'Suspect Zero' has zero credibility as criminal thriller

By Jack Garner
Gannett News Service

SUSPECT ZERO (R) Two-and-a-Half Stars (Fair-to-Good) "Suspect Zero" is the latest grimy, gory serial-killer thriller in the much-trod tradition of "Seven" and "The Silence of the Lambs," and certainly inferior to either predecessor. Mental telepathy is the new element. Aaron Eckhart and Ben Kingsley co-star for director E. Elias Merhige. Paramount, 100 minutes.

Mental telepathy is the new element, which will be a plus or a minus, depending on whether you view it as a conceivable skill or nonsensical voodoo.

Pitted as adversaries are disgraced FBI agent Thomas Mackelway (Aaron Eckhart) and spooky killer Benjamin O'Ryan (Ben Kingsley). I'm not giving anything away; Ben kills somebody in the very first scene.

Mackelway has just arrived at a desk in a small New Mexico FBI office. "Welcome to the minor leagues," he's told. It seems Mackelway overstepped his bounds in a big city case, leading to the release of another killer on a legal technicality.

But suddenly, only hours after arriving in the sticks, Mackelway finds himself thrown into another case. Given his spotted track record, the agency lacks confidence, so they send help in the form of respected agent Fran Kulok (Carrie-Anne Moss). In a coincidence you only find in movies, she and Mackelway are also former lovers.

Meanwhile, O'Ryan continues his murderous ways, while simultaneously leaving all sorts of convoluted clues specifically for the increasingly unnerved Mackelway. As you'd hope, a twist awaits; although it too is beholding to "The Silence of the Lambs."

E. Elias Merhige directs with a dark-and-dingy style, blending in shadowy lighting with claustrophobic close-ups and nervous quick-cuts. The central performances are fine.

Still, there's too much a sense of the frayed and familiar to "Suspect Zero." Like Mackelway, you'll feel you've arrived in the minor leagues.

Rated R (strong gore, profanity).