A man is falsely convicted of the murder of his wife. During his time in jail, he finds comfort from four women with whom he corresponds. After his second court appearance, he is finally freed from prison only to be framed for two more murders which he did not commit.
Production
Halting of filming
Letters from a Killer was originally supposed to be finished earlier than its release, but filming was halted for two months due to Patrick Swayze suffering serious injuries when he fell off his horse in May 1997 and hit a tree. He ended up with both legs broken and four tendons in his shoulder immediately became detached. Although it was eventually released, Swayze was reported to have trouble resuming his career.[1][2][3]
A review in TV Guide stated, "Convoluted and ultimately a bit silly, this thriller (the feature film debut of TV director David Carson) nevertheless puts an unusual spin on stalker movie conventions."[4] The film is also described as follows: "A slightly melodramatic story about the relationship between a murderer sentenced to long prison terms and a woman in love with him. The feeling blossoms through correspondence. The costs, as for a small film, are high - 30 million dollars."[5] The Filmjaarboek 1999 : alle bioscoopfilms van 1999 found it showed Swayze's "free fall to the B division".[3]
The film is also noted as typical of a trend of Hollywood productions focusing on death penalty during the 1990s.[6]
