Product Description

A homicide detective and a criminal psychologist search for an elusive copycat mass murderer.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 4-JUN-2002
Media Type: DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18116 in DVD
• Brand: WEAVER,SIGOURNEY
• Released on: 1998-04-29
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 123 minutes

Amazon.com
Taking its lead from Jonathan Demme's Oscar-winning pulse-raiser The Silence of the Lambs, Copycat strives for intelligence over gristle and carnage. It's a terse, involving thriller that swings away from the usual cinematic notion of violence as a means to an end by forgoing brawn for brains. Young San Francisco police inspector Ruben Goetz (Dermot Mulroney) is teamed with brilliant force vet, M.J. Monahan (Holly Hunter), a diplomatic, no-nonsense cop who must buck the system in order to find a killer who is copycatting the crimes of history's most notorious serial killers. Ruben would rather shoot to kill than merely wound a suspect; Monahan labors to help him think more diplomatically. Everything changes when crank calls arrive at the station from serial-killer pin-up girl psychiatrist Helen Hudson (Sigourney Weaver). She's been housebound for 13 months, ever since murderer Daryll Lee Cullum (Harry Connick Jr.) nearly made her his next victim because she testified against him in court. Though he's in prison, he's still mentor and muse to every loose cannon walking the streets--one of whom is killing people with a vengeance and hoping to finish the job Cullum began. Cop and doc team up to solve the case in this stylish, plot-driven movie. Though Copycat loses steam in the end, it still makes a point. And it serves as a cautionary tale for people everywhere, tossing in street smart warnings against victimization. The teaming of Hunter and Weaver works well, the short and the tall forging a terrific and frictioned relationship that leads to grudging respect. Establishing an ominous atmosphere reminiscent of his classic British TV miniseries The Singing Detective, director Jon Amiel has an eye for the dark and the unusual and it gives this film an edge that eludes most other mainstream filmmakers. --Paula Nechak

From The New Yorker
Movies about serial killers are now reaching epidemic proportions, and this latest contribution to the genre, directed by Jon Amiel, is one of the least convincing. Sigourney Weaver stars as a San Francisco serial-murder buff (great job); she is first seen lecturing on famous killers, is then attacked by a particularly nasty specimen (Harry Connick, Jr., plus pimples), and spends most of the rest of the picture hiding at home. From there she helps a local cop (Holly Hunter) in the search for another murderer, whose idea of fun is to copy famous slayings of the past. The plot would seem more ingenious if the movie itself didn't copy so many other thrillers (notably "The Silence of the Lambs"), and if it weren't so easy to spot every twist half an hour in advance. -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Good story, great suspense...
If you like suspense, mystery, a good story, and for the most part, good acting, then this movie is a good choice. What I like about Copycat (besides Sigourney Weaver) is how it seems to come full circle. It feels complete to me. It starts at the beginning, doesn't backtrack with flashbacks or start in the middle and leave you wondering what's going on. You're able to follow along and not get distracted by unnecessary gore (sure there is some, but not much). It's a psychological thriller, and I like that much better than the slash and dash type of movies. It makes you think and allows you to try and figure out what the outcome will be.

Sure, you expect the star to live, but it's not always a given. The ending kind of hints at a sequel but as far as I know, there isn't one. If they can make one as good as the first, I think it would do well (at least those who enjoyed this one, might see the second). It's rather interesting to see the Harry Connick Jr. play a serial killer. He's pretty creepy.

More than a 'Silence of the Lambs' rip off...
I've seen a number of reviews that refer to this movie as a "Silence of the Lambs" rip-off. I disagree. "Copy Cat", while similar in many aspects to "Silence of the Lambs", manages to stand alone. The story line is nothing new...evil serial killer terrorizing young girls, cops teaming up with an expert to track him down before he selects and filets his next victim. You've seen it before, right? Well, maybe not.

"Copy Cat" is filled with twists and turns and exceptional acting. The overall mood is dark and foreboding. Helen Hudson (brilliantly played by Sigourney Weaver) is a psychiatrist and expert in the field of serial killers. However, she is not your run of the mill "hero"... in fact, she's a mess. She can't even leave her house since she was terrorized and almost made into Darryl Lee Cullum's final victim. Cullum, now imprisoned, did quite a number on Hudson, turning her into a pill-popping, jittering, agoraphobic shell.

Ironically, the protege of Darryl Lee is what actually brings her back from the living dead, as she works with police to track down a copy-cat killer that re-enacts the most horrifying murders history has to offer. Helen Hunt and Dermont Mulroney play the cops working feverishly to catch the copy-cat before he can strike again. Hunt and Weaver play off of each other exceptionally well. Their animosity turns into grudging respect as they realize they need one another to survive this.

Yes, this film does have similarities with "Silence of the Lambs" but it also has characteristics that set it apart. This movie is filled with exceptional acting, a good story line, plot twists, realistic (if flawed) heroes and a dark, creepy atmosphere. If you did enjoy "Silence of the Lambs" try "Copy Cat"...same style, differnt movie.

Remarkable display of talent...
Here you have two tough broads, a good cop and the nastiest of killers. How can you lose? Actually, the pairing of Sigourney & Holly is wonderful, in this age of films so lacking in strong women's roles. Sigourney, in particular, after years of kicking alien-butt, withdraws as the victim of an almost lethal attack and subsequent nervous breakdown. Her house-bound recluse still shows fire and rage, well-controlled and centered; a really great performance. Holly, too, in a slightly less showy role, shows drive and command of her role. These women are magnificent, in their own ways, and carry this film through plot-twists and strange turns that are always compelling. Also compelling is the very taut direction of John Amiel, never missing a chance to include the audience in everything, though you don't realize it at the time. A very handsome Dermot Mulroney makes an auspicious presence as an "almost" sex-object for the women, and William McNamara is greatly effective as the ultimate center of the film. Harry Connick, Jr. has impressed me as an actor many times, but not so much as here. With rotten teeth and an oily, snake-like presence he is given a few memorable moments. This film has been compared to "Silence of the Lambs", but it really has its own character and drive. The tension is high, the plot well presented and the acting is superlative. I like this film a lot.