17 TV And Movie Scenes That Went Way Too Far

I'm no stranger to an uncomfy, controversial, or gory on-screen moment. Sometimes you gotta cross the line to get a point across — and that might mean including a scene that makes people squirm. As someone who worships Breaking Bad and Seven, I can understand and respect that — sometimes you just gotta put a severed head on a turtle, or in a box.
WHAT'S IN THE BOOOOOOX???
But I'm sure you can also agree that there IS a line. There's certainly such thing as being too inappropriate, too gory, or too problematic, especially when the storyline appears to lack a real purpose. And today, we're gonna highlight my picks — the TV shows and movies that went TOO. FREAKIN'. FAR.
In addition to BrBa and Seven, I'll also mention that I gave super-high ratings to toThe Silence of the Lambs and Fight Club (my fave movie of all time). If you're looking for credibility, there it is. I ain't no snowflake.
I'll start with a more recent one. We're all aware Another Simple Favor starring Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick just came out. Well, there's a totally senseless plotline in it where Blake's character Emily has a few romantic encounters with her twin sister.
Yeah, I'm serious. In the movie, the twins kiss in more than one scene. As if the first kissing scene isn't enough, later on, one sister also drugs the other, then gets on top of her and kisses her.
And speaking of incest (not a phrase I ever thought I'd write on the internet), we can't NOT talk about Saxon and Lochlan from The White Lotus. I refused to jump on the bandwagon of this show solely to avoid this storyline...but my mother described it to me as "the most disgusting thing" she's ever seen on TV.
ICYMI, we're talking about Season 3. Saxon and Lochlan are brothers, and their relationship quickly starts becoming uncomfortably close. Their first kiss is in Episode 5, and that quickly develops into a full-blown sexual relationship. AND THEY'RE BROTHERS. Mike White, I loved you on Survivor, but can I just ask...why?!
Perhaps the most upsetting scene I've ever seen on TV was the bathtub scene in 13 Reasons Why. The whole first season of the show is about Hannah Baker's suicide, and her "reasons why." But in a now-deleted scene, they depicted her actual suicide in way, way, way too much detail.
The show, which is based on a young-adult novel, appeared to have extremely negative consequences for teens as a whole. 13 Reasons Why was actually "associated with [an] increase in youth suicide rates," which is so beyond tragic. Thankfully, they deleted the scene from the show, but I really wish younger me never saw it.
Virtually every single millennial watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But perhaps you don't remember that scene in Season 6 where Spike sexually assaults Buffy. She ends up defending herself, but the whole thing is extremely uncomfortable and difficult to watch.
And it's not just viewers who hate the scene. James Marsters, who plays Spike, said the show "sent [him] into therapy," and this scene is a big reason for that. "It's a problematic scene for a lot of people who like the show. And it's the darkest professional day of my life," he said.
I could name so many scenes from Euphoria that I felt crossed the line, but as someone who 100% has emetophobia, that hot tub vomiting scene in Season 2 was just too much. This one is pretty self-explanatory — in the scene, Cassie, played by Sydney Sweeney, vomits all over the hot tub. And it's pretty revolting.
I guess you could make arguments for why this was important, but I argue it was way too much to ever justify. Sydney Sweeney herself even said the director "just wanted vomit everywhere," and she dubbed it "the most disgusting thing [she's] ever experienced."
I'll defend Glee forever and always, but I can't deny that several of those storylines were problematic. The one that consistently rubs me the wrong way is in Season 4, when Marley develops an eating disorder, largely thanks to manipulative cheerleader-slash-mean-girl Kitty. Marley ends up fainting onstage during a competition, and the whole club basically blames her for the team's disqualification.
