The Alphabet Killer

The Alphabet Killer
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Rob Schmidt
Produced by	Tom Malloy Isen Robbins Aimee Schoof Russell Terlecki Daniel Sollinger
Written by	Tom Malloy
Starring	Eliza Dushku Cary Elwes Michael Ironside Bill Moseley Carl Lumbly Meltem Cumbul Tom Noonan Timothy Hutton
Music by	Eric Perlmutter
Cinematography	Joe DeSalvo
Edited by	Frank Reynolds
Distributed by	Anchor Bay Entertainment
Release date	November 7, 2008
Running time	100 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$33,975 (INT)

The Alphabet Killer is a 2008 thriller-horror film, loosely based on the Alphabet murders that took place in Rochester, New York between 1971 and 1973. Eliza Dushku stars as the main character, alongside Cary Elwes, Michael Ironside, Bill Moseley and Timothy Hutton. The film is directed by Rob Schmidt, director of Wrong Turn also starring Dushku and written by Tom Malloy, who also acted in a supporting role.

Megan Paige (Eliza Dushku) is an investigator for the Rochester Police Department investigating the murder of a young girl named Carla Castillo. Her body was found in the nearby village of Churchville, New York with white cat hair on it. Against opposition of her colleagues and boyfriend Kenneth Shine (Cary Elwes), Megan insists that the murder is a work of a serial killer. Despite Megan’s considerable efforts she fails to catch the killer. Stress and obsession of the investigation causes Megan to hallucinate the victim's image. She ultimately has a nervous breakdown after being kicked off the case and unsuccessfully tries to commit suicide.

Following two years of medical treatment and attending a support group headed by a wheelchair-bound man named Richard Ledge (Timothy Hutton), Megan rejoins the police department in an office job. Following a similar murder of another young girl, Wendy Walsh, whose body is found in Webster with some white cat hair on it, Megan successfully lobbies to rejoin the investigation. Partnered with Steven Harper (Tom Malloy), they try to find links between the girls. Then another girl, Melissa Maestro, is killed in Macedon. They find a number of commonalities between Wendy and Melissa, but fail to connect these to the first victim. The Webster Police Department, which has jurisdiction over the latest murder but are uncooperative, receive a call from 19-year-old Elizabeth Eckers who is being held hostage in a house. Megan is convinced the suspect is not the Alphabet Killer and breaks procedure to preempt a police raid. Megan almost defuses the situation, but an officer shoots the suspect through a window and kills him. Webster police declare that the Alphabet Killer is dead and announce the discovery of white cat hair in the house. Megan spirals into another nervous breakdown.