FilmSkool — a free film school
Suspect Zero
A killer is on the loose, and an FBI agent sifts through clues and learns that the bloodthirsty felon's victims of choice are other serial killers.
2004 · Directed by E. Elias Merhige · 99 min · Crime · Thriller · Screenplay in the scene database · 5 frames
Tagline
Who's next?
Plot
Harold Speck was a traveling salesman, making the rounds in a small town when he encountered an old man in a diner. The man approached him with a strange, uncomfortable question, before abruptly leaving. Shortly after his visit, Harold was found dead in the front seat of his car, his eyelids cut off and a strange symbol in his grasp, a circular shape with a line drawn through it. Federal Bureau of Investigation Agent Thomas Mackelway, recently suspended for brutally beating suspected serial killer Raymond Starkey, is brought in to investigate Harold's death. He and his partner Fran Kulok soon become the recipients of a series of taunting faxes from someone claiming to be the killer, leading them to discover the existence of Suspect Zero, a mysterious criminal responsible for hundreds of unsolved deaths and leaving no physical evidence behind. With the help of a mysterious informant known only as "Mr. Blue", Mackelway and Kulok follow the clues left by Suspect Zero in order to find the truth behind Harold Speck's tragic and mysterious death.
When another body is found in the trunk of a car, the agents trace the ownership of the car to a room in a halfway house occupied by Benjamin O'Ryan. Upon further investigation, they discover that the room is decorated with obsessive-compulsive sketches of a crossed-circle symbol, a Bible with sketches of missing persons, and a book on ritual. As Mackelway begins to question the other occupants of the halfway house, one of them informs him that the symbol actually represents a zero, not a circle. The killer also sends the agents mysterious information, prompting Mackelway to focus on O'Ryan. O'Ryan claims to be an ex-member of the FBI, but the agents can't be sure if O'Ryan is the key to catching the elusive Suspect Zero, or if he is Suspect Zero himself. With the evidence they have, fiery passion for justice, as well as hope, the agents must make a calculated guess to finally bring down the elusive figure who has eluded authorities for so long.
Mackelway and Kulok drive towards a bar. They had received a call about an attempted kidnapping and were on their way to help the victim. When they arrived, they found O'Ryan standing outside, the body of a man lying near his feet. To their shock, they recognized him as Starkey, a man that had recently been released from prison. Evidence soon came to light that O'Ryan was part of Project Icarus, an experimental program aimed at developing and harnessing telepathic abilities in individuals for military purposes. O'Ryan had used these abilities to understand the actions of serial killers, leading him to hunt them down. It was then that Mackelway discovered that he too had limited access to these abilities.
Plot summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
Crew
- Screenplay: Zak Penn, Billy Ray
- Cinematography: Michael Chapman
- Edited by: John Gilroy, Robert K. Lambert
- Music: Clint Mansell
- Production design: Ida Random
- Produced by: Paula Wagner, Gaye Hirsch, E. Elias Merhige
Cast
- Aaron Eckhart as Thomas Mackelway
- Ben Kingsley as Benjamin O'Ryan
- Carrie-Anne Moss as Fran Kulok
- Harry Lennix as Rich Charleton
- Kevin Chamberlin as Harold Speck
- Julian Reyes as Highway Patrolman
- Keith Campbell as Raymond Starkey
- Chloe Alexa Ibanez as Loretta
- Ellen Blake as Dolly
- William B. Johnson as Mel
Production
- Country: Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America
- Language: English
- Studios: Paramount Pictures, Cruise/Wagner Productions, Lakeshore Entertainment, Intermedia Films
- Budget: $27,000,000
- Box office: $13,000,000
- Themes: serial killer
Own the film
FilmSkool earns a small commission from qualifying Amazon purchases, at no cost to you.
More by E. Elias Merhige
On this film
This is the plain index, shown because JavaScript is off. Every lesson here is a free video published by the channel credited on it and plays through that channel's own embed — FilmSkool hosts nothing.