Part of the reason why this storyline bothers me so much is we don't really get any closure — and with such a serious topic, that's a massive shame. Kitty ends up revealing she essentially caused Marley's eating disorder, and because they're in a super tense situation when Kitty spills this secret, Marley basically just forgives her, and we don't hear about the situation again.
Season 7 of The Walking Dead opens with a couple of excessively bloody kills, one being a fan-fave character since the show started. I won't name the characters just in case you're extremely behind on this show, but it definitely pushed boundaries in how brutal the kills were — almost to an unnecessary degree.
Some fans even said these deaths were some of the bloodiest ones in the history of TV, which is a LOT to say for this show and TV in general. I get that the premise of The Walking Dead means blood and gore, but at some point, it's just excessive. Especially when it's a character we all adored so much...it low-key felt personal.
Can I be brutally honest for a sec? Virtually everything in the Fifty Shades movies can be classified as "too far" in my books. But there's perhaps one collection of scenes most people can probably agree are too much: anything that happens in the Red Room (AKA basically Christian's BDSM room).
Not only are these scenes uncomfy for the audience to witness — for seemingly no reason at all — but it was also not fun for the actors themselves. "Some of the Red Room stuff was uncomfortable," Jamie Dornan admitted. "There were times when Dakota [Johnson] was not wearing much, and I had to do stuff to her that I'd never choose to do to a woman." IDK about you, but that makes me shudder.
This one's an unpopular opinion, so brace yourself: The Substance. I get that this movie is a body horror, but the entire last portion, where Sue and Elizabeth "fight," ruined the entire movie for me. And I'm not the only one who thinks so. So much blood and gore, so long, and all while lacking a true point or moral, it truly feels.
My disdain with this part is about more than just gore. What could've been a poignant ending that makes a profound statement about aging and feminism ended up being a blood-fight, a mockery, women's battles with aging and societal sexism reduced to a bloody outburst. And I found that even more disgusting than the blood itself.
Sorry for getting all heated!!! I still love you, Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley. This is just my opinion.
OK, now let's talk about Game of Thrones. You all knew this was coming, didn't you? I literally couldn't get past the first episode of this show because of all the sexual assault — not just the volume, but those scenes just seemed to last forever. Never mind all the incest, too.
Again, I understand these scenes serve a purpose, but it's the excess that bothers a lot of people. There are just so many violent sexual assault and incest scenes in this show, at a certain point, you have to consider whether it's even worth watching the show as a whole.
Game of Thrones is perhaps the most well-known show for its brutal sexual assault scenes, but not enough people talk about Outlander. There are a few sexual assault scenes in this show that fans think went too far — in particular, the scenes at the end of Season 1 were called "the most graphic and disturbing rape scenes ever to air in the history of television."
Sam Heughan, who plays Jamie Fraser, talked about how uncomfy it was for him to shoot that part in Season 1. "The cock shot was unnecessary and did betray my trust in the creative team a bit," he said. He also noted that he didn't think the nudity added much substance to the plot: "This wasn't a moment where I felt that being naked would add to the horror of what Jamie undergoes." And as a viewer, I have to sympathize.
