Horror Actressing: Sigourney Weaver in "Copycat"
Monday, August 12, 2019 at 12:21PM by Jason Adams
Something I look forward to every single year, Film at Lincoln Center's annual week-long "Scary Movies" series, is hitting here in New York this forthcoming weekend -- check out the entire stellar run of films at this link here. While I'm most excited for Ari Aster's "Director's Cut" of Midsommar, which runs half an hour longer than the one we saw in theaters, they're mixing up showings of brand new flicks and old under-screened classics in ways that really set my toes to tingle.
In that vein I was tempted to use this week's edition of our "Great Moments in Horror Actressing" series to talk about a performance not very many people have seen yet -- that of Maeve Higgins in Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman's horror-comedy Extra Ordinary, which I saw this past month thanks to the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal (here's my review) and which is screening this weekend at FLC. Maeve, in her first leading lady role, absolutely shines.
But we'll save that for when the very funny movie gets a proper release. Especially since FLC is also screening Jon Amiel's terrifically under-valued 1995 serial killer flick Copycat, starring two of our great actresses, Holly Hunter and today's focus-of-post, Sigourney effing Weaver...
Sigourney plays a criminal psychologist named Helen Hudson who specializes in serial killers who becomes agoraphobic after a near-death run-in with one of them -- when another killer shows up who's aping famous killings Helen's forced to pop her head out of her luxurious apartment long enough to help the cops (Hunter and Dermot Mulroney) find the bad guy.
One thing that I love about Copycat is its fun-house inversion of Silence of the Lambs, the gold star that all serial killer flicks were chasing in the 1990s -- instead of being forced to make a deal with the devil, aka a Hannibal Lecter, the detective turns to a capable (if damaged) female victim of violence, and together the women solve the mystery. And casting Sigourney, the seemingly fifteen-foot-tall movie-star bad-ass who stuck her boot so far up an alien queen's backside it flew back into outer space, as a woman who wears smart sweater sets and crumbles to dust if she has to step outside her door for delivery, well, it's a terrific stroke of genius.
And naturally Sigourney rises tall to the challenge. Helen is as vivid a woman to me as any of Weaver's career-full coterie of characters - Weaver makes her fear so palpable and breathless that just watching her turns my own face blue from forgetting how my own lungs work. She becomes terror incarnate. Fright takes guts, a real loosening of the self and letting go, and at this point in Weaver's career she could've played this sort of role safe -- Helen never once feels safe; she feels like the walls caving in.
Reader Comments (19)
... such an underrated film and sooo brilliant performances by Weaver and Hunter. Connick Jr has a RIOT with his role, also.
I absolutely adore this movie and Sigourney in it. It's great. And because of its effectiveness my mother was afraid to go into public bathrooms for a long time afterwards.
It's a real type of 90's thriller the ladies are ace in it,the score is good,Dermot is adorably cute and kind you really feel his departure plus it's extremely creepy esp the gay help being killed and did you know the ending was reshot.
I agree whole-heartedly that COPYCAT is criminally underrated (pun intended) and fantastically re-watchable. However, I can't share the enthusiasm concerning Weaver's performance. She is OK but nothing special, particularly when sharing the screen with a dynamite, Oscar worthy Holly Hunter, who is absolutely incredible. Hunter is like Streep in that she takes every role and creates nuance and depth that goes beyond the written words. COPYCAT is also my favorite drinking-game movie. Take a shot every time Weaver takes off and puts back on her reading glasses - you'll be sloshed by the closing credits.
This is a disturbing movie where I hated the actor playing the serial killer so much that I felt affirmed in my hatred when I found out he broke the stunt woman's nose in a scene.
That’s method ^^^!
This is the first thriller i saw in my life and i love it. For me is more a hand-to-hand of performances between Holly Hunter and Sigourney Weaver, both are fantastic.
The moment in which Helen drops her shoe is just brilliant.
It's a pretty good film as Weaver is great in it but the twist in the end is a total letdown.
