Kiss the Girls (1997)

Gary Fleder's thriller, based on James Patterson's novel, stars Morgan Freeman (pictured) in his first outing as forensic psychologist Alex Cross. Called in to track the kidnapper and killer of young girls, he's joined by Dr Kate McTiernan (Ashley Judd, pictured), who has escaped the killer's dungeon. The investigation gets personal when his niece Naomi (Gina Ravera) is kidnapped.

Inevitably there are comparisons to The Silence of the Lambs and Se7en, which also starred Freeman, but here his performance is central to the film as the cerebral investigator. Judd is feisty enough to match him and is also a dab hand at kick-boxing, which comes in useful.

Tightly plotted but with all the clues laid out for the viewer to form their own theories, this is a gripping thriller with a startling revelation that dramatically changes the film's emphasis.