336:. They find a number of commonalities between Wendy and Melissa but fail to connect these to the first victim. The Webster Police Department, who has jurisdiction over the latest murder but are uncooperative, receive a call from 19-year-old Elizabeth Eckers who tells them she 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.
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Megan is again hospitalized and kept under intensive psychiatric care. The final scenes of the film show Megan wearing a patient gown, heavily sedated and strapped to a bed in a psychiatric ward. There is no one else in the room, but in her state, she envisions the spirits of the victims waiting for
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Megan escapes the hospital and takes refuge in Ledge's home. There, she finds out that he used to work as the math teacher for the St. Michael's Church, which finally reveals that he is the
Alphabet killer. Before she can act, he leaps from his wheelchair – having only pretended to be disabled – and
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to drown her. Before Ledge can inject her with a sedative and dump her into the river, Megan breaks free and, after a struggle, shoots him in the foot with his own gun. Ledge falls into the river just past a large waterfall, though it's unclear if he is dead or not. Unsure whether Ledge is dead and
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The filmmakers chose to focus on the personal aspect of the story and its impact on the lead character instead of police procedure in the investigation. Writer Tom Malloy developed the script with the help of a homicide investigator who had worked on the original case. The writer noted that he saw
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and strangled, their bodies dumped in neighboring villages. Each girl's first and last names started with the same letter and matched the initial of the name of the village where their body was found. The film deviates significantly from established facts, most evident by establishing a modern-day
513:. The film had a limited theatrical release in the United States on November 7, 2008, when it was released in 2 theaters, only in New York. As of December 14, 2008, the film's domestic earnings are $ 29,784 while it grossed $ 76,812 in the foreign markets for a worldwide total of $ 106,596.
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Dushku was an immediate choice for the lead role. The filmmakers also deliberately chose certain actors who had earlier played the role of a killer in other films. The film was shot in and around
Rochester. The
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Luke
Thompson said the plot was quite predictable, but he also said that the presence of multiple supporting characters keeps viewers guessing, which made the film very interesting. Jeannette Catsoulis of
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headed by a wheelchair-using man named
Richard Ledge, Megan rejoins the police department in an office job. Following a similar murder of another young girl, Wendy Walsh, whose body is found in
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Certain that the
Webster police planted the evidence in order to justify killing an innocent, Megan continues the investigation on her own. Megan discovers that all three girls attended
310:. Despite Megan's considerable efforts, she fails to catch the killer. Stress and obsession over the investigation causes Megan to hallucinate the victim's image. She ultimately has a
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in
Rochester. Still suffering from hallucinations of the victims, Megan visits the church and tries to question the pastor but has another breakdown and is hospitalized.
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along with some white cat hair, Megan successfully lobbies to rejoin the investigation. Partnered with Steven Harper, they try to find links between the victims.
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A title card announces: "In 2006, police exhumed a fireman's body and posthumously cleared him as a suspect. To date, the
Alphabet Killer has not been found."
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and exchanging glances with a potential victim. It is unclear if these scenes of Ledge are actually occurring or are part of Megan's psychosis.
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The final scenes of Megan are intercut with scenes of a survived Ledge altering his appearance. He is shown in church, receiving
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Police
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confused by her surroundings, Megan is driven by the intense situation to another, longer breakdown.
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praised Dushku's skills and
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commended the actors' performances but thought the end was very unsatisfactory.
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attacks her. Ledge knocks her unconscious and drives to a remote spot near the
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The film was screened at multiple film festivals, including the
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Alphabet Killer: The True Story of the Double
Initial Murders
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Following two years of medical treatment and attending a
821:"Movie Review -The Alphabet Killer-Murder by the Letter"
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The film was panned by critics, earning a 13% rating on
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after being kicked off the case and tries to commit
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332:Then another girl, Melissa Maestro, is killed in
707:. Trading Markets. 2008-11-28. Archived from
459:From 1970 to 1973, three girls in and around
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799:"Film Reviews: Antarctica, The First Basket"
774:"'The Alphabet Killer' issues go unsolved"
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356:her to return and seek justice for them.
