In the wake of films like Se7en, a huge boom of murder based films came our way, pair this with the immense success of the multiple John Grisham adaptations, and you get the spike of film adaptations of serial killer novels that led to the two films we’re going to talk about today. Based off the relentlessly popular and still running series of novels by James Patterson, the two Alex Cross films of the late 90’s and early 00’s put Morgan Freeman in the role of the brilliant Forensic psychologist, in adaptations of two of the series most popular works. The work is standard, but not wholly uninspired, and where the reference points are clear and frequent, both 1997’s Kiss the Girls and 2001’s Along Came a Spider are very well made and entertaining thrillers of this era.

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Kiss the Girls (1997, Dir. Gary Fleder)

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The first effort is certainly the superior of the two, a slick psycho-sexual thriller delving into a perverted game between two killers across coasts. Freeman’s Cross is not wholly unlike his Somerset of Se7en, however here there isn’t an element of weariness, his Cross is a fervent and relentlessly intelligent mind that works as a duty, rather than as a job. Not dissimilar to the second feature where he is paired with Monica Potter, here Cross also has a partner of sorts, with Ashley Judd’s Kate – the first woman to escape the clutches of our lead murderer, the disturbing and twisted Casanova. Cross quickly figures that despite the recently found dead girl killed at the hands of this mad man, Casanova is more of a kidnapper than a murderer, relishing and taking great pleasure in the women he is taking and stalking prior to that. Judd is brilliant as Kate, just as headstrong and determined as Cross is. Gary Fleder directs with a repeated use of montage and brutal camera work, often paired with sequences very much in the Demme vein of The Silence of the Lambs. When we eventually meet our Casanova, he really is a fierce and cunning foe, with a delicate precision that makes him truly ferocious to stare down. The main issues with the film lie with Patterson’s novel issues and then the adaptation of them by David Klass. Certain reveals just come off as cheap and basic and frankly absurd, whereas other plot strands come to nothing. The film’s best assets are its performances, including another very hateable villain played by Tony Goldwyn, who clearly wanted people to hate him even more than for the hatred they had for his murdering of Patrick Swayze in Ghost. The final sequence really is one for the books, with both a gripping physical confrontation and a stirring intellectual one with Cross coming up to bat. Although many plot contrivances come off as ridiculous and at points lazy, the film overall does succeed in many ways that make it a standout from the other batch of murder centric films that it was lost in the middle of. Freeman really is just as magnetic and powerful as always and so his Cross is a very, very enjoyable detective to watch, follow and root for indeed.

And please if you plan to watch this film for the first time, don’t go on IMDB prior, for somebody has foolishly put the killers real identity right there on the main cast list under the actor’s name. Ruining a pretty good reveal if you know nothing, certainly one that I didn’t see coming on a first watch.

Along Came a Spider (2001, Dir. Lee Tamahori)

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I’m going to be completely honest I really do feel like I went into this article with rose tinted glasses, not that I didn’t enjoy my rewatch of both films, however certain very effective elements on a first watch, just didn’t land at all this time. I guess that’s what happens with most films with twists, however with these two they both just feel a little bit dated this time around. So why am I still recommending them? Well, because they’re still fun and if you don’t know any of the reveals I’m sure you’ll have a pretty good time with them. This time we are directed by Lee Tamahori, although previous film director Gary Fleder was offered but declined, and are dealing with a plot very reminiscent of The Silence of the Lambs actually with the kidnapping of a senators daughter. Actually the more and more I think about it, this film is scarily similar to Lambs, despite them being exactly a decade apart in release. This time our intrepid Alex Cross, again portrayed by the excellent Freeman is recovering from the death of a partner (in a very poorly aged needlessly extravagant use of CGI), however this sub-plot really doesn’t do anything for his character other than a later re-occurrence in one line of dialogue. It’s still an intriguing angle however that separates this film from Kiss the Girls. This film as stated follows a kidnapping plot with a very intriguing twist about half an hour from the end of the film that completely upends all we know about the film we have just been watching, it’s a very deftly handled shift that does take any viewer by surprise and makes the film just that little bit more than your average thriller. The two clear standouts, other than Freeman, are Monica Potter as Jezzie Flannigan and Michael Wincott as Gary Soneji. Potter’s Flanigan is an another strong woman to pair with Cross and their dynamic is intriguing, however I do feel that the romance from the novel that was entirely cut from this film would have led to all the changes in their dynamic being far more impactful. Although it would have very much played into the habit of the time of reducing any female ‘side’ character by simply making them solely a love interest. I do feel however that anybody who has already seen the film and knows what becomes of Flannigan’s character, would feel that the addition of this sexual and romantic element would have made for a more interesting film and more intriguing study of Cross. Wincott’s Soneji is subtle, tactical, terrifying and oddly vulnerable. It’s a great villain performance and leads to the film being elevated again just that little bit more. All in all Along Came a Spider is a very serviceable film that certainly would make for great repeat and first time viewing in the near future.

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Although a never-ending series may have grown naturally tireless, I could have certainly had a third entry with Freeman as Cross to round out a trilogy of fine adaptations of Patterson’s novels. The audience was certainly there, but the critical opinion by all accounts ranged from mixed to negative and so a third entry was never brought to the light. Where their failures are minimal, their lack of complete inspiration is frequent and so I understand why the reputation of both films is minimal at current, however a re-watch would certainly I feel be very enjoyable for many. For in the current landscape they really are a far cry better than a lot of films in their ilk.

-          Thomas Carruthers