This 1990s thriller blends three of my favorite things: serial killer trivia, San Francisco, and Sigourney Weaver. The premise: Weaver plays Helen Hudson, an accomplished doctor and author who’s an expert on all things Dahmer and Gacy (as well as American presidents). At one of her conference presentations, a psychopath attacks her, leaving her intensely agoraphobic.

Fast forward a year later—a series of murders has Detective MJ Monhan (Holly Hunter) and Ruben Goetz (Dermot Mulroney) stumped, so they head off in search of an agoraphobic expert, Helen, to help them sort out who’s killing whom.

The killer soon turns out to be a show-boating chameleon, copycatting other murderers’ crimes in order to appear more clever (hence the title). As Dr. Hudson comes to life analyzing evidence, it becomes clear that the killer has had her in his sights all along. He breaks into her well-heeled, well-armored, stunning SF apartment, doing cute things like swapping one outfit for the red suit she had worn during her initial assault, or not-so-cute things like planting ants in her bed along with her own book and a lopped-off finger as the bookmark.

Things start to unravel for the detecting squad quickly. Hudson and Monahan are honing in on the killer when the detective’s partner gets gunned down in an unrelated station shooting, and Helen’s adorable personal assistant gets Dahmer-ed behind a rave. Even though these women are tough, smart, capable, and now have revenge fueling their investigation, the killer always seems to be a step ahead. Not great for them, but great for the audience.

Copycat Killer corners Helen at the crescendo, recreating the film’s first scene—her traumatizing event—down to the weapon placement. Then he invites her friend, Detective Monahan, to join them as the victim-in-blue. This killer’s real downfall is hubris, when he skips a crucial step—checking for a pulse—in an otherwise very methodical murder spree.

The pat, bleak, and not-too-upbeat ending suits the film well. Copycat is an overlooked shadowy gem among 1990s thrillers (Se7en came out that same year), and will keep you wondering which way things will go until the parting shot.

-MH