All the sexualization of Angela in American Beauty is just awful to watch now, not least because her character is underage. Angela is supposed to be 17, a friend of protagonist Lester's (Kevin Spacey) daughter. People agree the entire movie has aged like milk, but it's especially difficult to watch Lester's dream sequence, where he fantasizes about touching Angela in ways we can all agree are extremely gross.
Can I say it again? ANGELA IS UNDERAGE. Plus, it's his daughter's friend. That's not hot, it's CREEPY. The plot of the entire movie feels problematic to many of us now, but I'd like to think we should've known better when this came out in 1999.
You is seriously one of my favourite shows of the past few years, so there's not much I can critique about it. But one part was a bit too gross for me: the montage in Season 2 that flips between Joe (Penn Badgley) putting a body in a meat grinder and Love (Victoria Pedretti) cooking a meal (yes, with meat in it). See what they did there?
Filmography-wise, I get it, and I can appreciate it. But as a viewer, I physically couldn't watch it. Like, did we really have to see the intricate process of Joe putting a literal dead body in a meat grinder? And the connotations of Love cooking a meal at the same time are...really hard to ignore.
Several of the most renowned sitcoms of all time have pulled scenes since they first aired because of characters appearing in blackface. Namely, The Office, Scrubs, and Community — but you might not know that 30 Rock pulled a whopping FOUR episodes in 2020 because of blackface, one with John Hamm as a guest star.
Tina Fey, who created the series (duh), issued an apology when the episodes were taken down. "I understand now that 'intent' is not a free pass for white people to use these images. I apologise for pain they have caused," she wrote. "Going forward, no comedy-loving kid needs to stumble on these tropes and be stung by their ugliness."
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I can appreciate a raunchy joke. But I can't justify the one scene in Sausage Party that seemingly makes a sexual assault joke — with a juice box, of all things. In the scene, the bottom of an injured juice box starts leaking, and the antagonist drinks from the hole. Then he says, "If you tell anyone about this, I'm gonna deny it, bro."
This is another one that deeply offends me. Who thought it was a good idea to include a (I'm assuming) sexual assault joke in an animated comedy movie? Here's the truth: it's just not funny. That line of dialogue feels disgusting and triggering, and takes the "joke" way, way, way over the edge.
This one is kinda controversial, but I don't think I've ever been as passionate as when this came out. Years before "gaslighting" was a term everyone knew, we heard it on Season 17 of The Bachelorette. Yes, I'm talking about contestant Greg Grippo, who Katie Thurston accused of gaslighting.
The reason I feel this went "too far" is, yeah, that's someone's (ahem, Katie's) actual trauma displayed on live TV. Greg's actions hit way too close to home for many viewers. And seeing how many people were #TeamGreg after the fact was…really disheartening. TBH, this was the reason I stopped watching The Bachelor franchise. Greg later admitted he "came off like an ass," but for me, it's too little, too late.
Finally, let's chat about that absurd scene in the 2006 movie Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, where Sacha Baron Cohen pretends to kidnap Pamela Anderson. The whole thing is staged, but the audience doesn't know that, so they essentially fight to try and save Pam — which "accidentally injured" her in real life.
This scene is supposed to be light, and all in good fun, but clearly there were deeper consequences we didn't see at the time. In 2019, Sacha also revealed that controversy surrounding this scene might have contributed to Pamela's divorce to Kid Rock. So yeah, this one's got a lotttt of lore.
Which TV or movie scene do you think crossed the line? Maybe it was too inappropriate, gross, or problematic? Tell me in the comments below, or fill out this form to stay anonymous!
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Chicago Tribune

