A mysterious serial killer is preying on other serial killers and one FBI agent suspects there may be more to the vigilante than the obvious characteristics.A mysterious serial killer is preying on other serial killers and one FBI agent suspects there may be more to the vigilante than the obvious characteristics.A mysterious serial killer is preying on other serial killers and one FBI agent suspects there may be more to the vigilante than the obvious characteristics.
Chloe Alexa Ibanez
- Loretta
- (as Chloe Russell)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaSeven and a half million dollars of the budget came from New Mexico through an interest-free loan. In return, the state received two and a half percent of the box-office, until it made ninety million dollars or over, at which point, they received three percent of the gross.
- GoofsThe trailer of the big rig that crashes at the end has several damaged areas on it that were not there prior to the crash. (Possibly from an earlier take that didn't go right and damaged the trailer.)
- Quotes
Piper: Ever see a 50-foot shark?
Thomas Mackelway: I'm sorry?
Piper: A 50-foot shark. You ever seen one?
Thomas Mackelway: No.
Piper: Doesn't mean there aren't any.
- Crazy creditsThe opening Paramount logo is brown (to resemble the desert) and the water in the Intermedia logo is black.
- SoundtracksWhat a Dream It's Been
(1999)
Written by Robert Williams
Performed by Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys
Courtesy of Hightone Records
By Arrangement with Ocean Park Music Group
Featured review
'Se7en' 'Silence of the Lambs' = 'Zero'
SUSPECT ZERO (2004) ** Ben Kingsley, Aaron Eckhart, Carrie-Anne Moss, Harry J. Lennix, Kevin Chamberlin, Chloe Russell, Nicole DeHuff, William Mapother. (Dir: E. Elias Merhige)
'Se7en' 'Silence of the Lambs' = 'Zero'
Trying to make a serial killer film, a sub genre that appears to have overtaken the unstoppable killing machine teen slasher (think Jason or Freddy) that took horror films to another level, must be like attempting to build a snowman in July: not much fun and pointless since it's damn near impossible to perfect an impossibility.
Take the case of this unique perspective to a 15 minutes-of-fame and ticking category : a serial killer killing serial killers! OK now try to convince me for nearly two hours of my time why I should care? Well it was a good idea.
Anyway the premise of the latest style over substance take on it is having a disgraced FBI profiler named Mackelway (Eckhart) being reassigned to the desert of New Mexico when he finds the dullness only adding to his current state of blinding migraines (he chomps on aspirin like Chiclets) until a ghastly murder is found at the border literally with some follow up faxes sent directly to him. It seems a former specialty agent, O'Ryan (Sir Ben acting up a storm), who was assigned to a shadowy sect project entitled Icarus (read: getting too close to the sun; burning foreshadowing of things to come) where highly intelligent applicants were able to 'see' the minds of serial killers at work and transcribing their thoughts into para psychological scribblings in charcoal pencil that would lead them to their quarry. Apparently it has affected O'Ryan to the point of obsession and causing him to act as a rogue executioner of the filth he was assigned to locate. What happens next is a series of murders of murderers that lead a grisly wake to some serious soul searching for one Agent Mackelway. To complicate matters his former partner and ex-lover Agent Kulok (Moss) has been called in to help him and his new prickly boss Charelton (Lennix also late of the 'Matrix' flicks) crack the case wide open.
I admit it seems a tad outrageous that someone could psychically forecast an upcoming crime however it is set in fiction and there was a cool 'X-Files' episode 'Unruhe' that had a similar story but it involved Polaroids instead of sketchings. Regardless you have to give the creative team an A for effort yet the screenplay by Zak Penn and Billy Ray is a Luke-warm reheating of 'Se7en' with Kingsley as an ersatz John Doe serving up justice with a nasty slicing off of the victims' eyelids to show what he sees they see and the 'Silence of the Lambs' backbiting of its federal peacekeepers at odds with what they cannot.
