Kiss the Girls

Alex Cross, a perceptive forensic psychologist and detective, heads to North Carolina after a terrifying spree and teams up with Kate McTiernan, a survivor who escaped a long captivity. Together they hunt a chilling serial killer nicknamed Casanova, who abducts strong willed women and imposes his demands on them. Their pursuit takes them across state lines, pausing only for dangerous confrontations and forensic breakthroughs. As the case tightens, Cross learns that the trail may extend beyond one mastermind and that the truth could be more personal than anyone anticipated, testing his skills and resolve. The chase becomes a test of nerve and judgment, as the case pushes Cross to rethink what it means to chase danger.

Released in 1997, Kiss the Girls was directed by Gary Fleder and adapts James Patterson's Alex Cross novel with a screenplay credited to David Klass. It stands as one of 90s book to film thrillers that helped popularize the series.

The thriller earned about 60,527,873 worldwide against a 27 million budget, signaling solid performance for a mid 90s genre feature and helping fuel a wave of screen adaptations from best selling crime novelists across film and television alike worldwide audience.

As part of the Alex Cross on screen canon, Kiss the Girls helped bring James Patterson's popular hero to a broader audience and contributed to the late 90s trend of adapting thrillers from best selling novels. It helped shape genre trends. Fans of the book note adaptation's mood and momentum.

Critical response was mixed with praise for Freeman's commanding performance and the film's tense atmosphere, while others found the plotting conventional. Audiences note Freeman's presence as a standout element. The themes still resonate today. It remains a solid example of 90s thriller craft that balanced character interaction with brisk tempo.