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At The Movies

KISS THE GIRLS
As mad-slasher flicks go, Kiss the
Girls is a one-shower affair. That's how
many a moviegoer may feel compelled
to take after seeing it — as opposed
to, say, three showers for Silence of the
Lambs and (by all accounts) a good
seven for Seven.
Morgan Freeman, a detective in
Seven, plays more than just a cop in
this one; he's also a forensic psycholo-
gist and a best-selling crime author,
although his Dr. Alex Cross is unlikely
to be confused with Jessica Fletcher.
Kiss the Girls, as it turns out, is a
slasher flick that isn't. Though a slay-
ing takes place near the start (it's more
heard than seen, mercifully), and a
number of young women are missing
and presumed dead, Cross suspects

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J

Ashley Judd shines in Kiss the Girls.

early on that the culprit has motives
other than murder. "This guy's not a
killer, he's a collector," Cross informs
the less-capable cops with whom he's
working.
And here is where the movie begins
to get as murky as the North Carolina
woods that form its backdrop (Kiss the
Girls feels filmed in Creep-O-Rama).
For one thing, it's unclear how Cross
reaches this conclusion so early — he
suddenly seems both psychologist and
psychic.
Cross is right, of course. The vil-
lain, who calls himself Casanova, has
his abductees housed in catacombs,
drugged into passivity. If we're to
believe what we see, he keeps the
women there mainly to play classical
music by candlelight, though the
script hints at darker motives. The

twist is that Cross' niece is one of the
missing women; we eventually see her
playing first violin for the villain.
Freeman is his trademark taciturn
self, although considering the circum-
stances, he seems a little too calm. He
finally gets riled when a prime suspect,
a red herring in college-prof's cloth-
ing, gives him lip.
Freeman's aura of steely self-control
makes sense in the context of his char-
acter, but it still seems a fine line
between subduing emotion and just
cruising through the movie, collecting
a paycheck. It's not Freeman's fault
that his co-star, Ashley Judd, is such a
show-stealer. As Kate Mctiernan, the
beautiful, young doctor who falls prey
to the masked Casanova, then escapes,
she is a vision of coiled rage. Kate
uncoils a bit through her favorite
workout, kick-boxing; seeing her
pummel the heavy bags, you figure
Casanova will be pleading "No mas"
before long.
Kiss the Girls is based on the novel
of the same name by James Patterson,
though there also are shades of John
Fowles' The Collector. Gary Fleder
(Things To Do In Denver When You're
Dead) directs with adequate suspense,
but some key plot points feel glossed
over.
Casanova turns out not to be the
only kidnapper lurking; Dr. Cross sus-
pects dueling ghouls. But why they
prey on only talented, highly educated
women remains mysterious.
"Motivation" is obviously not the
most meaningful concept among the
demented, but the duo's eccentricities
beg for at least a bit more explanation.
Cary Elwes, as a drawling local cop,
is a long way from the dashing hero
he played in his first star vehicle, The
Princess Bride. He figures prominently
in the tense finale, with a carving
knife passed back and forth as a terror
tease.
But some of the ending's impact is
stolen by an earlier fake finale. Suffice
to say there's a rescue — one that,
after all the buildup, has a bargain-
basement payoff.
Kiss the Girls deserves its due for
valuing atmosphere over the graphic
stuff, at least compared with others in
its genre (though it does get brutal
and bloody, and is emphatically not
MOVIES on page 98