One of the ‘best’ psychological thrillers of the 90s has just been added to Netflix

An ‘outstanding’ psychological thriller with a stellar cast has been added to Netflix just in time for its 20th anniversary.

Copycat, released in 1995, follows Dr Helen Hudson (Sigourney Weaver), who has become agorophobic after being attacked by the deeply deranged Daryll Lee Cullum (Harry Connick Jr).

But she must face her fears when approached by police officers M. J. Monahan (Holly Hunter) and Reuben Goetz (Dermot Mulroney) as they believe a copycat killer is on the loose, and Dr Hudson is their best hope of catching them.

Copycat proved a moderate box office success at the time of its release, but it really took off on the video rental market, becoming the 11th most-rented film in the US for 1996.

It has been dubbed one of the ‘best’ psychological thrillers of the 90s, and currently holds a 76% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The critics’ consensus reads: ‘Copycat’s outstanding cast helps this often unpleasant thriller transcend the less palatable elements of its standard-issue story.’

‘For anyone who likes to stoke adrenaline with anxiety, Copycat delivers the goods,’ Newsweek said in their review.

Variety wrote: ‘What the world would not seem to need right now is yet another serial killer thriller, but Copycat has both the smarts and the tension to rate as a potent entry in the overworked genre.’

The Chicago Sun Times said: ‘Copycat doesn’t have the dark tones of Seven, or that movie’s distinctive look. But in its own way, it is as effective. It creates original characters and makes them more important than the plot. We care, and that’s the key.’

Entertainment Weekly added: ‘The violence in Copycat is going to freak out fans of Hunter and Weaver, but then, the movie’s emotional depth is going to shock your average slasher-film fan.’

The Horror Queers Podcast surmised in a retrospective review: ‘Weaver and Hunter are at the top of their game, elevating what is essentially a 2-hour episode of a CBS crime procedural into high art.’

Speaking on SiriusXM last year, Connick Jr, who played the film’s infamous psychopath, revealed he only met Alien icon Weaver at Copycat’s premiere after she allegedly avoided him on set.

‘Sigourney Weaver, she’s so unbelievable. She wouldn’t talk to me,’ he recalled.

‘I didn’t meet her till the premiere. She would not— every time I came around, she went the other way. She was like, “I don’t want to be around that guy!”‘

He joked: ‘I remembered what it was like to be in high school.’

In an interview at the time of the film’s release, Weaver said she was often a ‘basket case’ while filming such dark subject material.

‘It took a lot out of me, I think. A great thing happened, which was I met a wonderful karate teacher in San Francisco. Every night, even if we ended at like 9:30, I would meet with him for an hour and I’d practice kicks and everything,’ she said.

‘I don’t think I could’ve gotten through without it because it was very centering, and I think it also took me out of that victim frame of mind.’

Copycat is available to stream on Netflix.

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