Suspect Zero

Plot synopsis:
Harold Speck, a traveling salesman, is approached by a man in a diner who asks him an uncomfortable question. After leaving the diner, Harold is found dead with his eyelids cut off and clutching a symbol which appears to be a circle with a line through it. The murder is investigated by FBI Agent, Thomas Mackelway (Aaron Eckhart), who was recently suspended for beating a suspected serial killer, Raymond Starkey. Mackelway receives a series of taunting faxes from someone who may be Speck's killer. Meanwhile, kids go missing and we catch glimpses of a big truck. As the investigation proceeds, Mackelway and his partner, Fran Kulok (Carrie-Anne Moss), become aware of the possible existence of "Suspect Zero", a "super serial killer" responsible for hundreds of deaths who leaves no evidence behind to link his crimes together.
Another body is found in the trunk of a car, also with his eyelids removed and cut with the crossed-circle mark. The ownership of the car is traced to a halfway house where a room was occupied by a Benjamin O'Ryan. The agents discover that the room is filled with obsessive-compulsive sketches of the crossed-circle design, a Bible which contains sketches of missing persons, and a book on ritual. Questioning the other occupants of the halfway house, Mackelway is told by one of them the design represents a zero, not a circle. Information sent by the killer to Mackelway leads him to O'Ryan (Ben Kingsley), who believes himself to be a former member of the FBI. The agents must decide if O'Ryan is the key to catching Suspect Zero, or if he is Suspect Zero himself.
Outside a bar, O'Ryan kills a man who attempts to kidnap and rape a young girl. When Mackelway and Kulok arrive, they find that the body belongs to Starkey, who had been released from prison. Evidence uncovered reveals that O'Ryan was part of Project Icarus, a secret government project attempting to cultivate telepathic abilities in individuals (remote viewing) for military purposes. The experiments gave O'Ryan the ability to see the actions of serial killers. These disturbing visions constantly torment O'Ryan and drive him to hunt down the killers. O'Ryan demonstrates that Mackelway shares his abilities to some degree. Neither Kulok or Mackelway's boss are convinced by his theories that O'Ryan is chasing the killer rather than being the killer.
Suspect Zero is revealed to be a man who drives cross-country in a refrigerated truck. He targets children, whom he abducts and transports to his ranch to be killed. Mackelway pieces together evidence linking these crimes by recognizing that victims had signs of freezer burns while being transported. Mackelway chases one truck driver to a carnival, only to find that the child he saw in his vision as "captured" is free. O'Ryan suddenly appears and captures Mackelway. After refusing to be frightened, O'Ryan spares Mackelway. Eventually, the two men track Suspect Zero to his ranch and find numerous shallow graves. Chasing him, both vehicles crash off the road. Kulok manages to free a child in the truck while Mackelway kills Suspect Zero. O'Ryan then tries to convince Mackelway to end his suffering by killing him. When Mackelway refuses, O'Ryan pretends to attack him, prompting Kulok to shoot him to defend her partner.

Tags: paranormal, violence, murder, flashback

Review:
Suspect Zero, a new mystery/horror/thriller/detective-FBI film, tries to make a lot of twists and turns in telling a story that is perhaps all-too-simple at the core.
While the acting is fair by the leads (Kingsley, as a man who may or may not be the suspect, plays a tortured soul better than anyone I can think of; Eckhardt and Moss are credible if maybe mis-matched), the script is something of a turn-off.
It's the kind of film that misses the mark of great, twisted, FBI-serial killer murder mysteries, and I would not seek it out to rent, but it didn't leave too sour of a taste in my mouth, and I didn't want to walk out of it midway either.
A lot of producers thought the script wasn't good enough to be a motion picture, but they liked the idea, or premise, of the film.
The only reason I went to see the movie, was because of the brilliant Sir Ben Kingsley (no matter how bad a movie he is in, he gives a good performance).
However, at the end the film (the last five minutes), the movie achieves great power during the confrontation between Eckhart's ambitious F.B.I. agent, and Kingsley's haunted serial killer.
In conclusion, Suspect Zero is about average and somehow manages to spend most of the movie above the level of below average (thanks in part to Ben Kingsley), but I think people should wait for video for this one, and judging by the film critic's reviews of this movie, that won't be a long time at all.
