Copycat (1995)

Director: Jon Amiel

Writers: Ann Biderman, David Madsen

Composer: Christopher Young

Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Holly Hunter, Dermot Mulroney, William McNamara, Harry Connick Jr., J.E. Freeman, Will Patton, John Rothman, Shannon O'Hurley

More info: IMDb

Tagline: One man is copying the most notorious killers in history one at a time. Together, two women must stop him from killing again. Or they're next.

Plot:  An agoraphobic psychologist and a female detective must work together to take down a serial killer who copies serial killers from the past.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

When I saw this nearly twenty years ago I left the theater underwhelmed.  It's a gimmick serial killer movie with the conceit that Helen (Weaver) was home bound and she works with Monahan (Hunter) to catch a killer.  SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991) was such a huge hit that it created a renaissance in the serial killer genre which meant a very few good films on the subject along with a lot of mediocre and shitty ones.  Rather than cook up a good story, many of them relied on a gimmick or an angle to set them apart.  This picture is OK at best.  Weaver feels like she's trying a bit too hard but then the film feels that way, too.  I get the impression that the filmmakers thought they had something special, and I guess at times they made some good moments, but it touches on so many genre cliches and drag the picture out to two plus hours that an hour or so in I was ready for this ride to stop.  The Warner Bros. DVD set (4 Film Favorites - Thriller with THE CRUSH, PACIFIC HEIGHTS and DIABOLIQUE) says this is widescreen but it's fullscreen.   The only extras you get include the trailer (fullscreen) and a commentary track with the director.  I saw PH and DIABOLIQUE when they first came out and I wasn't impressed with either so I'm just going to go ahead and get rid of this one at the next garage sale.  I waste enough time watching OK-at-best movies, I don't need to add more to the list.