Tödliche Erinnerungen

In addition to fellow-commentator Petershelleyau on here, who came up with an amusing summary line, I'd like to point out that it's not exactly people's brains that get replaced in this movie, but their minds rather. DUPLICATES is a very watchable, but nonetheless pretty forgettable early 90's thriller with a sci-fi touch. There's not much action or thrills in this one, but the dramatic story-line hums along at a decent pace. Given the premise of DUPLICATES, it sounds like an intriguing film, but the mystery that should be present throughout a movie like this, isn't really there. You just know what's going on very early in the movie already, and the viewer is always one step ahead of the main characters. The movie does have that typical 'made-for-TV' look and feel, but it's well-made altogether. The leading couple, played by Gregory Harrison and Kim Greist, give fair enough performances in their rolls as Bob and Marion Boxletter, the married couple that gets erased. Good thing about DUPLICATES is that it wastes no time getting the story going. Marion seems to recognize her brother (in the first scene - not counting the opening teaser-scene, featuring a villainous Lane Smith), who had been lost and presumed dead for over a year (together with their 10 year old son). Her brother doesn't recognize her and claims he's someone else. They go on a investigating spree, and soon it's them who find their minds replaced by the ones of two previously deceased strangers.

Naturally, this makes up for a mildly entertaining 90 minutes, but I just would have loved a little more excitement and a more complicated plot (with a tagline like "They steal your family. They steal your mind. They steal you!", one might even falsely assume it's some kind of of predecessor to Schwarzenegger's ERASER or something). It's just all a bit uneventful and too predictable. The 'loss of identity' aspect I liked, but the whole 'love is in the heart and not in the mind'-angle, I could have done without. For a movie that shows similarities to films like THE STEPFORD WIVES and the more recent Koontz' adaptation BLACK RIVER (both superior films in my book), the plot of DUPLICATES could have used a bit more larger scaled conspiracy aspects to make it a bit more complex. But now, it's just about the couple in search for their identity and the truth to the matter. A satisfying, but predictable conclusion wraps it up nicely and makes this movie not much more than a passable time-waster when it comes on TV. It was fun seeing Lane Smith again (known for his memorable role as Nathan Bates in "V" - the series). And given his role in DUPLICATES (as Mr. Fryman, the ill-natured head of the whole science-project) he really feels to me like the 80's equivalent of William B. Davis (who's known for portraying Cigarette Smoking Man in "THE X-FILES"). I've always looked at him like that, for some reason.

Considering the fact that writer/director Sandor Stern was also responsible for the lame THE EVIL ESCAPES-entry in the AMITYVILLE series, DUPLICATES could have been a lot worse. All in all, not bad, but there's more entertaining movies about messing with people's minds out there. I personally had more fun with things like MINDFIELD (1989, starring Michael Ironside) and the total mess that was MINDSTORM (2001, starring both Michael Ironside and William B. Davis). Inferior movies, maybe, but still a bit more fun to watch.

it's Kim Greist that i keep coming back to this film - she perfectly captures the distraught mother - then a woman in the glow of new love when she meets a man that she doesn't know is her husband

and that should tell you what type of scifi this is - its one which focuses on the human drama - it shifts the mystery that begins the story - and scifi elements that cap it off - into the background - at least - for a time

the scifi plot devices - when they are revealed - are pretty silly - they're merely functional in that they provide the motive - and can be tolerated if you think of in that way

formulaic - simplistic - but with Kim Greist to give it some authenticity - and heart

Up now, this is the best Kim's movie since Brazil: sure it's a cheap production with too much use of good luck but the story is really inventive and gripping: right the start, you understand that there is something unusual with those twins and at the end the project behind was really original: Kim is really great as a wife, mother and sister. A bit like the other Kim (Delaney), American movies seems to be less conventional, boring and hollow with its B movie than with the Hollywood list and blockbusters... Instead of having Schwary killing tons of opponents, you have a neat SciFi theme told about a family: For those who like conspiracy, identity research, new experiments and a true romance, this thriller is really a good pick!

So when Bob and Marion Boxletter see a guy at a hotel, Marion believes it is her long lost brother Brian, but when she approaches him he appears to be someone else just with the exact same face. Marion manages to get his fingerprints and takes it to the police and when the identity is confirmed that it was in fact her brother Brian she and Bob leave for New York after tracing his whereabouts. They get a hold of Brian, but still he doesn't know what they are talking about, but all the couple really want to know is where Brian has their 8 maybe 9 year old son Joey... and even when they see Joey he doesn't know them either. The plot thickens and they find themselves one day thinking that they are someone else as well. Experiments made out on people only to make the perfect assassins yet the question of why they would bother putting Bob and Marion in the same building as each other is beyond me. Personally Gregory Harrison played his 2 parts great, but I have no clue what was wrong with the other actors, they seemed bored and lost. 3 out of 10, a little suspense yes but that's it.

I was bought this film by my friend back in 2000. I really didn't know what to make of it at first. At first, the was that the opening credits rolled, it looked a little bit like an average, cheap TV movie, but I was wrong. The plot is pretty original, and the cast are very good. I really thought this movie was something above the others. There was something about the title and the acting, that made the film have a very sinister atmosphere. The only aspect that let it down were the crummy fight scenes, a five-year-old could have done a better job, but i still love it. I would give it 7.5/10