Le double maléfique

Here we have a movie which fails in pretty much every way it is possible for a movie to fail. Terrible script, lousy acting, amateurish directing, laughable special effects...it's just an utterly awful movie. Not to mention the fact that when you get to the end you'll realize the whole thing doesn't make a lick of sense. After spending the whole movie wondering what in the world is going on here when things are finally explained you realize the story has been built on a foundation which is ludicrously impossible. In one of those hideous "villain explains the whole movie" sequences we are told that our villain has done something which quite simply can't be done and which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Oh, and after that we see that there also appears to be some kind of jell-o monster involved. I'm sure Drew Barrymore would very much like to pretend this movie never happened. If for some ungodly reason you are ever tempted to sit down and watch this movie may I suggest instead taking that time to bang your head against a wall for 104 minutes. That would prove to be a much more pleasurable experience than sitting through this garbage.

After a murder in Manhattan, a young woman (Barrymore) moves back to her old haunts in Los Angeles where a promising writer takes her in as a roommate (George Newbern). Unfortunately, her deadly alter ego seems to have followed her.

"Doppelganger" (1993) is part spooky mystery and part romcom with some slasher bits. Drew was really cute at 17 during shooting, similar to "Poison Ivy" from the previous year. Meanwhile the story is amusing with a compelling mystery: Does Holly really have an evil doppelganger or is she experiencing multiple personality disorder? Or is something else going on?

Regrettably, the climax is unlikely (in a Scooby-Doo kind of way) and, then, outlandish (in a Hellraiser kind of way). Writer/director Avi Nesher must've asked himself, "What can I do to totally throw viewers off, a twist that no one sees coming?" Although confusing, I suppose the revelations make sense: Those who abused and manipulated a certain person for their own selfish ends unknowingly caused what is observed.

FYI: The first victim is played by Drew's mother, Jaid Barrymore.

The film runs 1 hour, 44 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles (including Old Anoakia Mansion in Arcadia), as well as Manhattan for the opening scenes.

GRADE: B-

The good? Acting by the "Nice Guy" writer, Newbern, is great. Drew Barrymore's sultry little dances and always seductive scenes. Plot twist will probably surprise you. The bad? Early in Drew's career...look to Ever After and Wedding Singer if you want better acting. Special Effects are stuff I could do with enough silly-putty and Jell-O mix. The ugly? A lot of the plot isn't needed. Could have been wrapped up in a TV show slot, and it indeed felt rushed at the end with a "bad-guy explains his whole evil plot" sequence.

It's good for a laugh, and good to waste some time, but don't be too critical of it. It's more of a confusing B-Movie trying to be a REAL movie than anything.

Such a strange, strange film, but sadly not in a good way. "Doppelganger" is an odd, sensual supernatural horror feature, which is well produced and slickly catered for (it's irresistibly slick). It's a great opening… strikingly seductive but brutal where it has Barrymore's real life mother portraying in her mother on screen. There's obviously money behind it, especially during the climax scenes with a special effects / make-up FX extravaganza. It's a WTF moment. While it might look good, there's no denying how ridiculously silly the story becomes (like some sort of parody) and the acting (mainly the support; Leslie Hope and Dennis Christopher) is overdone. Drew Barrymore is the star, but looks all out of place in the role and George Newbern as her lead comes off bemused more often. The concept isn't bad, but the hollow plot lacks cohesion and involvement in what turns out to be nothing more than unintentionally hilarious in its b-grade shadings and a disappointing smokescreen by the end.

I got the DVD very cheap and I'm a total Drewbie, and thats probably the only constellation where this movie could ever interest anyone.

An early Drew movie, she's looking great, and she gets a quite lot of really cute scenes of her, like a shower scene, a sexy dance scene, quite a number of sexy outfits etc. She does never show the friendly charm we know from her more recent movies.

The movie itself is pretty average or sub-average, and much more looking like being made for the TV than one for the cinema. There is no real horror or tension built up and the dialogs are often cheesy.

The most interesting part is probably the end because I honestly don't understand it. But maybe there is nothing to understand about it anyway. But at least you don't get the end you would be expecting, and it also comes much sooner than one would have expected.

Overall I think this movie is exclusively for Drewbies.