a day ago

• Chicago Tribune

Column: Remembering the ‘Sammy Wars' and other tales from Sosa's long and storied Chicago Cubs career

Closure is something we all crave, whether it's the perfect ending to a favorite TV series or a resolution of a real-life relationship. The closure of the long-running Sammy Sosa saga felt like a little of both, part 'Breaking Bad' finale and part end of a nearly three-decade story I've covered off and on at the Tribune. Now that Sosa is back at Wrigley Field, the story is complete. But how it ever got to this point was somehow overlooked in the Cubs' 'Welcome back, Sammy' production, which ignored his feud with ownership over an admission that was not forthcoming. For most Cubs fans, Sosa was a star of a long-running series they had watched for years, with some episodes — the corked bat, the great home run race, the sneeze, the final walkout and the destroyed boom box mystery — more memorable than others. For reporters covering the Cubs, Sosa was almost a separate beat, and competition for scoops — on contract extensions, his true feelings about the manager or whatever — was fierce. The Sammy Wars were a daily thing between the Tribune and Sun-Times for many years, and as much as he helped enrich the Cubs, he also sold a lot of newspapers in this sports-crazed town. Sosa's mid-career trajectory from serviceable slugger to superstar was dramatic, and by baseball standards, happened almost overnight. Sosa had a combined 22.4 bWAR over his first nine seasons, from 1989-97, with one All-Star appearance in 1995. Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox snubbed him when picking the 1996 and '97 National League reserves, and Sosa begged out of the '98 game with a shoulder bruise after being selected as a reserve despite hitting 20 home runs in June. On the final weekend of the 1997 season, manager Jim Riggleman alluded to Sosa in a rant to the media about a 'me-first' culture in the Cubs clubhouse. One the final weekend of a lost season, he berated Sosa in the dugout in St. Louis, in front of teammates such as Mark Grace and Ryne Sandberg, for ignoring a sign and getting thrown out on a steal attempt. That was also the weekend that bulked-up Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire went for Roger Maris' seemingly unbreakable home run mark, hitting three off Cubs pitching to finish with 58, three shy of the record. Sosa was paying attention. A bulked-up Sosa 2.0 showed up for spring training in 1998, and the great home run race with McGwire was about to begin. From 1998-2004, Sosa posted a 37.1 WAR, setting franchise records for home runs and becoming the Sammy Sosa that was feted Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field, ending his 20-year exile with the organization. It was a different Sosa than I remembered covering as a player. Still cocky enough to say he would be able to hit as many home runs onto Waveland Avenue despite the giant video board blocking his power zone but humble enough to act gracious for a chance from Chairman Tom Ricketts to return to what he called his 'home.' I spoke with Sosa a few weeks ago about his impending visit and told him he should go sit in the right-field bleachers behind Pete Crow-Armstrong, sharing time with his 'people,' the right-field bleacher bums. He laughed and ignored my unsolicited advice. Some things never change. There was no chance for spontaneity Friday anyway. The Cubs made no announcement of Sosa's return for fans, only to see the news leaked in the morning. This would be a Cubs production, directed by the Cubs for the sole purpose of promoting the Cubs. There was no time for anything that could not be scripted, from the bro hug with Ricketts to the in-game visit to the radio and TV booths to the postgame interview on Marquee Sports Network. Manager Craig Council gladly trumpeted Sosa's legendary status while reducing the steroids era to two words: 'History happens.' I thought perhaps Sosa could talk to the players, maybe give them a pregame pep talk before their game against the Seattle Mariners. 'He's not here to talk to the team,' Counsell said. 'He's here to … none of the guys that come in talk to the team.' Here to what? Why was Sosa here? 'Because we bring Hall of Famers back to Wrigley, and for the fans,' he said. 'You're not aware of that? You should probably do some work.' The Tribune regrets the error. Friday also provided closure for Ricketts, who for years demanded an apology/admission from Sosa and thought he had it in 2014 when radio co-hosts David Haugh and David Kaplan were dispatched to Miami for an interview with the former Cub star, who would 'acknowledge malfeasance.' But Sosa abruptly canceled and later told Sports Illustrated in a statement: 'When the time came, I felt like I was being swept up in a PR machine that was moving way too fast and not adhering to the spirit of our agreement, so I pulled out.' Ten years later, Sosa's people issued a semi-apology statement for making 'mistakes' by doing things to 'recover from injuries in an effort to keep my strength up to perform over 162 games.' He was then invited to the Cubs Convention and elected into the Cubs Hall of Fame. But at the convention he told the media he wasn't apologizing for any PED stuff but for depriving Cubs fans of his presence during the separation. The Cubs regret the error. It was a classic bat-and-switch. But Ricketts, at that point, didn't seem to care. He just wanted it over, like everyone else. 'We kind of inherited this Sammy situation from 2004, and it's always been a goal to put it behind us,' Ricketts told Tribune Cubs writer Meghan Montemurro at the convention. 'And I think that this year, the timing was right, and I think Sammy was in the right place, and it all worked out so I'm just happy.' Sosa repeated the narrative Friday, saying it was all just a matter of timing. 'I'm here now,' he said. It was nice to see Sosa back, adding some closure to our relationship, which was hot and cold, depending on whatever controversy was unfolding that day. During the height of the Sammy Wars, he was considered a Sun-Times guy, which the paper smartly used to its advantage, particularly whenever Sosa's contract was up for discussion. 'We're certainly the pro-Sammy newspaper,' former Sun-Time sports editor Bill Adee told the Chicago Reader in 2000. 'Sammy lives in my building. At the end of the night we ride up the elevator together.' Facetiously asked whether Sosa thought the paper was party to a 'corporate conspiracy' by Tribune Co. against him, Adee replied: 'Yeah, I think he does. Sure — which is to our advantage. As you well know, conflicts of interest — perceived or real, it doesn't really matter. When Sammy thinks Tribune Company, he thinks of the newspaper, the whole deal. He doesn't make a distinction.' Sosa continued to sell newspapers when Adee later moved to the dark side and joined the Tribune as sports editor. Good, bad or ugly, people have always been interested in the Sosa saga. Someday it'll make a great Netflix series.

