Dr Helen Hudson is an expert in serial killers and lectured on the subject until one day she nearly became a victim herself. Thirteen months later and she is agoraphobic; never leaving her home in San Francisco. Now another serial killer is operating in the city and M.J. Monahan and her partner Reuben Goetz are leading the investigation to catch him. Hudson contacts the police anonymously because she believes the killer is imitating the crimes of the Boston Strangler. Monahan quickly figures out who contacted them and soon Hudson is pulled, somewhat unwillingly, into the investigation. The killer sends a video clip to Hudson which she believes is his next victim; sure enough there is another murder but the MO is completely different. This should indicate a different killer as serial killers don't change their methods but something is different here; the killer has just copied a different killer, or in this case pair of killers. The killings continue, with other killers being copied until ultimately Hudson is targeted in a recreation of the previous attempt on her life.
After 'The Silence of the Lambs' serial killer films were the flavour of the moment. This is a solid enough example of the genre; not one of the best but certainly not one of the worst. The story gets off to a good start and having a main killer who copies others was interesting. Unfortunately the sense of mystery is somewhat reduced as we are shown the killer fairly early on; once we've seen his face it is just a question of who he will copy him next and how the cops will ultimately stop him. Apart from Monahan the police are depicted as fairly incompetent; the officer posted outside Hudson's door is easily lured away and another leaves his gun in an unlocked drawer near a suspect with tragic consequences. Solid lead performances from Sigourney Weaver and Holly Hunter raise the quality of the production from something fairly routine to make it well worth watching if you are a fan of the genre.
After 'The Silence of the Lambs' serial killer films were the flavour of the moment. This is a solid enough example of the genre; not one of the best but certainly not one of the worst. The story gets off to a good start and having a main killer who copies others was interesting. Unfortunately the sense of mystery is somewhat reduced as we are shown the killer fairly early on; once we've seen his face it is just a question of who he will copy him next and how the cops will ultimately stop him. Apart from Monahan the police are depicted as fairly incompetent; the officer posted outside Hudson's door is easily lured away and another leaves his gun in an unlocked drawer near a suspect with tragic consequences. Solid lead performances from Sigourney Weaver and Holly Hunter raise the quality of the production from something fairly routine to make it well worth watching if you are a fan of the genre.