Review of Copycat (1995) by Adam S — 05 Jun 2014

Copycat is starring Sigourney Weaver as the famous, alcoholic, pill-popping chriminologist Dr. Helen Hudson who has been isolating herself in her apartment for a little bit over a year since she almost lost her life to a very disturbed psycho killer, during one of her lectures.

The incident resulted that one police was killed, and Dr. Hudson (who barely survived the attack which was targeted at her, personally) retired from all work and got a severe case of agoraphobia.

Though she is nowadays retired, she has a hard time not being curious in a series of murders that has recently occured in town. Murders that simply do not fit the "usual pattern".

It gets even harder to resist interfering, when it stands clear that the police officers who are handling the case; M.J. Monahan (Holly Hunter) and Ruben Goets (Dermot Mulroney) don't seem to have a clue, and don't see what's obivous to Dr. Hudson; the fact that there's a new serial killer at large...a serial killer who is copying previous serial killers like Son Of Sam, Boston Strangler, Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer ect.

Things start to get even more disturbing, when the unknown serial killer start to approach Dr. Hudson herself and what it seems, plays a little cat-and-mouse-game with her. It's obvious for everyone that he's message is simply; catch me while you can.

I have several friends who loves this movie, but to be honest I can't see the reason. I'm not saying that this is a bad movie, but to me it's just another star-packed thriller with too many clichées that lacks focus and orginality.

The characters are very much "by the book", even to the point that it gets a bit ridiculous at times (M.J. Monahan the "tough" female cop for example...).

I can't stand the lousy "twist" at the end and some of the dialog, and what's more I don't think that anything of the serial killer's motives makes the least sense.

I know...it sounds like I hate this movie, but I don't. I find this watchable, though nothing more. Filmmakers have to work a little bit harder to impress me, to sum it all up.