"Copycat" is a good and meritful thriller, perhaps one of the best from the 90s, where thrillers were usually more suspenseful and rich in plot lines than packed with action scenes. (This is a compliment). In other words, they don't make them like those thrillers anymore. Therefore, I think "Copycat" deserves the attention of any old-school thriller aficionado. It is less crude than "Silence of the lambs" and, in my opinion, more intelligent, too, but it simply suffered from the fact that it came later in time.
"Copycat" is a movie about serial killers and, to a good extent for a commercial-purpose movie, it offers a great deal of information about the psychology and typical rituals of serial killers (apparently, the film-makers recruited world expert Robert K. Ressler for assessment and guidance throughout the making of the movie). There is one serial killer here, too, and one heroine, psychiatrist Helen Hudson, who is fighting incapacitating agoraphobia after being attacked and nearly killed by a psychopath who was obsessed with her. However, she can't help getting involved when young women start to get murdered. Helen will soon notice that the crime scenes are exact copies of grimly famous murders by famous serial killers from the past.
"Copycat" is not a perfect movie. It does have its weaknesses: some plot lines are clearly superfluous and don't really fit in with the main plot line; there are other scenes which seem to intend to exploit a certain humorous potential about M.J., the female police detective, but don't really fulfill their purpose; and the last third of the movie feels definitely rushed in, as if some significant scenes had been left off at the editing room. I also got the clear feeling that the starting point, the idea behind the story, was not exploited to the fullest, and that a great movie could have come from it.
But then, again, "Copycat" is also better than most others in its genre, and I would definitely put it higher than most thrillers that are made these days. Both Sigourney Weaver and Holly Hunter are perfect in their roles -I especially enjoyed Hunter's character, a mix of innocence and toughness-, and, even though William McNamara has more modest acting abilities overall, in this role he did a great job. Another good point about "Copycat" is that it respects the pacing and the tempos of a suspenseful movie, with building-up tension and a very good and long climax.
My score is 7 stars out of 10.
"Copycat" is a movie about serial killers and, to a good extent for a commercial-purpose movie, it offers a great deal of information about the psychology and typical rituals of serial killers (apparently, the film-makers recruited world expert Robert K. Ressler for assessment and guidance throughout the making of the movie). There is one serial killer here, too, and one heroine, psychiatrist Helen Hudson, who is fighting incapacitating agoraphobia after being attacked and nearly killed by a psychopath who was obsessed with her. However, she can't help getting involved when young women start to get murdered. Helen will soon notice that the crime scenes are exact copies of grimly famous murders by famous serial killers from the past.
"Copycat" is not a perfect movie. It does have its weaknesses: some plot lines are clearly superfluous and don't really fit in with the main plot line; there are other scenes which seem to intend to exploit a certain humorous potential about M.J., the female police detective, but don't really fulfill their purpose; and the last third of the movie feels definitely rushed in, as if some significant scenes had been left off at the editing room. I also got the clear feeling that the starting point, the idea behind the story, was not exploited to the fullest, and that a great movie could have come from it.
But then, again, "Copycat" is also better than most others in its genre, and I would definitely put it higher than most thrillers that are made these days. Both Sigourney Weaver and Holly Hunter are perfect in their roles -I especially enjoyed Hunter's character, a mix of innocence and toughness-, and, even though William McNamara has more modest acting abilities overall, in this role he did a great job. Another good point about "Copycat" is that it respects the pacing and the tempos of a suspenseful movie, with building-up tension and a very good and long climax.
My score is 7 stars out of 10.