Copycat

This isn't actually a terrible film by any stretch of the imagination; it's just one of those films which loses focus and is never quite sure what it wants to be.

Basic outline - Sigourney Weaver plays a serial killer expert, haunted by her past, who is roped in by the police to guide them towards a serial killer operating in the city. The murderer is copying the M.O. of famous serial killers from the sixties, seventies and eighties.

The problem is that even though it is ostensibly - as its title suggests - a film about Copycat killers, it feels somewhat lightweight in the amount of 'copycatting' - it feels like a tame half-baked plot line, which is more focused on Sigourney Weaver's character's past horrors. The 'copycat' idea just feels so, so underplayed - the director doesn't really work off it, it's just a vaguely interesting aside by the final reel.

However, it must be said, Sigourney Weaver acts her socks off - she really does play an excellent role as an agoraphobic suffering with a chronic (understandable) case of PTSD. Holly Hunter also plays her role with gusto.

However, disappointingly, the perpetrator is 2d and meaningless; after the film spent the first 10, 20 minutes explaining that a serial killer can be 'just like you and me' they didn't then justify that at all, they just roped in a cartoon (overacted) nutter.

Too much is 'stock' - there is quite a jarring, wasted death which feels put in for the sake of ticking that Hollywood plot box. Police guards are literally the most useless in any film, ever. The scenes of the internet in its infancy are quite endearing, but do date the film terribly.

Yeah, overall, it just feels like a missed opportunity. It's hard to believe that this and the majestic 'Se7en' came out within a month of each other; one looks, feels and plays like mid-nineties Hollywood, the other is so much more.

A serial killer is claiming victims in the style of other killers from the recent past, homicide detective (Holly Hunter) needs the help of a noted criminal psychologist (Sigourney Weaver) if she is going to catch this killer. The trouble is she is an agoraphobic recluse haunted by her memories.

The characters build nicely as the story moves along at a steady pace, Weaver and Hunter both capture their characters very well and they are supported convincingly by Dermot Mulroney, William McNamara, Harry Connick Jnr. and Will Patton.

Copycat is full of suspense and intrigue, and it is a really solid film in every respect; it doesn't have the style or the punch of films like Seven and Silence of the Lambs, but it is definitely well worth watching.

7/10

The serial killer genre is one that became popular after "Silence of the Lambs," and since then the only ones that have really stuck out are "Se7en," "Copycat" and "Saw." "Copycat" is about a psychologist who lectures students on serial killers, and one day finds herself to be a victim at one of her speeches. Attacked in the bathroom, she narrowly escapes death and becomes a social recluse in the years that follow -- living through the Internet, anonymously chatting on Internet chat rooms and so on and so forth.

Until the terror begins again, this time involving not only the ex-pschologist (Sigourney Weaver) but also a cop played by Holly Hunter.

"Copycat" was much better than I thought it would be. I originally saw it on TBS years ago; I remember the ads claiming it would be on, but for some reason the rights fell through and it didn't air for another month or so... through this time period I hadn't heard anything about the film, but within the very first few minutes I instantly knew it was going to be much better than the standard "Silence" rip-off.

I may be alone here (and trust me, I know it) but I enjoy this more than "Silence of the Lambs," which kind of bores me at times. "Copycat" is dark and unexpectedly intelligent -- it is also perfectly cast. Weaver is fine (if unexceptional) whereas Hunter's macho-female traits are put into play perfectly by her casting as a cop.

The killer in the movie is played by Harry Connick Jr., and even he does a good job, which is saying quite a lot.

The movie has unexpected twists and is very clever in its own right. It is undoubtedly influenced (heavily) by "Silence of the Lambs" but is successful in the way it adds its own qualities to the mix -- much like "Se7en" this is a serial killer movie cashing in on the success of "Silence," but not necessarily stealing its content.

Very surprised. Catch it if you can.

Psychologist Helen Hudson (Sigourney Weaver) is giving a guest lecture on serial killers. Daryll Lee Cullum (Harry Connick, Jr.) surprises her in the bathroom and kills her police protection. Thirteen months later, she has become agoraphobic haunted by the experience. There is a serial killer is on the loose in San Francisco and she figures out his m.o. of copying other famous serial killers. M.J. Monahan (Holly Hunter) and Reuben Goetz (Dermot Mulroney) are the investigative officers and they recruit her to help.

Sure, it's the same old serial killer movie. It does add a couple of interesting wrinkles and with solid female leads. Hunter is confident and fully realized. Weaver and her point of view deliver a sincere and fragile personality. The movie opens with the memorable bathroom attack. The other memorable aspect is Weaver struggling in her home. The investigation and the serial killer are less compelling. This follows the formula and it does it pretty well.

I'm 48 and often miss the careful production and story/character development of 80s/90s films, elements that are so often missing in many of today's movies, particularly crime-suspense dramas. COPYCAT (1995) is well-produced and gripping, with some interesting quirks of character. Sigourney Weaver gives a nice performance here, but Holly Hunter really defines the show as uncoppish cop M.J. Monahan. Many people will not like her performance for the very reasons that I do like it--Imagine Sarah Palin in the role of a homicide detective, and you'll see what I mean. Harry Connick, JR, is also memorable in his bad-guy role here.

COPYCAT has an interesting premise, but, as horrible as the following may sound, it would have been nice if they'd taken it a bit further, having the killer imitate a few others before the big come-uppance. A little more on Peter Foley, who/why he is, and what motivates him would also have helped. COPYCAT is quite watchable if you're a fan of this genre, but the whole storyline is kind of TV-Land same ol', predictable, and nothing terribly original despite the winning premise.