The ending was reshot in late 95.
I had an intense Dermot Mulroney phase in the 90s. He's adorable here.
Peggy -- didn't we all!?!
This film was made for the double lead actress Oscar nominations. Golden Globes, at LEAST. This may be my favorite Weaver performance showcasing just how immense her charisma and star power truly is.
Adding Hunter to the mix as a very specifically modulated and performed counterpoint to Weaver just sweetens the deal.
Talk about Girl Power.
Also, Christopher Young’s best score since Hellraiser, rightfully used in almost every suspense trailer or commercial from then on until the early ‘00s.
Love it love love it.
Remember video stores? That's where I picked this up one evening and was very happy I did. I guess it did ok at the box office, but this film was a big favourite at the video store.
Weaver is always good value, and Hunter was a bonus.
Nice choice.
Trivia to add to this particular thread: Jane Campion based Ada on Sigourney Weaver and was unable to get the script to Weaver because her agent rejected the project outright.
A movie I've seen several times. Never disappoints!
Saw this twice in the theater when it came out. Loved it.
Love, love this movie. Truly scary.
I get that it's well-acted and of course I adore the top billed duo, but I remember it being very movie-of-the-week in its time. Maybe a revisit is in order.
Copycat is one of my all-time favorites. I've been going to see movies in the theater with my mom ever since I was 3(ish), but could never convince her to go to a scary movie with me, be it thriller or outright horror. Once the first trailers for Copycat came out, and early details began appearing in entertainment mags, she was like, "NO WAY IN HELL. FORGET IT." I finally convinced her to give it a shot, basing my argument on how it stars two of our favorite actors (Weaver, who should have won at least one Oscar by now, and Hunter), and how one of her favorite singers (Connick, Jr.) also starred.
Throughout the opening bathroom scene, I don't think she blinked once, just watched, frozen. Immediately after the bathroom scene, she leaned in close to my ear and whispered, "I hate you so much right now. I've had to go to the bathroom since previews began, but I didn't want to miss any of the movie....and now I'm stuck--I will never go inside a public restroom ever again. If my bladder explodes, you'll have to clean it up because this is your fault."
Long story short, she somehow found terrified mom to accompany to the bathroom, got back to her seat while I tried to stifle my laughter, and from there on out, we were both silent, eyes glued to the screen until after the credits had been rolling for a couple of minutes. Finally, while using napkins to dry her palms, she turned to me and said, "Whoa. That was a completely different experience from any other movie I've seen."
She loved it. Not just the movie, but the whole experience that only movies like this can provide. She was hooked---nothing with a ton of blood and guts, but just intense and scary---and now she gets so excited to see trailers for upcoming scary movies. I even gave her those special, late evening, packed theater, midnight-movie experiences, both on opening night/weekend, and on Thursday preview showings, and she lit up like a kid at Christmas.
The way I look at it, Copycat was so great that it completely changed her opinion on scary movie. I guess it changed her life, if you will. Not like some major type of change, but it changed her perspective on a film genre, made her realize the excitement in being scared (by a movie), and the joy of late showings with packed theaters...but it still took her a good ten years to not be terrified of public restrooms, and she still has occasional residual fear to this day.
I apologize for the ramble, but I guess what I'm trying to get across is this: If one single film has the power to (1) immediately invoke a fear or phobia in a viewer, (2) completely change t a viewer's negative outlook on an entire genre, even convincing them that they now like the genre and want to explore it further, and (3), be the root of long-lasting fears and/or paranoia that are intense for quite some time, yet still cause feelings of unease and disquiet nearly 25 years later, then I would say it's an incredibly affecting movie.
Not to mention script, performances, locations, directing and editing, a film score that enhances the film. And I also love that there are minimal jump-scare--Every scare is there for a reason, not just tossed in to make an audience jump.There are several scenes that most would consider jump scares--finding the finger, the red dress on the bed, the intruder in the house--which I would tend to agree with: Those scenes DO make the viewer jump, and while there is suspenseful music leading up to the scare, the scares themselves are intentional, natural, and add to the story. The building up of suspenseful strings suddenly goes quiet to enhance the suspense and dread we feel, just like the characters in the movie, as we await the big reveal of whatever thrill has been left for us.
