There are only so many thrillers that can be made. Most of them have been done before, so it's rare that anyone comes up with anything original. Kiss the Girls is not highly original, but it makes up for its faults through tense scriptwriting, scary sequences of potential danger, and decent acting. It might not be the next biggest hit of the decade, but it's a sure-fire way to scare yourself at a sleep-over.

A serial abductor is on the loose. Kidnapping beautiful, talented girls with nothing in common except their young ages, he leaves behind few clues and even fewer suppositions on his intentions. The latest of his victims is a violinist whose uncle is a criminal psychologist. Dr. Alex Cross (Morgan Freeman) is determined to find Naomi alive and well, but local authorities don't give him much hope. It seems that a handful of bodies have surfaced over the past few months -- abducted girls who displeased their kidnapper and were punished. Clinging to hope that the abductor will leave them some unintentional clue, Cross stumbles onto the case of another missing woman. Kate McTiernan (Ashley Judd) is an intern with the local hospital. Passionate about her work and intense in her kickboxing, she awakens in the middle of the night to find an intruder in her home.

After the fight of her life, Kate awakens in a cold, dark cell with her masked abductor. Knowing that she will die if she remains there, and that she's the only hope of the other women in his "collection," Kate makes a desperate bid for escape -- and is now the police's only source of information. Guilt-ridden that she did not release the others, Kate is determined to see this through, even if it means coming face to face with the man who terrorized her. What results is an intense thriller that scared me in ways few other films have. There's something about a woman alone in a bad situation with a powerful, evil man that makes the skin crawl, and Judd is fantastic in her portrayal of a scared but courageous female. Freeman is brilliant as usual, but I am somewhat tiring of seeing him in the same roles over and over again. The cast also includes Cary Elwes, Tony Goldwyn, and Brian Cox.

I watched an edited-for-television version that toned down considerably the content, but the original contains a slew of foul language (around fifteen f-words, and several each of Jesus, GD, and God). The violence is not gruesome so much as disturbing, as a woman is forced to march barefoot through the woods before she is killed (implied, not seen). Kate is threatened with a knife; her tormentor uses this as an opportunity to touch her breasts. Several struggles between men and women are present, along with some kickboxing violence. Blood spatters when someone is shot through the head; another is hit by a car, and at least one policeman is gunned down. Rear and breast nudity appear in several photographs and on a postcard sent as a taunt to the police. A corpse's bare breasts is briefly glimpsed. There's some innuendo and discreet sexual references. More jarring is a scene when Kate is attacked in her home; after being slammed around the kitchen, she is forced onto a table, where the man's intention is to rape her. Discussion revolves around the "savage" way a corpse was sexually assaulted before death.

Films of this nature have a tendency to go overboard. I was surprised that this one was aware of its female audience and took care not to exploit the details of the crimes too much. There is a typical twist ending that may or may not be foreseen, but I found it quite an entertaining way to spend an evening.