- Copycat (film)
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Copycat
Theatrical release posterDirected by Jon Amiel Produced by Arnon Milchan,
Mark TarlovWritten by Ann Biderman,
David MadsenStarring Sigourney Weaver
Holly Hunter
Dermot Mulroney
Harry Connick, Jr.
William McNamaraMusic by Christopher Young Cinematography László Kovács Editing by Jim Clark Studio Regency Enterprises Distributed by Warner Bros. Release date(s) October 27, 1995 Running time 123 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $20,000,000 Box office $32,051,917 (Domestic)[1] Copycat (1995) is an American psychological thriller, starring Sigourney Weaver and Holly Hunter. The film was directed by Jon Amiel, with a score composed by Christopher Young.
Contents
Plot
After giving a guest lecture on criminal psychology at a local university, Dr. Helen Hudson (Weaver), a respected field expert on serial killers, is cornered in a lavatory by one of her previous subjects, Daryll Lee Cullum (Harry Connick, Jr.), who kills a police officer and brutally attacks her. Helen becomes severely agoraphobic as a result, sealing herself inside an expensive hi-tech apartment, conducting her entire life from behind a computer screen and assisted by a friend, Andy (John Rothman).
When a new series of murders spread fear and panic across her home city of San Francisco, detective M.J. Monahan (Hunter) and her partner Reuben Goetz (Dermot Mulroney) solicit Helen's expertise. Initially reluctant, Helen soon finds herself drawn into the warped perpetrator's game of wits.
As the murders continue Helen realizes the elusive assailant draws inspiration from notorious serial killers including Albert DeSalvo, The Hillside Strangler, David Berkowitz, Peter Kürten, Ted Bundy, Edmund Kemper and Jeffrey Dahmer. When the murderer begins contacting - and even stalking - Helen, she and M.J. realize that he is after them, and they enlist the aid of Cullum, who tells them what he knows about the killer. Helen soon realizes that the Copycat killer has been following the list of serial killers in the same order she'd presented at the university the night of her attack, and the two work to figure out where and when he will strike next.
After Andy is killed in a manner reminiscent of Jeffrey Dahmer, M.J. deduces the killer's identity as Peter Foley (William McNamara). After leading a failed attempt to catch Foley at his house, M.J. discovers that he has kidnapped Helen and taken her back to the scene of Daryll Lee's attempt at killing her - the restroom of the lecture hall. Once she gets there, M.J. finds Helen bound and gagged in the same manner that Cullum did before, but she is ambushed and shot by Foley, rendering her unconscious. As Foley prepares to kill M.J., Helen desperately attempts to save her by ruining Foley's carefully replicated crime scene the only way she can - by attempting to hang herself. Foley panics and cuts Helen down, and Helen is able to get away and escape to the building's roof. Her agoraphobia kicks in again, and Helen finds herself cornered. Accepting her fate, she turns to face Foley. However, just as he is about to kill her, M.J. shoots him in the brachial nerve, giving him one last chance to surrender. When he pulls his gun back on her, however, she shoots him dead.
Some time later, Daryll Lee writes a letter to another serial killer, instructing him on how to kill Helen, revealing that he had been aiding Foley all along.
Cast
- Holly Hunter - Inspector M.J. Monahan
- Sigourney Weaver - Helen Hudson
- Harry Connick, Jr. - Daryll Lee Cullum
- Dermot Mulroney - Inspector Reuben Goetz
- William McNamara - Peter Foley
- J. E. Freeman - Lt. Thomas Quinn
- Will Patton - Det. Nicoletti
- John Rothman - Andy
- Shannon O'Hurley - Susan Schiffer
Reception
The film received a 75% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, making it "fresh."
Noted film critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded it three-and-a-half stars out of a possible four, and a thumbs up on Siskel & Ebert, citing Holly Hunter's character as one of the year's most complex and engaging film creations.[2]
Soundtrack
Copycat: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Soundtrack album by Various Artists Released October 27, 1995 Genre Film Music, Soundtracks Length 63:05 Label Milan Records - "Get Up To This” - New World Beat
- "Carabu Party” - Steven Ray
- "Techno Boy” - Silkski (Jerome Evans)
- Main Title From 'Copycat'
- Stick Him Or Shoot Him
- Housebound
- Silent Screams
- Murder's An Art
- In Darkness
- Take A Life
- Next To The Devil
- Pastoral Horror
- Silhouette
- Gallows
- Butchers and Bakers
- Panic
- Who's Afraid
- Lay Me Down
- The Barber Of Seville: Largo Al Factotum - Roberto Servile/Failoni Chamber Orchestra/Will Humburg
- Tosca: Vissi D'arte - Gabriela Benackova/The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra/Bohumil Gregor
References
- ^ "Forces of Nature at Box Office Mojo". http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=copycat.htm. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ "Copycat". Chicago Sun-Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19951027/REVIEWS/510270301/1023.
External links
Films directed by Jon Amiel 1980s The Silent Twins (1986) · Queen of Hearts (1989)1990s Tune in Tomorrow (1990) · Sommersby (1993) · Copycat (1995) · The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997) · Entrapment (1999)2000s Categories:- American films
- English-language films
- 1990s thriller films
- 1995 films
- Films directed by Jon Amiel
- Films set in San Francisco, California
- Films shot anamorphically
- Police detective films
- Psychological thriller films
- Serial killer films
- Warner Bros. films
- American mystery films
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