I really hate to call those "jump scares," because nowadays that term tends to refer to the countless lazy, predictable, painfully unnecessary, horribly scare-free scenes that are accompanied by the sudden, loud, annoying (but, usually, blissfully brief) musical cacophony of every single instrument attempting to mate with all the other instruments in the orchestra at the exact same time. It's those lazy, flat-out shitty, one-second bursts of sound that today's filmmakers consider as jump scares that make me stick to really using that term only when it applies to current movies....using "jump scares" while referencing any older, smarter thrillers, horror flick, or suspense movie just feels like an insult to the movie (and it should be taken that way, too).
It's hard work to be able to include a truly scary or shocking moment into a film without lazily relying on that loud, big ol' one-second-orchestral fart to scare people. It's a whole other thing to be able to achieve the same effect with a clever script, great performances, perfect directing, skillful editing, and proper musical backing. And Copycat is full to overflowing with all of what I just listed.
I worked at a video store when Copycat was released on VHS, and nearly every person to whom I recommended the title had never heard of it before....but everyone who took a chance on my recommendation raved about it later on.
And I know exactly why Copycat was overlooked at the time, and why it has continued to be such an underappreciated gem:
The main reason why Copycat failed to be noticed by moviegoers upon its release? Direct competition with another "serial-killer" movie: One directed by a then up-and-comer who had a lot of buzz surrounding his ability (David Fincher); a screenplay by a writer who was also much buzzed about and sure to become the "next big thing." (Andrew Kevin Walker); and starring some of the biggest movie stars on the planet then (some of whom are still huge today): Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Kevin Spacey.
Se7en hit theaters Sept. 22, 1995. If you were alive back then, then you know exactly how insane and widespread the acclaim and controversy of Se7en spread. The controversy and critical acclaim kept people talking about it, gave it free promotion, and massive awareness. Add to that the major secrecy around the "shocking" twist towards the end, and the amazed crowds who were blown away by the ending, but refused to discuss it, not wanting to ruin the experience for those who had yet to see it (this reminds me how badly I miss the days before social media revealed it's evil little mug to the world). All of this led to massive, nation-wide buzz which didn't let up--scores were still talking about how this was one movie you absolutely had to see as soon as possible. It had to be seen to be believed. After a solid opening weekend, it continued to pull in impressive weekly hauls as more and more people finally got out to go see it, week after week after week....
Which didn't help the release of Copycat at all: It came to theaters Oct. 27,1995, roughly a month after Se7en's release. Any buzz Copycat may have had couldn't survive the national Se7ev phenomenon. A lot of people went to the theaters to see Se7en, even weeks after its release, to be able to partake in the national discussion, and to finally find out what exactly happened at the end. Moviegoers wanted to see the "first" or "original" serial killer movie of the year before moving on to a second one.....but most people didn't make it that far.
The unrelenting darkness and cruelty shocked, disturbed, and "put off" a large number of moviegoers. Se7en was most definitely NOT a cheerful movie, but many of its components, some mentioned in the previous sentence, but also the general bleakness, hopelessness, and overall negative perspective on humanity, upset and bothered a large number of fans, and traumatized others. Mainstream viewers had never been exposed to a film so dark and disturbing (I believe it was the first movie of its kind to receive studio backing AND a full, wide release across the country). Most of these people were so disturbed by Se7en that they weren't even going to give Copycat a chance, just in case it was anything like Se7en. That issue is reflected in the box office:
When Se7en premiered (back on Sept. 22, 1995), it opened in nearly 2500 theaters and brought in just shy of $14M. Thanks to all the fervor, the declines in weekly grosses were minimal (and would be celebrated today), especially between weeks 1 and 5, where each week only dropped between 11% and 17%....Which I think left Warner Bros. (the distributor of Copycat) running scared, causing them to lose faith in their release....
