''The Altruist'' is a 2004

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

, written and directed by Mick McCleery. The film stars Billy Franks as Nick Andrews, the founder of a company called Terminal Assist, which matches up

thrill killer A thrill killing is premeditated or random murder that is motivated by the sheer excitement of the act. While there have been attempts to categorize multiple murders, such as identifying "thrill killing" as a type of "hedonistic mass killing", act ...

s and people who want to commit

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

. The supporting cast includes Bobbi Ashton, John Innocenzo, and Mike Mclaughlin.

Plot

The film opens as Terminal Assist "matches" a depressed man named Tom Taylor with a killer. Tom waits downstairs for his all-too-willing executioner. Things go awry when the killer decides to murder Tom's wife, too, and the resulting double

homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

is all over the local news. This doesn't suit the purposes of Terminal Assist, an

altruistic Altruism is the concern for the well-being of others, independently of personal benefit or reciprocity. The word ''altruism'' was popularised (and possibly coined) by the French philosopher Auguste Comte in French, as , for an antonym of egoi ...

service that strives to hook up

terminally ill Terminal illness or end-stage disease is a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and is expected to result in the death of the patient. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as cancer, rather than fatal injur ...

people with low-life hit men that enjoy killing. Founder Nick Andrews has established a working relationship with local police authorities, based on an understanding that they won't kill anyone living in the same community. The double homicide presents problems, and the police expect Nick to find a way to relieve the pressure. Complications ensue when it's soon apparent that Nick has a thing for the grieving widow Teresa, and he has competition—namely, Tom's doctor buddy Carl. Carl has a different problem. He's falsified medical reports and hidden his diagnosis of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

that allowed Tom to obtain a lucrative

insurance policy In insurance, the insurance policy is a contract (generally a standard form contract) between the insurer and the policyholder, which determines the claim (legal), claims which the insurer is law, legally required to pay. In exchange for an initial ...

before his expiration date. He certainly doesn't want an investigation into Tom's death with potential criminal charges and license revocation pending.

Cast

* Billy Franks as Nick Andrews * Bobbi Ashton as Teresa Taylor * John Innocenzo as Carl Nelson * Mike Mclaughlin as David Easel * Jonene Nelson as Toni * Mike McAleer as Detective Baxter * Norman Taylor as Ron Parker * Nancy Jarrell as Molly Wells * Tony Silvanio as Mr. Prentice * Brett Heniss Jr. as Young Nick * Georgina Manne as Nick's Mom * Alan Pratt as Nick's Dad * Jeff Torrico as Donny * Kyle Ober as M-19 * Mick McCleery as Detective Shraylow * C. Fox as Detective Murphy * Larry Schneider Jr. as Tom Taylor

Production

Filming for ''The Altruist'' took place in South Jersey on a budget of between $10,000 to $15,000. Actor Billy Franks was brought on to play the lead role alongside Bobbi Ashton; approximately 40 extras were used for the film, some of whom were people McCleery worked with at the

Gloucester County Institute of Technology The Gloucester County Institute of Technology (GCIT) is a four-year vocational-technical public high school located in Deptford Township in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Established in 1971, the school operates as part o ...

. McCleery came up with the idea for the script after reading an article about the

statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a s ...

of murders and suicides each year in the USA. He then began wondering what could happen if a company were to exist that could pair the two groups together.

Release

''The Altruist'' premiered at The Ritz cinema in

Voorhees, NJ Voorhees Township is a township in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is a suburb in the Delaware Valley / Greater Philadelphia Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 3 ...

on November 4, 2004. Four days later it had its European premiere in London at the Clapham Picture House (November 8, 2004). ''The Altruist'' later screened at the Ryde International Film Festival in 2011, where it won first place.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Altruist 2004 films 2004 psychological thriller films American psychological thriller films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films English-language thriller films Films about suicide Assisted suicide