A serial killer stalks the streets of San Francisco; unlike his many predecessors does not choose a distinctive, identifying pattern. No, this killer prides himself on his unoriginality: he is a copycat, recreating the violent murders of some of the country's most notorious serial killers, his heroes. On the case, is criminal psychologist Helen Hudson who is the reigning expert on serial killers; she has also become agoraphobic after having too close of a brush with killer, Daryll Lee Cullum. Though he has finally been locked up, she is unable to function outside her apartment. It is homicide detective M.J. Monahan and her partner Ruben who involve Hudson after they begin suspecting that the recent rash of bizarre murders they investigate is the work of a new mass murderer. Using her career and her vast knowledge, she figures out the killer's game. She knows he is well-versed in history and that the killings are tributes to the old masters. Unfortunately, she cannot predict his next style of killing, who he will kill, or when. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Review by All Movie Guide
All Movie Guide
is neutral about it.
After the phenomenal success of 1991's
Silence of the Lambs, serial killer movies aspired to avoid "typical" grisly killings, instead devising the cleverest murders possible. 1995's
Seven had its arty killer referencing classical literature; that same year, in Copycat, the killer mimics the famous real-life murders of the Son of Sam, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Ted Bundy. The stylish, pretentious
Seven was by far more successful at the box office, but in fact, Copycat is a more likable thriller. Though the script is often unfocused and implausible, it features a functional mystery, and director Jon Amiel (responsible for the divine British mini-series
The Singing Detective) creates much tension by balancing character-building scenes with the action. There are very good performances all around:
Sigourney Weaver, in a part similar her role in
Death and the Maiden, is typically skillful; but it is
Holly Hunter and the
Frank Sinatra-esque Harry Connick Jr., playing a hillbilly killer, who stand out the most. ~ Brendon Hanley, All Movie Guide