USA Today

2 days ago

• USA Today

Bryan Cranston champions Ford's new philanthropy push at revived Detroit landmark

It's midmorning June 17 and actor Bryan Cranston is in a private room deep inside Michigan Central Station seated in an overstuffed lounge chair. He leans back, smiling and welcoming the respite from the grueling 82-degree heat he'd just endured for more than an hour outside, speaking in front of hundreds of Ford Motor Co. employees, dealers and some media. Cranston, 69, isn't complaining. Heck, he isn't even sweating. The Oscar-nominated star volunteered to be in Detroit to emcee the event to kick off Ford's new philanthropy program: Ford Building Together. The program aims to better unite Ford's nationwide dealership network and employees so that they can provide more efficient relief during disasters. Ford is partnering with four charities in the new program. 'I'm here to build that community, that's what it's all about," Cranston told the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, of why he supports Ford's philanthropy work. "I'm tired of the vitriol and the rancor and the finger-pointing. We're better than that. We have a variety of different opinions on religion and politics and life. But let's find the commonality. This is one of those events that finds that commonality. This is a celebration of the American spirit.' The American spirit is fitting for Ford as the company touts itself as the most American of all the automakers, often citing the statistic that 80% of the vehicles it sells in the United States, it also assembles here. That is a timely message amid President Donald Trump's trade war, which seeks to encourage more U.S.-based manufacturing. A quiet philanthropist Cranston is most famous for playing the dad in the early 2000s sitcom "Malcolm in the Middle" and more recently as playing Walter White, a chemistry teacher turned drug dealer, in the hit 2008-13 drama "Breaking Bad." In 2016, he was nominated for Best Actor for the movie "Trumbo." Despite his movie star credentials, Cranston is a dedicated philanthropist, though he said this is the first time he has talked so openly about it. "I've been involved in philanthropy for quite a while. My wife and I have a fund set up for a variety of charities," Cranston said. "It was Jane Kaczmarek, who played my wife in 'Malcom in the Middle,' who said, 'Paying back, donating time, energy and money to charities is reciprocal to our good fortune and it kind of comes with the territory.' " He has used social media to promote his involvement with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children over the years. And, even with his business endeavors, Cranston makes an effort to give back. "I'm so blessed; I'm so lucky. Why not share it?" Cranston said. "I don't know how good I'd be as a mogul, wanting to make more and more. I want to make and share, make and share. That's what we discovered when Aaron Paul (costar in 'Breaking Bad') and I started our mezcal company Dos Hombres — we have to give back to the people of Mexico. It's the right thing to do." 'You want me to show up?' Cranston's ties to Ford started years ago. The relationship has taken him from rescue work with the automaker's philanthropy arm after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, to more recently his visit to Dearborn, Michigan Truck Plant to donning a hard hat to trapse through the very building he sat in on June 17: Michigan Central Station, well before it was renovated. Cranston's famous voice — a deep, gutteral baritone — won him a contract as the voice of Ford commercials starting in October 2018 with the launch of the "Built Ford Proud" campaign, according to Ad Age. He has also voiced Ford Philanthropy promotional videos. Before that, he said he has personally bought several F-150 crew cab pickups over the years, donating them to charities to use after hurricanes to rescue people in flooded areas. As for his personal