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Doppelganger [1992]
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RRP: £9.99
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DISPOSABLE ENTERTAINMENT
Review date: 2007-10-26 Rating: 6 out of 10
Moving to Los Angeles, Holly Gooding, (Drew Barrymore) takes a roommate position with Patrick Highsmith, (George Newbern) an aspiring writer. When he makes mention of seeing her around town without recognizing him, she immediately recognizes the danger and secretly calls Doctor Heller, (Dennis Christopher) her old psychiatrist about the problem. She starts bringing him along as she investigates her past and reveals that she has a doppelganger, a ghostly twin that is haunting her and has confused each other. Deciding to stay roommates, she starts to become haunted by the visions of the doppelganger, and she slowly starts to loose her grip on reality. When she is soon accused in a vicious murder spree, her friends start to work together to get her off the hook before the doppelganger is exposed to the wrong authorities.
The Good News: This is a minor disappointment, but it does have some good points in it. One of the main points is that it's weirdness is compelling instead of annoying. The film is filled with all sorts of images, such as the continuous times the sunglasses-clad Drew doppelganger is seen standing in the window of the deserted mansion or outside a café and the eerie scene where the hero follows her into a culvert that add a genuine weirdness. Then there is the ever-so head-spinning moment where he spends the night with her only to be told in the morning that they didn't do anything and they can do all the dirty things you want together and warns him to don't confuse the two. This is quite surreal and really works to see the film. It's also filled with some great jolt surprises. The moment where the FBI agent is revealed to be not who he is and the ever-so mind-boggling moment where just about every character in the film is revealed to be a mannequin in the mansion are just some of them. There's practically no shortage of them in the film, and those are the best ones. There are all sorts of surreal dream sequences, where she's taking showers in blood or the hero entering the apartment to find it trashed, her crucified to the wall and the doppelganger coming after him with a knife that really sticks in the mind for good reason. The last ten minutes, inside the church where all the revelations occur, is quite fun and over-the-top, resulting in some spectacular special effects and a lot of gore, really sending this out on a high note. Even though it has nothing to do with the plot, there are several times we see the heroine's breasts, first the scene where the they takes in a shower scene, where the nozzle starts spraying blood, spraying all over her naked flesh while her breasts bounce up and down in slow motion, and then in a sex scene with the hero. It's nice and sleazy, which does help out. These help to make the film watchable.
The Bad News: This here is a disappointment, and there are several reasons for this. There's a large amount of just deathly dull scenes in here that grind the pace of the film down substantially in the second half. The first half is where most of it's good parts come from there, and it just drags out until the ending, and is filled with scenes that go on and on without getting to any conclusion. This makes the ending half of the film incredibly slow and dull. By not even having a real lot of action scenes in there in that section, it's rendered even more of a distressing series of events. When it's not being dull, it's being confusing. Most of this is a result of the heroine. She has some sort of spells at times, which makes it seem like she is being possessed. In those scenes, shots of trees are shown for some reason. I have no clue why those shots are in the movie. The trees seem to be spinning around in those shots, and they did make me a little dizzy. Beyond that, there is something that isn't really resolved in the movie. Just what is going on with Holly? Did she have a doppelganger? A split personality? Was she being possessed? Was she really a killer pretending to have some kind of mental problem to get away with her crimes? All of these are brought up and certainly plausible, and while some things are explained near the end of the movie, the fact that there is a lot still unsure of and that is quite hard to get away with. These are big problems in the film and really lower the film, despite their not being a lot of problems with it.
The Final Verdict: It's a real disappointment, especially as it's got potential and a couple good moments, but the majority of the time, this is a really dull film. If it sounds like something which has entertainment value, then seek it out, but it won't change you're world if it's skipped.
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Reviews
Thrilling/a bit horrible
Review date: 2007-01-21 Rating: 10 out of 10
This is a definate must see for those that love movies inbetween a horror and a thriller. Although this is quite different to a horror, it has some jumpy parts inbetween. It's also very disturbing.
The back of the box explains it all, though it took me a few watches to actually understand the ending.
Recocmended for those that love the disturbing'thrilling films.
Worth a look
Review date: 2003-05-27 Rating: 8 out of 10
This was another early Drew barrymore after she got rid of her childhood image.
I wouldn't say this film is scary but it's a little jumpie in places. Drew looks really sexy in the film and most people I know love the shower scene. don't think it's one of her best film but it worth a look.I good to see drew murdering her real life mum in the begin of the film
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Leslie Hope
Sally Kellerman
Drew Barrymore
George Newbern
Dennis Christopher
Creators:
Drew Barrymore (Primary Contributor)
George Newbern (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: ITV DVD
Manufacturer: ITV DVD
EAN: 5037115037039
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2003-02-17
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 100 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1992
Language: English (Original Language)