Eckhart seems wasted of his talent in a somewhat muted turn he should be more tortured if that is what his character is implied to be and Moss is undeniably sleepwalking her way through the film no thanks to bad lighting making one of the screen's most lovely women look downright homely. Kingsley has proven to be a very versatile actor notably ditching his Gandhi peace for sinister doings in 'Sexy Beast' a few years ago and here he makes the most of his deeply troubled psychic warrior with a few moments of glass sharp scares.
Director Merhige a relative newcomer employs the usual shaky camera work with some interesting visual courtesy of his ace cinematographer Michael Chapman with its desaturated colors and vibrantly dark moments that underlie the terror at hand. Too bad it couldn't shed it in a more intriguing light.
'Se7en' 'Silence of the Lambs' = 'Zero'
Trying to make a serial killer film, a sub genre that appears to have overtaken the unstoppable killing machine teen slasher (think Jason or Freddy) that took horror films to another level, must be like attempting to build a snowman in July: not much fun and pointless since it's damn near impossible to perfect an impossibility.
Take the case of this unique perspective to a 15 minutes-of-fame and ticking category : a serial killer killing serial killers! OK now try to convince me for nearly two hours of my time why I should care? Well it was a good idea.
Anyway the premise of the latest style over substance take on it is having a disgraced FBI profiler named Mackelway (Eckhart) being reassigned to the desert of New Mexico when he finds the dullness only adding to his current state of blinding migraines (he chomps on aspirin like Chiclets) until a ghastly murder is found at the border literally with some follow up faxes sent directly to him. It seems a former specialty agent, O'Ryan (Sir Ben acting up a storm), who was assigned to a shadowy sect project entitled Icarus (read: getting too close to the sun; burning foreshadowing of things to come) where highly intelligent applicants were able to 'see' the minds of serial killers at work and transcribing their thoughts into para psychological scribblings in charcoal pencil that would lead them to their quarry. Apparently it has affected O'Ryan to the point of obsession and causing him to act as a rogue executioner of the filth he was assigned to locate. What happens next is a series of murders of murderers that lead a grisly wake to some serious soul searching for one Agent Mackelway. To complicate matters his former partner and ex-lover Agent Kulok (Moss) has been called in to help him and his new prickly boss Charelton (Lennix also late of the 'Matrix' flicks) crack the case wide open.
I admit it seems a tad outrageous that someone could psychically forecast an upcoming crime however it is set in fiction and there was a cool 'X-Files' episode 'Unruhe' that had a similar story but it involved Polaroids instead of sketchings. Regardless you have to give the creative team an A for effort yet the screenplay by Zak Penn and Billy Ray is a Luke-warm reheating of 'Se7en' with Kingsley as an ersatz John Doe serving up justice with a nasty slicing off of the victims' eyelids to show what he sees they see and the 'Silence of the Lambs' backbiting of its federal peacekeepers at odds with what they cannot.
Eckhart seems wasted of his talent in a somewhat muted turn he should be more tortured if that is what his character is implied to be and Moss is undeniably sleepwalking her way through the film no thanks to bad lighting making one of the screen's most lovely women look downright homely. Kingsley has proven to be a very versatile actor notably ditching his Gandhi peace for sinister doings in 'Sexy Beast' a few years ago and here he makes the most of his deeply troubled psychic warrior with a few moments of glass sharp scares.
Director Merhige a relative newcomer employs the usual shaky camera work with some interesting visual courtesy of his ace cinematographer Michael Chapman with its desaturated colors and vibrantly dark moments that underlie the terror at hand. Too bad it couldn't shed it in a more intriguing light.
helpful•1411
- george.schmidt
- Aug 30, 2004
- How long is Suspect Zero?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Şüpheli Yok
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $27,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $8,725,813
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $3,446,375
- Aug 29, 2004
- Gross worldwide
- $11,416,075
- Runtime1 hour 39 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1
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