Kiss the Girls

In lesser hands, this serial killer thriller, based on James Patterson's book, could have been direct-to-video or TV sweeps fodder. But with Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd in lead roles, this film rises above the average. Freeman exudes his characteristic unimpeachable authority as a Washington, D.C. forensic psychologist who imposes himself on a manhunt in North Carolina. Shades of In the Heat of the Night, he is not exactly made welcome, but this case is personal: his niece is one of eight women who have been abducted. Judd costars as a near-victim who has escaped the creep's underground lair and insists on teaming with Freeman to catch him. Optional. (K. Lee Benson)