Copycat (film)

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Copycat
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jon Amiel
Produced by	Arnon Milchan, Mark Tarlov
Written by	Ann Biderman, David Madsen
Starring	Sigourney Weaver, Holly Hunter, Dermot Mulroney, Harry Connick, Jr.
Editing by	Jim Clark
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	October 13, 1995
Running time	123 Minutes
Language	English
Budget	$20,000,000
IMDb profile

Copycat is an American suspense movie thriller from 1995.

1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Reception
4 Trivia
5 External links

[edit] Plot

Psychologist Dr. Helen Hudson (Sigourney Weaver) is an expert on serial killers. However, after one of her previous subjects, incurable psychotic Daryll Lee Cullum (Harry Connick Jr), almost murders her, she becomes an agoraphobic, fearful of new attacks and living a terrified existence within the walls of her apartment.

When a new series of murders begins which mimics the murders of famous serial killers down to incredibly precise details, detectives MJ Monahan (Holly Hunter) and Reuben Goetz (Dermot Mulroney) solicit Helen's help and expertise. Someone is imitating famed serial killers Albert Desalvo, Bianchi and Buono (aka the Hillside Strangler), David Berkowitz, and Jeffrey Dahmer. Serial killers Ted Bundy, Peter Kürten, and Edmund Kemper also are referenced.

As the murders add up -- one victim turns out to be of Helen's gay assistant -- the "copycat killer" is revealed to be a lab technician named Peter Foley. He forces his way into Helen's apartment by disguising himself as a policeman. She is taken hostage to the place where Daryll Lee Cullum almost killed her. Foley tries to reenact the crime scene as closely as possible, even going so far as to kill another policeman at the scene just as had happened 13 months earlier.

Detective Monahan shows up just in time. She shoots Foley in a climactic confrontation on a rooftop. The movie ends with Daryll Lee in prison, mailing a letter to yet another potential serial killer, continuing his efforts to destroy Helen Hudson.

[edit] Cast

Sigourney Weaver - Helen Hudson
Holly Hunter - M.J. Monahan
Dermot Mulroney - Reuben Goetz
Harry Connick, Jr. - Daryll Lee Cullum
William McNamara - Peter Foley
J.E. Freeman - Lt. Thomas Quinn
Will Patton - Nicoletti

[edit] Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a "Fresh" 74% rating based on 31 reviews. 23 of those reviews were "Fresh" and 8 reviews were "Rotten." Roger Ebert gave it 3 and half stars out of 4.

According to Box Office Mojo, the film opened in 1,390 theaters with an opening weekend gross of $5,170,522. When it closed on December 25, 1995, its total domestic gross was $32,051,917.

[edit] Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

While shooting the climactic bathroom reenactment scene, Sigourney Weaver actually spat in William McNamara's face without his prior knowledge from rehearsals. The reaction of anger and shock in his face is quite real due to his surprise.

The final scene in which McNamara's character is killed was shot atop the Von KleinSmid Center on the campus of the University of Southern California.

The lines from the song "Murder By Numbers" by The Police that are quoted prominently in the film were first quoted and discussed in relation to serial killers in Elliott Leyton's book, Hunting Humans (1984).

You can see Peter Foley before you meet him as the murderer- he appears at the lecture Helen is giving at the beginning and again in the police station.

There is an almost ten inch difference in the heights of Holly Hunter (5'2") and Sigourney Weaver (5'11.5"). During most of the movie, one of them is either sitting or standing on the other side of the room. They were, however, walking together very close to each other right before Dr Hudson's assistant dies.