Copycat (1995)

[TedShatner10]

Does anybody remember or is a fan of mid 90s horror thriller, Copycat? I think it's a surprisingly good movie when seeing it on Film 4, but didn't have the same staying power in the popular conscious as Seven (which came out in the same year).

I don't think Copycat is quite as good as Seven nor The Silence of the Lambs, but it certainly comparable to 1986's Manhunter and has that same kind of cold, technological neon lit look to it. I think what lets Copycat down (in comparative terms) was due to the serial killer played by William McNamara.

He wasn't terrible, but he sure wasn't Anthony Hopkins or Kevin Spacey, and maybe five to ten years too young for the role. He was much more menacing when was putting on the act of being a awkward but pleasant nerd, but became a bit laughable in full serial killer mode.

Who made this movie was Sigourney Weaver (playing a paranoid, shut in criminal psychologist specialist) and Holly Hunter as the main protagonist police officer (not hamstrung so much by asshole idiot male colleagues like Clarice Starling is). Also impressive was a young Dermot Mulroney as Hunter's charismatic rookie sidekick.

Spoiler: Dermot Mulroney

The scene where he, completely leftfield, gets held hostage then shot dead by a under aged gangster trying to escape custody was so tense and tragic.

The movie is very 1990s, but still pretty inventive and horrific for the most part, even if feels rather contrived in places.

 

[Tosk]

I remember it vaguely and I think I liked it well enough. It's been a long time since I've seen it, but the fakeness of Connick Jr's broken teeth has stayed with me all this time.

 

[od0_ital]

I thought it was a pretty good suspense movie when I first watched it forever ago...I think I may have owned a copy on DVD after I got my first player back around 2001, but its been at least a decade since I watched the movie.

Turns out, I was rarely in the mood to watch it.

 

[DarKush]

I really liked this film. I think the OP forgot to mention the great role Harry Connick Jr. had. I liked Copycat better than Seven. Seven had that great atmosphere and the shocking ending, but I thought it was boring. Copycat grabbed me right from jump.

I do agree though that the Copycat serial killer wasn't as good as Spacey. His method or killing style wasn't as creative either. That being said, I thought the Copycat guy had a cool motivation.

Despite the solid performances I guess Copycat just wasn't able to stand out enough. Though after Silence of the Lambs I think serial killers became in vogue so maybe people just saw it as just another serial killer film to add to the list of films and TV shows that featured them.

 

[Admiral2]

I thought it was a great film. The OP is right in that Sigourney Weaver made the film. To really see how good she is though, you should check out Death and The Maiden, a gripping film form around the same time.

 

[TedShatner10]

I really liked this film. I think the OP forgot to mention the great role Harry Connick Jr. had. I liked Copycat better than Seven

He was pretty good as serial killer that's more common day than either Hopkins' or Spacey's or McNamara's much more refined, methodical Dexter-style serial killers (and more like Ted Levine's weirdo from The Silence of the Lambs).

Spoiler: Plot Twist

The plot twist where Connick Jr.'s imprisoned character was in correspondence with McNamara's character was one of the more contrived/forced parts of the movie (and the movie ended by being overly opportunistic about a unneeded sequel that thankfully did not materialise).

Seven had that great atmosphere and the shocking ending, but I thought it was boring. Copycat grabbed me right from jump.

Yeah, I still think Seven was a bit more better made and perhaps dated better (by looking heavily rundown), but it seemed more slower moving in places.