Copycat

After being attacked following a lecture, criminal psychologist Helen Hudson develops agoraphobia and cannot leave her home. Meanwhile new murders in San Francisco reproduce the methods of famous killers exactly: Albert DeSalvo, David Berkowitz, Jeffrey Dahmer. The best idea in it is the discovery that the killer is working through them in the same order Hudson presented them in her university lecture. Jon Amiel deliberately restructured the script, removing the romance between a male and female lead to build two female leads instead, and said why: he wanted a film about women dealing with violence against women rather than one exploiting violence against women. Sigourney Weaver plays Hudson and Holly Hunter plays Detective M. J. Monahan, with a score by Christopher Young. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 76 percent and it grossed 79 million dollars worldwide, with critics praising the performances and the reworking of the genre along gender lines. Who it is for: viewers who like nineties serial killer thrillers. Who it is not for: anyone uncomfortable with detailed recreations of real murders. The film shoots those scenes with an appetite that sits awkwardly against its own argument.