car, Cranston has been driving an all-electric Mustang Mach-E for the past few years. So when Ford told him about this new philanthropy program that partners with the American Red Cross (Cranston said he donates blood regularly), Habitat for Humanity, Feeding America and Team Rubicon, he didn't hesitate to help. "Ford said, 'Do you wanna …?' I said, 'You want me to show up?' They said, 'Will you? Really?' I said, 'Yeah, yeah.' So here I am," Cranston said. Cranston's visits to Michigan To get to Detroit on June 17, Cranston took a day and a half off from the set of his latest project, a dark comedy movie being filmed in Champaign, Illinois, called "Chili Finger." It also stars Judy Greer, Sean Astin and John Goodman. The timing is interesting, too. Cranston said it was nearly four years ago to the date when he entered "this building wearing a hard hat and a vest, stepping over puddles and fallen cables and graffiti and broken marble … it was a mess." That was in 2021 or so and Cranston said he'd come to Michigan to do research for the 2022 movie "Jerry and Marge Go Large" costarring Annette Bening based on the true story of Jerry and Marge Selbee, of Evart, Michigan, who figured out how to win the lottery. Cranston took a detour from his research to come to Detroit during that visit where he met up with friends. While in the city, he took a tour of Dearborn Truck Plant to see the F-150 pickup being made and then he made his way to Michigan Central Station. "I came here to see what Ford was doing to this and why," Cranston said. "I thought, 'Oh my gosh this is a huge undertaking.' I knew it was Bill Ford's baby and people thought he was a little crazy to do this and look at it now. It's gorgeous.' Executive Chair Bill Ford was on FOX News Channel's "FOX & Friends" the morning of June 17 talking to co-host Steve Doocy about the long-standing desire to repair the train station. "It had become a mecca for drug dealers and everything else. I drove by it almost every day and often, what happened was, there were stories, national stories about the decay of Detroit ... and this was often the visual," Ford said of the train station. Ford spent close to $1 billion to renovate the old train depot, which now holds shops, offices and soon, a luxury hotel. Since it opened to the public in June 2024, Ford said it has had about 300,000 visitors. On June 2, NoMad Hotels, an upscale boutique brand affiliated with Hilton and featuring a bourgeois-bohemian flair, said it plans to open an approximately 180-room hotel on the top floors of Michigan Central Station in the first half of 2027. Cranston's take on Detroit sports Cranston glances around at the marble walls. The sunlight pierces through the skylights illuminating the once downtrodden train depot. He is aware the building reflects the Motor City, a place he calls a "great town" that he visits often. "I'm really, really happy to see it come back," Cranston said. "There were times when I was here, where it was almost like a ghost town and to see that urban renewal is really rewarding.' Cranston has a couple of hours before he has to catch a flight back to Champaign, Illinois, and return to his real job. He doesn't mind going back to work, saying he is grateful that he gets to do what he loves for a living and it has given him a platform to help others. There is one regret though, being a Tigers fan, Cranston wishes he could have caught a game while here. "But the last time I was here, it was about a year and a half ago, and I'm from Los Angeles originally so I'm a Rams fan," Cranston said. "We came to play the Lions and the Lions beat us. They played a better game and they won. They've got a great team and it was a lot of fun." Jamie L. LaReau is the senior autos writer who covers Ford Motor Co. for the Detroit Free Press. Contact Jamie at jlareau@ Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. To sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.