...because they set the opening/premier weekend of Copycat (Oct. 27, 1995) to only include just under 1400 theaters. It opened to a paltry $5.2M. That same week, Se7en brought in another $4M, and was still playing in over 2200 theaters.
Copycat lasted only 6 weeks in theaters, closing Christmas weekend, and bringing in just $32M.
Se7en (kind-of) ended its theatrical run after nine weeks the weekend of Nov. 17, 1995, after collecting just north of $84M, but shortly after leaving theaters, awards buzz grew and grew and were confirmed: Aside from a single Oscar nomination, the film also received nearly 40 nominations, total, across a long list of film-recognition awards. This prompted New Line to release Se7en back into theaters from Jan. 12, 1996 through Feb. 19, 1996, where it boosted its final gross to over $95M.
So there's my way-too-long (sorry) reasoning behind why Copycat got hammered at the box office.
As far as lackluster VHS rentals, I think it was just that time period in our history: It was fairly common to see guys be controlling assholes to women then; men were supposed to be the breadwinners, and women "had their role" in the house, and were still expected to be subservient, to "obey" what their husbands told them to do.....So I'm gonna jump into character and pretend to be a straight married guy in the mid-90s trying to decide if he should rent Copycat:
(Just looking at the front cover): Hm. Well, there are two chicks on the cover. I know this isn't a porn, so they probably aren't going to be doing anything all that interesting anyway. Sigourney Weaver...She's kinda hot, but she hasn't done anything with action since the Alien movies, and at least there she was in her underwear...This doesn't look exciting, so if it's with here, it definitely won't be....Red dress buttoned all the way to the top? Stuck up. Means there's no way she's getting naked in this one....Holly Hunter....Holly Hunter...Holly Hunter....("she was in that movie, the Piano, the one you said we could watch sometime," my wife says. I scold her for interrupting my train of thought, look around to make sure no one is within earshot and ask, "Is that the one about that one piano?" She nods. "I never said I'd ever watch some gay movie about pianos with you. Ever. EVER!"
I'm loud enough now that people are turning around, bright red, and walking away. I don't tell my wife that I now remember who Holly Hunter is, but all I can recall is that she only acts in those cheap, independent-like films, always about sisters or royalty or some bullshit. I don't have to read the back to know I'll never watch it. I've never heard of it anyway....
But, well what have we got here? Brad Pitt, so that will be exciting.....Morgan Freeman could never do a bad job......Directed by the guy who did Alien3? "Shocking and disturbing?" And I think I've heard of it before?!?!? Yoink!!!
"Stop looking. We're leaving. I found what we're watching."
I don't think Copycat really tried to sell itself to men, but rather to women, and anyone else who likes strong work. The two leads are women...and heroes! And intelligently written!
Way back then, I think that idea was just way to much for a lot of men to even try to comprehend. They didn't want to watch smart women doing cat-and-mouse, they wanted to see male action heroes blow shit up and then party with a bunch of naked girls.
I have to give Copycat credit, though: The creators and studio advertised and distributed it as the exact type of thriller that it was/is. With such a poor box office opening, they could have very easily changed their marketing to try to win customers over by piggybacking off of Se7en's success by namedropping it in every promo, adding quotes ("Just as thrilling as Se7en!" -Roger Ebert), or doing whatever, but they stuck to their vision and held true. Even with the video release they didn't sell out, but instead stuck with their film and their visions. I find that truly admirable.
Last thing before I finally let you go (you're welcome!): I'm utterly confused as to Copycat just kinda drifted away, while Se7en has remained popular to this day. Se7en is a great film, but there has to only be a small niche market that continues to watch it. Copycat is also terrific...It's not dark and depressing, maybe only minimally disturbing, and definitely not graphic. I would think the relative lightness of Copycat would be far more appealing to families, couples, friends, etc....But I think I'll always be confused about this.