yet been resolved, despite intensive investigations. Megan is certain that the perpetrator is a serial killer, but the Rochester Police Department and her boyfriend Kenneth Shine don't believe her. She becomes increasingly desperate and has hallucinations . Ultimately, she wants to commit suicide and cuts her wrists. Kenneth saves Megan at the last moment, but she is sent for treatment because of her unstable psyche.
Two years later she joined a self-help group led by Richard Ledge, who was in a wheelchair. For the police, she is only allowed to work in administration. But then there is another murder case. Wendy Walsh dies in Webster and there is cat hair on her body. Megan recognizes the parallels to Carla Castillo: again the same initials in the name of the victim and the crime scene. She persuades Kenneth, who is now leading the investigation, to involve her in the case, and is now allowed to accompany Steven Harper.
With her colleague, she interviewed the social worker Carl Tanner, who had relationships with the victims. However, the lead doesn't get them any further because their colleagues in Webster don't cooperate. Then there is a third victim: Melissa Maestro in Macedon . Investigators find some parallels, but not between all three girls.
While Megan is talking to Richard about her mental health problems, the Webster police receive a call from 19-year-old Elizabeth Eckers, who is being held hostage in a house. Megan drives there and enters the house to speak to the perpetrator Len Schaefer. She just managed to calm the situation down when a policeman shoots Schaefer through a window. The police declared Schaefer to be the wanted "alphabet killer" and considered the case to be resolved.
Megan, who continues to suffer from hallucinations, doesn't believe the official account. The hostage was called Beth and did not fit into the alphabetical scheme. The cat hair allegedly found in the house is viewed by Megan as fake evidence the police used to distract from the death of an innocent man. She investigates on her own and learns from the bartender that in the months before her death Carla was not, as assumed, with her separated father, but attended St. Michael's Church in Rochester. The other two murder victims were also regularly active there.
Knowing this, Megan goes to church, where she speaks to the pastor. When she saw the photos of the three girls in an adjoining room, she suffered another mental breakdown and was taken to hospital. Against the will of the doctors, she flees to Richard's apartment. The following night she sees a white cat and a photo album that tells her that Richard worked as a math teacher in St. Michael and was in contact with the victims there. Richard comes up to her and admits that he's the killer.
He suddenly jumps out of the wheelchair and knocks Megan out. He then drives her to the remote bank of the Genesee River . Megan frees herself from her bonds at the last moment. In the fight, she shoots Richard with Richard's pistol, causing him to fall into the river and be driven away. Megan collapses again.
This time she is strongly in hospital sedated and arms fixed . While she lies alone, the ghosts of the dead girls reappear. At the same time you can see Richard receiving communion in the church and looking at a girl. Finally there is the information that in 2006 a firefighter was exhumed and acquitted. The Alphabet Killer has not yet been found.
Production and Background
The film is based on a real-life series of murders that took place in the Rochester area in the US state of New York in the 1970s . Three girls were raped and murdered. The series of murders became known as the "alphabet murders". As in the film, the initials of the victims and the crime scenes matched. Otherwise, Alphabet Killer has only loose connections to the real case. The film was shot in Rochester.
German dubbed version
| actor | German speaker | role |
|---|---|---|
| Eliza Dushku | Eva Michaelis | Megan Paige |
| Cary Elwes | Christian Stark | Kenneth Shine |
| Timothy Hutton | Volker Hanisch | Richard Ledge |
| Tom Malloy | Robert Kotulla | Stephen Harper |
| Michael Ironside | Wolf Frass | Nathan Norcross |
| Bill Moseley | Sascha Draeger | Carl Tanner |
| Carl Lumbly | Erik Schäffler | Dr. Ellis Parks |
| Brian Scannell | Mario Grete | Jay Castillo |
| Tom Noonan | Gerhart Hinze | Ray Gullikson |
criticism
Christian Horn emphasized in his criticism at Screenrush .com that the "focus on Megan and her [n] acoustically and visually designed delusions [t], where [Schmidt] shock and horror moments uses that greatly Asian genre posts brand Ringu remember ". However, the "psychosis seems badly attached" and the "superficial thrill", according to Horn, the "character study - and as such the film is primarily designed - nipped in the bud". Marcus Littwin comes to a more positive conclusion at die-besten-horrorfilme.de. He regards the film as an "impressive and captivating serial killer thriller" that receives "a strong mystery touch" from Megan's visions . "The optics match the film, the tension is constantly maintained and the actors are all great."
Web links
- Official Film Website (English)
- Alphabet Killer in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Alphabet Killer in the online movie database
Individual evidence
- ↑ Certificate of Release for Alphabet Killer . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , February 2009 (PDF; test number: 116 957 DVD).
- ↑ IMDB Filming Locations
- ↑ Alphabet Killer. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing file , accessed on January 1, 2017 .
- ↑ Christian Horn: Critique of FILMSTARTS.de editorial team The Alphabet Killer. filmstarts.de, accessed on June 10, 2016 .
- ↑ Marcus Littwin: Alphabet Killer. (No longer available online.) Die-besten-horrorfilme.de, archived from the original on July 31, 2016 ; accessed on June 10, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