Yahoo

3 days ago

• Yahoo

Netflix just added an intense psychological thriller movie with Sigourney Weaver — and it's already crashed the top 10

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Even though Netflix releases its lineup for each month, the streaming service occasionally adds movies not originally on the schedule, which can be easy to miss. In this case, 'Copycat' landed on Netflix U.S. on June 15, but thankfully, it didn't go unnoticed because it's already cracked the top 10 list by hopping into the tenth spot. I'm not surprised people jumped on 'Copycat' since it has all the ingredients subscribers often look for: big stars like Sigourney Weaver, Holly Hunter and Dermot Mulroney, and a chilling serial killer story that might just get under your skin. Originally released in 1995, 'Copycat' didn't make a huge splash at the box office, but over time it's become something of a hidden gem among thriller fans. Its psychological tension and strong performances has helped it build a quiet cult following over the years. This psychological thriller follows a criminal psychologist struggling with agoraphobia after a traumatic attack, who teams up with a detective to catch a serial killer replicating the methods of infamous murderers. While plot isn't the most original, the movie still makes for a gripping watch, and one that gets your adrenaline pumping if you choose to see it alone. If you've scrolled through Netflix today and noticed 'Copycat' suddenly appear in the top 10 list, here's everything you need to know before adding it to your watchlist. 'Copycat' follows Dr. Helen Hudson (Sigourney Weaver), a renowned criminal psychologist who becomes a recluse after surviving a traumatic attack by a deranged killer. Now agoraphobic and living in isolation, Helen is reluctantly pulled back into the world of crime-solving when a new serial killer begins targeting victims in San Francisco, each murder eerily mimicking the methods of infamous real-life murderers. Assigned to the case are Detective M.J. Monahan (Holly Hunter) and her partner Reuben Goetz (Dermot Mulroney), who turn to Helen for insight as the killings escalate. Despite her crippling fear of the outside world, Helen uses her expertise to identify the pattern behind the copycat killings. As the investigation intensifies, she and M.J. form an unlikely bond, working together to stay one step ahead of the killer, who seems to be watching Helen more closely than anyone realizes. 'The Silence of the Lambs' wasn't the very first Hollywood movie about serial killers, but its massive critical and box office success sparked a wave of similar movies that dominated the '90s before eventually fading out. One of these copycats is ... well, Jon Amiel's 1995 thriller 'Copycat.' While it might not surpass 'Silence of the Lambs' or even Brad Pitt's 'Seven,' it's still a pretty intense watch and makes for some chilling midnight viewing. It's refreshing to watch a thriller that centers on two smart, strong women, and even better that they're brought to life by Holly Hunter and Sigourney Weaver, two powerhouse actresses of their generation. There's real substance behind both characters, which helps 'Copycat' rise above just being another serial killer movie. 'Copycat' is very much a psychological study, taking time to explore the human side of its characters. Dr. Helen Hudson is dealing with some serious trauma and can't bring herself to leave the house, while Detective M.J. Monahan is driven by a strong commitment to solving the case and stopping the serial killer terrorizing the city. Without this character development, 'Copycat' would feel hollow in the landscape of serial killer thrillers. Director Amiel, known for the unique and highly praised 1986 BBC series 'The Singing Detective,' shows his expertise here by keeping the story tightly focused. The movie hardly ever wanders off track, always pushing the plot forward while keeping the tension just strong enough to stay gripping. Like classic studio movies that carefully balanced what the audience needed to know, this movie reveals just enough information to save you from feeling lost. While 'Copycat' definitely has its strengths, there are a few noticeable flaws. The whole idea of a killer copying famous murderers felt a little predictable at times, and you might find yourself guessing where the story was headed a bit too early. In some ways it shares too many similarities with 'Seven' for this reason. Outside of the two strong leads, most of the supporting cast doesn't get much time to be explored, which makes the world around them feel a little thin. I'm sure Netflix viewers will still enjoy 'Copycat' (and I think it's worthy of your time even with these flaws). Movies have long been drawn to exploring evil, and I think part of that comes from how our own fears tend to fuel our interest. You don't need to take my word for it either, since 'Copycat' has a solid rating of 76% on Rotten Tomatoes, with audiences rating it slightly lower at 64%. The site's critic consensus reads: 'Copycat's outstanding cast helps this often unpleasant thriller transcend the less palatable elements of its standard-issue story.' Minneapolis Star Tribune's Jeff Strickler said: 'Although the plotting of this mystery-thriller about a copycat killer is flawed, Hunter and Weaver drive the show with strong performances.' Meanwhile, Trace Thurman from Horror Queers Podcast shared the same thoughts, stating that '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.' So if you were going to take anything away from these reviews, it's that 'Copycat' is worth watching for the performances alone. If you haven't already added 'Copycat' to your Netflix watchlist, now's the time. The whole 'killer copying famous murderers' concept isn't exactly new, but this thriller handles it in a surprisingly smart and stylish way. And a big part of why it works so well is, of course, Sigourney Weaver. I already loved her (partly because she stars in my favorite franchise of all time, 'Alien') but she really shines here. I'd argue that 'Copycat' is one of her best roles and a big reason why it's well worth carving out two hours of your time. 'Copycat' is now streaming on Netflix. For more streaming recommendations, see what else is new on Netflix in June 2025. Netflix just got this fantasy action movie with Vin Diesel and Elijah Wood I didn't expect Netflix's new romantic sci-fi movie to be this charming This new on Netflix action-thriller with Gerard Butler soars to No. 1 spot