Mackelway is demoted and transferred to Albuquerque, where he is assigned to a a similar case involving yet, another serial killer and meets an old partner Fran Kulok (Carrie-Anne Moss).
What Mackelway soon discovers is that all the clues of his prime suspect, Benjamin O'Ryan (Ben Kingsley) for these new grisly killings, may be the key to solving a series of other unsolved murders.
The cinematography and atmosphere are really excellent, the cast with Ben Kinsley, Carrie-Anne Moss and Aaron Eckhart is very above average, but unfortunately the screenplay does not work well.
SUSPECT ZERO (2004) ** Ben Kingsley, Aaron Eckhart, Carrie-Anne Moss, Harry J.
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!
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.
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.
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.
Lucky us, there's actually something out there to watch other than "Saw" and "Malevolence." or the 30,000 PG-13 horror films that have been forced upon us Anyway Do you remember when "Saw" was being advertised as the best movie of its kind since "Se7en?" Remember it being strongly compared to that or "Silence of the Lambs?" I remember those advertisements.
Better than a lot of the horror/thriller movies that Hollywood has barfed upon us lately.--The atmosphere.--The cinematography.--The story is really quite good, and decently originalfor once.Didn't Hurt It, Didn't Help:--I'm saying music here, but I didn't really notice it.--The violence and gore are pretty good.
Even though there is little actual gore aside from people with their eyelids removed, it's still pretty good.The Bad:--The beginning of the movie is a little hard to watch for someone like me who's seen more than his share of awful Hollyood drivel dumped on viewers and called "horror." Early on, there are moments of, "oh god, this is gonna suck.
An FBI agent with a troubled past, haven't seen that before *cough*Hannibal*cough*." But worry not, stick with it and the movie takes right off and doesn't let down.The Ugly:--Seemed to me that since there were so damn many PG-13 horror/thriller films when this was released, it was completely destroyed in the box office by them.
Which is extremely sad, this movie had balls and took chances, and was ignored for far weaker films or much cheaper crap like "Saw."Memorable Scene:--When you actually realize the extent of evil that the heroes are hunting.Acting: 8/10 Story: 9/10 Atmosphere: 8/10 Cinematography: 9/10 Character Development: 9/10 Special Effects/Make-up: 8/10 Nudity/Sexuality: 1/10 (one rape scene) Violence/Gore: 7/10 Music: 6/10 Direction: 8/10Cheesiness: 2/10 Crappiness: 0/10Overall: 8/10This one's worth the time and money, definitely.
Perhaps that says more about me than her.My only complaint I guess is that the movie was short, I could have watched it twist and turn and unfold more and more, and the previous comment about leaving loose ends is true.That being said the movie is a great watch, a few more jump out of your seat moments wouldn't go amiss, but worth watching just for Kingsley's performance alone..
So, how to describe a movie such as this ?I guess the only other movie I can compare it to would be "Hearts In Atlantis", since both movies are roughly about the same thing: the government using psychics for "remote viewing" purposes and one of the people they're using gets away.The twist with "Suspect Zero", though, is that THIS remote viewer turns into a vigilante and goes hunting down serial killers.
There really is no other way to explain how this actor who played Gandhi chose this strange serial killer film.The script is the work of Billy Ray who's coming off the critical success of Shattered Glass.
Ben Kingsley might have fit the role of a dark frightful serial killer, at least so it seemed in the first five minutes of the movie.
Aaron Eckhart is terrible as agent Thomas Mackelway on the hunt for a serial killer and Carrie-Anne Moss as another agent is wasted in this uneven film.
This movie is about chaos and order - and how the detective and Ben Kingsley can't handle the chaos - thus the detective gets headaches, and thus they have a hard time detecting a trail for finding the killer.One awesome symbol of order and chaos is the map(order) which keeps building up with the little slips of paper (chaos).
You might suspect going in to this film that it's just your standard cop on the trail of a killer movie....and you'd be right.
The only compelling character is O'Ryan (played well by Ben Kingsley, the only decent actor in the movie), with "Suspect Zero" making only a VERY brief entrance into the film.
However, there's absolutely no resolution to the story and Suspect Zero is a huge let-down after being built up to be such an accomplished serial killer.Not horrible, but definitely FAR from good....
