The Story:
Forensic psychiatrist Jane Halifax (Rebecca Gibney) is on the case when a killer walks into a roadside diner and shoots 9 people, leaving just a man, his wife, and their son alive under a table where they hid, and as a result, were unable to see the killer. The only other man who heard the massacre is Ray, a gas station attendant who happened to be doing his business in the outhouse when he heard the gun shots. It looks like the killer shot himself after killing the others, because a young man is found dead with the murder weapon in hand. But things aren't always what they seem, and now Halifax has to get inside the mind of a killer. But getting in her way are her own issues with her father that keep her going back for psychiatric help, her concern over Ray, who is quickly descending into an alcoholic stupor due to the trauma…and of course, there's her desire for a sexy senior detective (Hugh Jackman).

This is a movie about Halifax coming to terms with her own past in melodramatic sessions of recall with her psychiatrist. In fact, the entire movie is overacted, and the cheesy swelling music score helps exaggerate it even further. We are led on a wild goose chase, watching one suspect pulled in for questioning after another with what seems like no rhyme or reason—since there's no real clear profiling going on by anyone on the case. This movie was all over the place. And even though Halifax has sex with Hugh, fans don't have the pleasure of seeing him shirtless. It's not worth getting to the end of this one, to find out that the killer is a character tossed into the mix in the last 20 minutes of the movie.

The DVD

Video:
This TV movie is in a full frame 1:33:1 aspect ratio. The print is quite clean, with just small specs sprinkled throughout. The flesh tones are accurate, the color is vivid, and the darks and blacks are deep and rich. The image is sharp, with only a hint of softening around the edges at times.

Sound:
The movie has excellent Dolby 2.0 Stereo. Background sounds are set deep back in the left/right channels, and the separation is excellent. And the ridiculously melodramatic score is clear & strong.

Extras:
No extras. Just chapter selection and English subtitle option.

Final Thoughts:
Profile of a Serial Killer is a melodramatic made-for-Australian-TV movie that is nowhere nears compelling enough to have the words 'serial killer' in its title. Even Hugh Jackman fans should avoid this one, because his is a secondary role to the lead female psychiatrist—the story revolves around her more so than the murder case.