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RELEASED:
2008
DIRECTOR(s):
Rob Schmidt
PERSONAL RATING:
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Megan Paige, an investigator
for the Rochester Police Department, is investigating the murder of a
young girl named Carla Castillo. Her body was found in the nearby village
of Churchville, New York, along with traces of white cat hair. Opposing
her colleagues and boyfriend Kenneth Shine, Megan insists that the murder
is the work of a serial killer. 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
nervous breakdown after being kicked off the case and tries to commit
suicide.
Following two years of medical treatment and attending a support group
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 Webster 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.
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, 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 pre-empt 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.
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 St. Michael's Church 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.
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 attacks her. Ledge knocks her unconscious and drives to a
remote spot near the Genesee River 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 confused by her
surroundings, Megan is driven by the intense situation to another, longer
breakdown.
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 her to return and seek justice for them.
The final scenes of Megan are intercut with scenes of a survived Ledge
altering his appearance. He is shown in church, receiving communion 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.
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." |