Maybe we all have the ability, same as walking or talking, but we have been over-socialized and under-transcendentalised.Aaron Ekhart and Carrie-Ann Moss were just OK as two FBI agents/love interests working together, once again, after experiencing problems in another field office.
Ben Kingsley (Sir) gives the standard brilliant performance in his role, Eckhart is surprisingly good, as is Moss in a supporting role (her first in which I didn't think "trinity" every time I saw her).
Plot twists are great fun, but what ever happened to the simple pleasure of a "good guy trying to track down and stop the bad guy" thriller?That is what Suspect Zero is.
On the other hand, what IS there is a very solid serial-killer movie with strong acting based on a neat premise (particularly if you have read about the various RV projects that were done by the military).There is nothing here that is going to make this a genre classic, but it holds its own nicely with things like Along Came a Spider, Blood Work, and various other 'solid but not great' performers.Grade - B-.
I saw the movie a couple weekends ago and I think nothing is more disappointing than the horrible representation of New Mexico and Albuquerque, except maybe the plot, acting and complete lack of style.Stylistically, the combination of serial killers and remote viewing should have been cool.
The characters were not only half-baked (development wise) but then the cast decided to mail in their performances.Shoddy editing leave the time table difficult to follow and when you couple that with how badly it reconciles with New Mexico geography and the image of the state, the whole thing just falls apart.Here are some examples: >>>STARBUCKS There's a scene at the start of the film where Mackelway is trying to make coffee at the Albuquerque Field Office of the FBI.
(Sir) Ben Kingsley is Benjamin O'Ryan, a fall-out from the Icarus Project, a psychological experiment conducted by the Bureau in order to uncover the whereabouts of serial killers, utilising 'remote viewing' (visions) and a hefty amount of pencil lead.
When O'Ryan starts maniacally bumping off portly middle-aged Republicans, the three lives of these characters intertwine, as Mackelway begins to receive mysterious documents from O'Ryan that seem to suggest both men are hunting for the eponymous murderer, while Carrie-Ann, God love her, does her best to prove she's not just Neo's bit of crumpet by alternately seducing and verbally battering Mackelway.All this is in fact a clever ploy by the film-makers (and seeing as the script has been mooching around since '97, they've had a lot of time to perfect their vision) for a truly hallucinogenic guide on How Not To Make A Movie.
It's not a good thing to continually check your watch throughout an alleged 'thriller.'I gave the movie 2 stars - one for the art direction and one because there was an interesting story in there somewhere.
Enjoyed this different type of tale concerning a serial killer and an FBI Agent, Tom Mackelway,( Aaron Eckhart) who is assigned to the case and is transferred from Dallas, Texas to New Mexico.
Benjamin O'Ryan, (Ben Kingsley) tries to lead Tom Mackelway in different directions by making drawings of Zero's and pictures which confuse Tom and his partner Fran.
I thought the movie had all the makings of a great thriller - suspense, twist, good acting, uncertainty,bit of romance,and scare factor.
Suspect Zero is the story of Dallas FBI agent Thomas Mackelway (Aaron Eckhart) who after roughing up a serial killer during an arrest is assigned a new position in Albuquerque, NM.
If it weren't for the makeup effects, I'd swear that was Ben Kingsley, and Aaron Eckhart.The only thing separating this movie from Seven, Insomnia, and a whole host of other films, is the fact that the other films actually had a shred of originality in them.I write my own review blog, for REAL people.
Ben Kingsley didn't really carry the movie either and he isn't even in the film that much.
The idea is remotely :) original, but it could have been used to produce a better, more intelligent plot.Pros: Ben Kingsley, the way the movie was shot, the idea of the movie, the sound.Cons: The murders that are only suggested to keep the rating low enough for TV, unconvincing super killer, Carrie-Anne Moss in a dumb, secondary role.
The limitations are, I think, the characters are not well enough defined (though, why bother, it's a serial killer movie, we already know all the characters) and also, there are some minor editing problems.Bottom line, they took a weak story, and filmed it very well.
Ben Kingsley as "O'Ryan" seemed early in the film as though he might bring off a good performance, but after the first 20 minutes or so he seemed lost in the humdrummery (I just made up that word) of the rest of the cast.