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677:"Exclusive Interview : Rob Schmidt"
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290:, who also acted in a supporting role.
286:, also starring Dushku, and written by
492:scene was shot near the High Falls of
920:American films based on actual events
298:Megan Paige, an investigator for the
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819:Catsoulis, Jeannette (2008-12-12).
960:English-language independent films
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772:Goldstein, Gary (2008-11-14).
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935:Films set in New York (state)
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605:. Box Office Mojo. 2008-12-14
965:English-language crime films
950:2000s English-language films
930:American serial killer films
751:"The Alphabet Killer (2008)"
730:"The Alphabet Killer (2008)"
603:"The Alphabet Killer (2008)"
472:the film as a cross between
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648:Cheri, Farnsworth (2010).
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276:. The film is directed by
185:November 7, 2008
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905:2000s serial killer films
40:Theatrical release poster
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560:. Gary Goldstein of the
171:Anchor Bay Entertainment
19:Not to be confused with
16:2008 film by Rob Schmidt
256:between 1971 and 1973.
248:, loosely based on the
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629:Democrat and Chronicle
304:Churchville, New York
955:2000s American films
438:as Captain Gullikson
341:St. Michael's Church
880:The Alphabet Killer
869:The Alphabet Killer
858:The Alphabet Killer
652:. Stackpole Books.
461:Rochester, New York
254:Rochester, New York
252:that took place in
237:The Alphabet Killer
29:The Alphabet Killer
579:The New York Times
536:. You can help by
420:as Dr. Ellis Parks
778:Los Angeles Times
753:. Rotten Tomatoes
732:. Box Office Mojo
659:978-0-8117-0632-2
563:Los Angeles Times
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517:Critical response
444:as Carla Castillo
408:as Nathan Norcoss
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402:as Richard Ledge
390:as Kenneth Shine
266:Michael Ironside
260:stars alongside
250:Alphabet murders
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494:Genesee River
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709:the original
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607:. Retrieved
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538:adding to it
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486:
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473:
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458:
442:Bailey Garno
430:Bill Moseley
382:Eliza Dushku
378:as Jim Walsh
365:
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320:
297:
281:
270:Bill Moseley
258:Eliza Dushku
236:
235:
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201:Running time
178:Release date
104:Eliza Dushku
78:Aimee Schoof
75:Isen Robbins
801:. LA Weekly
679:. Moviehole
418:Carl Lumbly
412:Melissa Leo
278:Rob Schmidt
246:horror film
205:100 minutes
146:Joe DeSalvo
134:Carl Lumbly
129:Melissa Leo
66:Produced by
50:Rob Schmidt
46:Directed by
900:2008 films
894:Categories
830:2008-12-24
805:2008-12-24
783:2008-12-24
736:2008-12-24
715:2008-12-24
683:2008-12-24
634:2010-09-07
609:2015-10-05
586:References
545:March 2018
453:See also:
449:Production
436:Tom Noonan
424:Tom Malloy
388:Cary Elwes
288:Tom Malloy
283:Wrong Turn
262:Cary Elwes
240:is a 2008
226:Box office
189:2008-11-07
109:Cary Elwes
72:Tom Malloy
60:Tom Malloy
56:Written by
569:LA Weekly
500:Reception
490:climactic
468:setting.
361:communion
300:Rochester
151:Edited by
874:AllMovie
242:thriller
218:Language
159:Music by
92:Starring
505:Release
334:Macedon
327:Webster
316:suicide
221:English
210:Country
187: (
656:
573:'s
481:Zodiac
465:raped
863:IMDb
759:2018
654:ISBN
478:and
370:Cast
294:Plot
272:and
883:at
872:at
861:at
540:.
896::
823:.
776:.
703:.
692:^
668:^
627:.
594:^
496:.
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318:.
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23:.
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