The Alphabet Killer Blu-ray offers solid video and mediocre audio in this mediocre Blu-ray release
A crime scene photographer and a police detective engage the help of a college professor for
leads on a child killer who picks his victims according to the initials in their name. Based on the
true unsolved crimes in Rochester, New York in the 1970's
Another in an ever-growing line of movies with a decent cast but a poor script, The Alphabet
Killer is a forgettable Police Procedural albeit with something of a supernatural twist, but it
makes for a wholly
unremarkable
experience nevertheless. The film seems to pride itself on what seems superficially to be a deep,
contemplative mystery with almost otherworldly elements but a plot that nevertheless remains
grounded in reality throughout. Here, visions, voices, and hunches based on both speculation
and random bouts of psychotic visions and visitations are met with disdain rather than open
arms; in that way, The Alphabet Killer seems to want to take the approach opposite
many other paranormal Murder-Mystery films by dismissing the very thing that may ultimately
lead to the capture or killing of the villain. In that light, The Alphabet Killer is something
of a novelty, but
it's ultimately destroyed by a terribly predictable plot and story lines that make the police force
and everyone around the case seem like the Keystone Kops; once clues are revealed, it seems
both incomprehensible and reprehensible that nobody surrounding the case -- in the law or
amongst the civilian ranks -- could put together a few obvious coincidences that easily brought
the case together.
'A cop on the edge, a killer on the loose...'
Dubbed "The Alphabet Killer" by the media, an individual has taken a liking to kidnapping young
girls that share in common the same letter of their first and last initials. On the case are
Detectives Megan Paige (Eliza Dushku) and her fiancé Kenneth Shine (Cary Elwes), the former of
which becomes witness to random visions and hallucinations, ultimately leading her off the case
and into the hospital after a failed suicide attempt. Two years later, with the killer still on the
loose, Megan is in rehabilitation and her relationship with Kenneth has been reduced to a cursory
professional level. Megan re-joins the police force in a lessened capacity, but when the killer
strikes
again, she teams up with Detective Steven Harper (Tom Malloy), though she's told to keep her
distance and work in but a supporting role. Nevertheless, Megan's personal attachment to the
case leads her to once again obsess over it; her visions and unstable physical, mental, and
emotional state seem constantly at odds with her ability to carry out her work and once again
earn the trust of her peers. It's up to Megan, in the face of a police force that considers the case
closed, to piece together the clues, find the common threads that tie the victims together, and
reveal the identity of the killer before he can strike again.
The Alphabet Killer is so bland and by-the-numbers in every scene that it's hard to
dissect because there's so very little here worthy of attention. It's a paper-thin movie with
decent production values and solid but unremarkable acting; nobody in the cast plays their part
poorly, but no performance jumps out as even the slightest bit better than ordinary, either.
Dushku, Elwes, Hutton, Moseley, and Ironside make for a cast sheet that reads impressively, but
every actor -- even the ever-dependable Michael Ironside -- is practically invisible here, not
because they disappear into their roles but because they do little more than give a base effort in
every frame. For this sort of movie, however, that level of performance is both acceptable and
expected. Structurally, the film follows the three-act arc to perfection; there's the set-up, the
lead character's fall from grace, and her difficult period of redemption where she pieces together
clues nobody else can. The film is terribly formulaic and therefore predictable; there's no element
of surprise around any corner, and the film's climax is even built around a stale chase scene that
could have been plucked from any other number of similarly-themed pictures. It all adds up to a
movie that's doomed to invisibility, a picture that's the very definition of everything that's
disappointing -- but in no way overtly bad -- about copy-and-paste, by-the-book moviemaking.
The Alphabet Killer debuts on Blu-ray with a slightly-above-average 1080p, 2.35:1-framed
transfer. The film's most noticeable visual trait comes from its ever-shifting tone; from cold and
lifeless to warm and inviting, the image fluctuates from one sequence to the next, but this Starz
Blu-ray is up to the challenge, generally reproducing the film's haphazard visual style with ease.
Fine detail and object texture in every spectrum impresses; whether large smooth stones along old
railroad tracks or a woven scarf, the transfer renders many lifeless objects with ease. Still, the film
takes on something of a flat and plastic appearance. Close-ups of characters in particular appear
waxy and devoid of the finest of nuances associated with the highest-quality Blu-ray transfers.
Black levels are never overtly problematic, but flesh tones fluctuate depending on whatever visual
scheme the film employs from sequence to sequence. Additionally, the transfer exhibits the
occasional white speckle, and background noise is minimally visible. Certainly not a disappointing
transfer by any means, The Alphabet Killer's Blu-ray presentation is simply unremarkable,
much like the film itself.
This Blu-ray release of The Alphabet Killer sports a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack; no lossless
or uncompressed options are available. This track has no reservations about placing sounds all over
the soundstage; there's plenty of side- and back-channel activity, but the problem is that it lacks
depth, a true sense of space, and plays as somewhat undefined and unbalanced. A few effects do
impress, particularly those that accompany Megan's visions/hallucinations. The film's musical
presentation is fairly underwhelming and not particularly loud, even at reference volume. It often
plays more as background filler than a front-and-center supporting element. Occasionally, the track
is accompanied by a subtle but welcome jolt from the low end, but gunshots pop out with more of a
whimper than a bang; particularly disappointing is the film's anticlimactic and wholly generic chase
scene with the obligatory gunfire, but the track does nothing to heighten the scene from a sonic
perspective. Dialogue is discernible in every scene but not particularly engaging or seamlessly
realistic. All told, The Alphabet Killer offers a rather ho-hum sound design, and the lossy
Blu-ray soundtrack is no different.
In the end, The Alphabet Killer just sort of is, a movie that's not at all noteworthy or
memorable, a film that puts forth a decent idea and fair amount of effort but little more. It's
hindered not
necessarily from subpar acting or production values but instead a general plot incompetence that's
borderline
insulting, and the film's killer is one that viewers even the least bit astute in how these sorts of
films pan out can
identify the moment the character first appears on-screen. This decent but unremarkable film has,
appropriately, been provided a decent but unremarkable Blu-ray release. Sporting solid video
quality, a bland lossless soundtrack, no extras, and a bargain price, fans and collection-padders will
want to pick this one up, but others are advised to rent if not skip altogether.
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