Kiss The Girls

Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Morgan Freeman	Dr. Alex Cross
Ashley Judd	Dr. Kate McTiernan
Cary Elwes	Det. Nick Ruskin
Tony Goldwin
Jay O. Sanders	FBI Agent Kyle Craig
Alex McArthur	Det. Davey Sikes
Tony Goldwyn	Dr. William 'Will' Rudolph
Bill Nunn	Det. John Sampson
Brian Cox	Chief Hatfield, Durham P.D.
Richard T. Jones	Seth Samuel
Roma Maffia	Dr. Ruocco

Director	Gary Fleder
Producer	David Brown; Joe Wizan
Writer	David Klass; James Patterson

Coming after The Silence of the Lambs and Seven, this thriller about a collaboration between two serial killers feels like a pale attempt to cash in on the success of those earlier, better films. That's a pity, because this film certainly has its strengths--particularly in the central performances of Morgan Freeman as a forensic detective and Ashley Judd as a would-be victim who escaped from one of the killers. Director Gary Fleder demonstrates visual flair and maintains an involving undercurrent of tension, but as this adaptation of James Patterson's novel approaches its climax, familiar elements combine to form a chronic case of thriller déjà vu. It's altogether competent filmmaking in the service of a moribund story of competing psychopaths, and by the time the serial killers reach the home stretch of their twisted contest, the movie's dangerously close to Freddy Kruger territory, with a finale that could've been borrowed from any dozen similar thrillers. --Jeff Shannon