Suspect Zero

Country of Origin: United States of America (USA) United Kingdom and Northern Ireland (UK)

Language: English

Runtime: 96-99 min.

Age Rating: FSK 16

Director: E. Elias Merhige

Writer: Zak Penn, Billy Ray

Year of production: 2002

Camera: Michael Chapman

Cut: John Gilroy, Robert K. Lambert

Music: Clint Mansell

Production Company: Paramount Pictures, Intermedia Films, Lakeshore Entertainment, Cruise/Wagner

Cast:

Aaron Eckhart, Ben Kingsley, Carrie-Anne Moss, Harry J. Lennix, Kevin Chamberlin, Julian Reyes, Keith Campbell, Chloe Russel, Ellen Blake, William B. Johnson, Jerry Gardner, Daniel Patrick Moriarty, Curtis Plagge, Nicole DeHuff, William Mapother, Donn Owens, Brady Coleman, Frank Collison, Catherine Haun, Lea Franklin, Angela Torres, David Ode, David House, Miguel Zapata, Jane E. Goold, Boots Southerland, Benjamin Petry, Jenny Cleveland, Buddy Joe Hooker, Kent Kirkpatrick, Dorsey Ray, Michael Chapman, Marya Beauvais, Letta E. Gorder, Edward A. Dames (Ed Dames), Aaron Donahue, Kevin Skousen, Cecilia L. Webb, Hope Bell, Richard Barela, Xanndra Boehler, Jamie Haqqani, Eilzabeth Latham, Daniel Smith, Robert Towne

Production:

Lester Berman, Moritz Borman, Guy East, Gaye Hirsch, Gary Lucchesi, E. Elias Merhige, Darren Miller, Tom Rosenberg, Jonathan Sanger, Nigel Sinclair, Paula Wagner, Tom Cruise

Storyline:

Traveling salesman Harold Speck 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 consisting of a circle with a line through it. The murder is investigated by FBI Agent Thomas Mackelway (Aaron Eckhart), who was recently suspended for beating suspected serial killer Raymond Starkey. Mackelway receives a series of taunting faxes from someone who may be Speck's killer. 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 bearing an M.O. similar to Speck's murder. The ownership of the car is traced to a room in a halfway house occupied by Benjamin O'Ryan. The agents discover that the room is filled with obsessive-compulsive sketches of the crossed-circle symbol, 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 symbol represents a zero, not a circle. Information sent by the killer leads Mackelway 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 reveals that O'Ryan was part of Project Icarus, a secret government project attempting to cultivate telepathic abilities in individuals for military purposes. The experiments gave O'Ryan the ability to see the actions of serial killers, driving him to hunt them down. O'Ryan demonstrates that Mackelway shares his abilities to some degree. Neither Kulok or Mackelway's superiors 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 links 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 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.
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