The Serial Killer Movie 'The Wrong Sarah' Has Its Heart In The Right Place But Still Fails To Thrill

Serial killers hold a morbid fascination for many. The monstrous crimes of Jack the Ripper, Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, The Green River Killer and dozens of others have become grisly additions to humanity’s collective unconscious whether we like it or not, examined in an unending parade of true crime books and television documentaries and portrayed ad nauseam in any number of cinematic iterations. Indeed, the phenomenon of the horror film slasher is itself a sort of romanticized version of the real-life serial murderer, a usually single-minded killer hellbent on delivering death and destruction. But what if that murderous impulse served a purpose beyond mere mayhem?

That’s the question the filmmakers of The Wrong Sarah, an indie thriller (available to stream for free on Tubi) attempt to answer, with varying degrees of success. The premise is intriguing: across America, an unknown killer (Shane Ryan) is targeting young brunette women of a particular build and age range, all of which share the same first name of Sarah and who, at one time or other, were in the foster care system during their youths. At each crime scene, FBI agent Jack (triple threat writer/director/actor Jason Toler) is confronted with the mysterious murderer’s gruesome handiwork along with a telltale bloody message declaring every victim is ‘The Wrong Sarah’. Picking up a few clues at the latest scene, Jack learns the identity of the killer’s next potential target, a dollsome dark-haired nurse named Sarah Thomas (Elliott Woods), and heads to Los Angeles to protect her. Thus begins a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse, as the murderer closes in on who might unknowingly be the right Sarah after all.

The Wrong Sarah has many positive aspects: with a brief runtime (a mere sixty-three minutes) and tiny cast, there’s nary an ounce of storytelling fat to be seen; Toler’s directing is tight, the music is outstanding, the cinematography is often breathtaking (several panoramic shots rival those of a multi-million dollar studio production), and the narrative delivers on the suspenseful promise of its main idea, keeping the viewer guessing as to the killer’s true identity and motivation until the climax.

That said, there are more misses than hits. While the dialogue is uniformly engaging, the actors delivering it fall into two camps: serviceable (main man Toler), and godawful (literally everyone else). The tinny sound recording echoes in every scene, and despite the aforementioned eye-catching cinematography, at times the production’s no-budget cheapness is painfully apparent (there seems to be only one treadmill at Agent Jack’s local 24-hour gym, and his FBI office appears less like a bureau headquarters than the guest room of Toler’s house). It’s a frustrating movie in a way; for every well-executed action (the superb opening credits sequence), there’s a blundered equal-but-opposite reaction (what may be the poorest excuse for CGI fire ever committed to film in the very next scene). These amateurish elements serve to pull the audience out of the story and woefully undermine Toler’s attempts to craft what could’ve been a serious thriller.

There’s a stab (pun intended) at connecting the film to the slasher subgenre, particularly in the killer’s admittedly appealing appearance (complete with a unique light-up LED digital face mask), but horror hounds beware: this isn’t an overlooked gore gem, but a rote procedural with lofty aspirations.

With that short runtime, there are worse ways to murder an hour, but even with its heart in the right place The Wrong Sarah can’t muster more than a meager 2 (out of 5) on my Fang Scale. It would be interesting to see what the obviously talented Toler could accomplish with an actual budget and professional actors. Don’t give up, buddy. You’re on the right track.