Year: 1997
Runtime: 115 min
Language: English
Director: Gary Fleder
Budget: $27M
After a young woman mysteriously disappears, forensic psychologist Alex Cross becomes involved in the investigation. He suspects a dangerous criminal known as "Casanova" is responsible for her vanishing and potentially other disappearances. As Cross pursues the suspect, he confronts personal anxieties and joins forces with another survivor. Together, they must decipher the killer's complex motives and rescue the women he has taken captive, while facing the psychological toll of the case.
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Washington D.C. Detective and forensic psychologist, Dr Alex Cross, Morgan Freeman, is devastated to learn that his niece Naomi, a college student in Durham, North Carolina, has been missing for four days. Despite his family’s anxiety, Cross travels to Durham to investigate, determined to find her.
Upon arrival, Cross meets with local police and learns that multiple young women, including Naomi, are missing. He collaborates with Detectives Nick Ruskin and Davey Sikes, as well as FBI agents. Together, they visit a crime scene in the woods where the body of one of the missing women has been found, brutally murdered and tied to a tree, heightening Cross’s fears for Naomi’s safety.
Meanwhile, Dr. Kate McTiernan, a doctor and kickboxer, Ashley Judd is abducted from her home by a masked man who calls himself Casanova (Casanova Cary Elwes). She wakes up in a stone-walled room, heavily sedated, and is told by Casanova that he admires her talents and promises she won’t suffer if she complies with his rules. Kate, however, is determined to escape. She discovers other women are held captive with her.
Kate eventually manages to overpower Casanova during one of his visits and escapes into the woods, jumping off a cliff into a river to ensure her freedom. She is found and taken to a hospital, where she recovers and agrees to help Cross in his investigation. She provides vital information about her captivity and describes Casanova.
Cross investigates further and discovers that a plastic surgeon in California, Dr. William Rudolph, had suspiciously ordered a large quantity of Sistol, a benzodiazepine drug, which was used to sedate the captives. Travelling together to California, Cross and Kate join forces with Sampson, Cross’ partner, and Henry, an LAPD Detective, to begin surveilling Rudolph.
After staking out Rudolph’s home, they follow him to a remote cabin in the woods. The investigation intensifies when they follow Rudolph to a nightclub. Kate, upon seeing Rudolph caress a woman’s cheek, recognizes his touch and, believing he is Casanova, alerts Cross. Rudolph takes the woman from the nightclub to his cabin, where a chase ensues when the group hears her screaming, during which Rudolph escapes after shooting one of Sampson’s men and injuring Cross.
At Rudolph’s home, the police uncover the identity of a second killer, named by the press as the Gentleman Caller. This killer is also involved in the abductions and is working in conjunction to and competition with Casanova. The two operate bicoastally, abducting women within days of one another and sharing images of their captives for the other to see. The police also discover a hidden freezer which contains mutilated body parts of his victims, distinguishing the Gentleman Caller’s MO from Casanova’s.
Back in North Carolina, with the help of Naomi’s boyfriend who is familiar with the area, Cross locates the hideout where the women are being held. Concurrently, Rudolph has also travelled to North Carolina and has broken into Casanova’s lair. He enrages Casanova when he tries to undermine his control of Naomi and the other captive women, who shoot at Rudolph, but Rudolph intentionally misses. Upon hearing Cross enter the hideout, Casanova tells Rudolph to flee. In a climactic confrontation, Cross and the police rescue the captives, including Naomi. Rudolph is killed by Cross in an ensuing chase, but Casanova escapes.
The FBI raid the hideout and locate Casanova’s fingerprints. Finally feeling safe, and with the belief that Casanova will be identified within a day, Kate invites Cross to dinner before he returns back to D.C. Before Cross is due to arrive, Detective Ruskin arrives at Kate’s home to check in on her. She welcomes him inside and, whilst her back is turned, he cuts her phone line.
In the meantime, Cross recognizes a similarity between Casanova’s handwriting and Ruskin’s signature. Realizing Ruskin is Casanova, Cross rushes to save Kate. Ruskin, now revealed as Casanova, attempts to rape and kill Kate. A fight ensues, breaking a gas line in the kitchen. Realising this, Ruskin takes out a lighter, threatening to ignite it. Cross arrives just in time to intervene. In the final struggle, Cross shoots Ruskin through a milk carton, preventing him from causing an explosion in Kate’s house. Casanova is finally dead, and Cross and Kate embrace as the police arrive.
Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 15:38
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Expert-led investigations racing against time to stop a methodical killer.If you enjoyed the investigative chase in Kiss the Girls, this list features movies with a similar core: a determined expert hunting a serial killer. These films are tense, fast-paced thrillers where the race to decode the criminal's pattern and save lives creates relentless suspense.
Stories in this thread typically follow a linear, investigation-driven structure. A protagonist, often an expert in a relevant field, is pulled into a case involving a serial killer. The plot unfolds through a series of clues, confrontations, and near-misses, building towards a final, high-stakes confrontation where the hunter becomes the hunted.
Movies are grouped here for their shared focus on the procedural and psychological aspects of a serial killer investigation. They share a tense, dark tone, fast pacing driven by urgency, and a heavy emotional weight stemming from the grim subject matter.
High-tension stories of abducted victims fighting for freedom against a predator.For viewers who liked the captivity and survival elements of Kiss the Girls, this section highlights movies with a similar core conflict: abducted victims plotting their escape. These are dark, anxious thrillers defined by claustrophobic settings, psychological games, and a desperate fight for freedom.
The narrative pattern involves a character or group being taken captive, often by a figure with a twisted motive. The story unfolds within a confined space, focusing on the dynamics between captor and captive, the strategies for survival, and the planning and execution of a dangerous escape attempt, leading to a final confrontation.
These films are united by their central theme of abduction and the subsequent fight for survival. They generate a consistent mood of anxiety and claustrophobia, share a high intensity due to the immediate threat, and often feature a fast pace as the escape plan hurtles towards its conclusion.
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