Suspect Zero, is the story of a man who was trained by the government to track down serial killers using remote viewing.
One thing, Carrie Anne-Moss was sadly very annoying in this film and sadly so stereotyped by The Matrix I could imagine how impossible it must be to stay in character after that, maybe if she did movies that weren't dark, something to contrast the movies she is stereotyped by she could break the mold, kind of like Bruce Willis did by going from Die Hard to 5th Element to The Whole 9 and 10 Yards.
Well, that is a premise that in retrospect makes this film almost enjoyable to watch.All of the characters in this grisly mess of a film have a tainted background: Thomas Mackelway (Aaron Eckhart) is an FBI agent with a history of suspension for six months who reports to Albuquerque to help find a serial killer.
As for Carrie-Ann moss, well i knew that such a good film as the Matrix will over shadow her as an actress, no matter the role she plays all we see is trinity (without the tight leather pants) on the other hand Ben Kingsley delivered as usual showing his might as a Hollywood veteran although the role of Itzak stern will always be his most remembered in schindler's list all together i'll give this movie 4 for good concept but bad delivery..
The 'Suspect Zero' for whom the movie was named, was just a blurry blimp on the radar and the two protagonists, Aaron Eckhardt and Ben Kingsley ended up being the tormented good guys, so the ending was pretty anti-climactic.
The FBI agents wanted to be Moulder and Scully from the X-Files, but with sordid pasts chasing a serial killer reminiscent of Kevin Spacy's character in Seven.Parts of the movie were just strung together without a lot to help keep it together.
Ben Kingsley in particular seemed a bit too keen to embrace his character and ended up convincing that he is not a very versatile actor.Verdict: If you need a thrill, you might be better off riding a tricycle on a carpeted floor than watching this film..
Demoted for not following police procedure, aspirin-popping FBI agent Aaron Eckhart (as Thomas "Tom" Mackelway) has his hands full with the opening murder committed by creepy Ben Kingsley (as Benjamin O'Ryan).
Elias Merhige ~ Aaron Eckhart, Ben Kingsley, Carrie-Anne Moss, Harry Lennix.
Ben Kingsley is convincing as one of a select group of FBI agents trained to psychically track down and kill serial killers before they strike again; though it sounds ridiculous, Merhige lends this fresh take on a tired genre credibility, and creates a tense mood mostly through implication (the empty torture chamber of the title character gives us free reign to imagine what awful things occurred inside it).
SUSPECT ZERO (2 outta 5 stars) Intriguing movie about a serial killer (Ben Kingsley) who is stalking OTHER serial killers starts out well...
Supporting him is Carrie-Anne Moss, delivering another icy cold turn as a supposedly sympathetic FBI agent, and Ben Kingsley, whose acting varies as the film progresses.
Directed by E Elias Merhige who made the intriguing Shadow of the Vampire comes another film with an intriguing premise.Aaron Eckhart plays a FBI agent Tom Mackelway who seems to have been downgraded after being suspended.
Mackleway seems to have some sort of empathy and vision regarding what seems to be random acts of murder but some of the clues point towards an ex FBI agent O'Ryan (Ben Kingsley) who might be a suspect or can see in the mind of a super serial killer and wants to assist Mackleway in catching him.The film starts promisingly enough but it quickly became muddled and confusing.
The muddle lets the film down, Eckhart and Kingsley are fine, Carrie-Anne Moss is wasted..
"Suspect Zero", starring Ben Kingsley, Carrie Ann Moss, and Aaron Eckhart is the tale of two FBI agents (Moss and Eckhart) trailing a serial killer (Kingsley) who happens to be killing serial killers(other people).
Warning sign number two , the more writers who worked on a movie script the worse it becomes so the signs aren't good The film starts with Ben Kingsley abducting someone .
I don't know that I've ever seen anything quite like this film, and for the most part that's a good thing.
Suspect Zero follows FBI Agent Tom Mackelway (Aaron Eckhart) who is chasing a serial killer named Benjamin O'Ryan (Ben Kingsley).
The whole plot is filled with secrets and twists that by the end you're not really sure what to think.Ben Kingsley is, as always, excellent in this film.
Nevertheless it's a different kind of film that breathes new life into the serial killer versus FBI agent plot line.