The stage curtains open ...
"Doppelganger" isn't the best psychological horror movie I've ever seen, but there is something about it that peaked my morbid curiosity to continue watching it right up to the very end. And then, even when you think you've got it all figured out, you don't - they give you one more eye-popping final scene that you won't soon forget.
The movie starts off setting the mood right away. A woman is attacked mercilously and murdered by a knife wielding woman who very much resembles our main character, Holly Gooding (played by Drew Barrymore). Then we cut to the immediate future where Holly is looking for a place to live and meets her new roommate, Patrick (played by George Newburn) when she responds to his ad in the paper. As he gets to know her, he learns the dark secrets behind her family and that she believes she is being followed by her doppleganger, who is performing horrendous deeds. When her own institutionized brother's life is threatened, she decides to take maters into her own hands. Things aren't all as they seem - or are they?
Drew Barrymore never looked better and sold her character, though she's had better turns in other movies. George Newburn filled his role and did his job. I thought that the best performance came from Leslie Hope, who played Patrick's very candid, high-strung friend, Elizabeth. I loved her in this movie. The soundtrack is a product of its time with a sensuous dance scene involving Drew swaying hypnotically to the rhythmic beat, running her hands up and down her body.
"Doppelganger" isn't a bad movie. The one thing that I really liked about it, is that it doesn't sell out with some B. S. ending. At first, I thought it was going to, but then the real fun starts to happen - and I liked it. It pretty much covers all the bases when it comes to horror. It is a guilty pleasure and worth the watch at a solid 6 stars out of 10.
