The public fascination with serial killers and the people who hunt them is once again titillated with a hollywood movie - it`s Kiss The Girls, from director Gary Fleder who made Things To Do In Denver When You`re Dead.
Kiss The Girls is about forensic psychologist Alex Cross - Morgan Freeman - taking a semi-official role in the investigation of a serial killer when his niece Naomi disappears and is thought to be the latest victim. Two women have been brutally raped and murdered but more are missing. The next woman to be kidnapped is Dr. Kate McTiernan, played by Ashley Judd. She`s feisty and a trained kick-boxer, so she`s not prepared to be cowed by her tormenter, and after her escape she joins in the chase.
Kiss The Girls reminds you of David Fincher`s Seven, particularly with Morgan Freeman starring.... and there`s a touch of The Silence Of The Lambs in it too, but it`s not nearly as good as either. It`s competently directed but you can guess whodunnit from a fairly early stage. Believability tends to fly out the window when there seems to be a rival serial killer on the west coast - Alex Cross` investigations are based in North Carolina. Ashley Judd is attractive but fairly futile in what ends up being an along-for-the-ride role. What I really didn`t like about this film was that it smacks of voyeurism; I did not feel comfortable witnessing the experiences of the kidnapped women, and thought it was fairly cheap and nasty exploitation actually. Without Morgan Freeman giving Kiss The Girls some class, it would be very easy to dismiss.
