American Crime on AllMovie

A reporter might have to pay with her life for a big story in this independent crime drama. A small town is gripped with fear when a serial killer with an unusual way of doing his dirty work arrives on the scene. The killer stalks his victims for several days with a video camera before moving in for the kill -- and then sends a copy of the tape to his next victim. Jessie St. Clair (Rachael Leigh Cook) is an ambitious but inexperienced reporter working for a local television station who thinks covering this story could be a stepping stone to bigger things, and Jessie cynically milks the town's fear for all it's worth with the help of producer Jane Berger (Annabella Sciorra) and cameraman Rob (Kip Pardue). Jessie is upset to discover she has competition from Albert Bodine (Cary Elwes), who is covering the murders for a popular tabloid television series, but she soon has bigger things to worry about when she receives a video in the mail which indicates she's the killer's next intended target. American Crime was directed by Dan Mintz, who also served as cinematographer.