SPOILERS WITH-HELD For what starts out as a good horror/murder movie, it sures gets stupid quick and fizzles out. Primarily made for the titillating Drew Barrymore to ooze sex, it doesn't make very much sense and what sense it has is based on lousy, fuzzy logic. What is does have is a good intense and suspenseful plot set in a claustrophobic sequence of events and then marred by one villain we are expected to believe was pulling all the strings and everywhere at once. Drew is wildly kept uninhibited, much like Alyssa Milano in "Embrace of the Vampire," and George Newbern is a rather odd witness to the events around him. The rug is constantly pulled under him as he believes Drew's character Holly Gooding is a murderer, then being set up, and then being haunted. Dennis Christopher is miscast in a unnecessary role as her psychiatrist. There's not much horror, but lots of suspense to this movie which ends with an anti-climactic crash of confusion. Personally, I could have written it better.
44 Reviews
Interesting film, but what a hideous ending!!
gridoon11 November 2001
This movie holds your interest and keeps you wondering, up until an ending which will make cry out "Oh boy!". It's so gruesome and far-fetched and off-base that it's positively ludicrous. On the plus side, Drew Barrymore burns up the screen with a much steamier performance than the one she gave in "Poison Ivy", and the "good guys" are unusually likable (in an unforced way) for a horror film. (**)
Drew grew!
BA_Harrison19 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Hoo boy, this is a stinker*. The writing, the direction, the acting - all dreadful. But - and this is a big 'BUT' - the film stars Hollywood wild-child Drew Barrymore all grown up and voluptuous and not afraid to show us exactly how she has changed, the star flaunting her body in some figure hugging outfits and a couple of gratuitous nude scenes.
Drew plays Holly, who turns up on the doorstep of writer Patrick Highsmith (George Newbern), answering his newspaper ad for a room-mate. Naturally, he lets her move in right away, much to the consternation of his writing partner and ex-girlfriend Elizabeth (Leslie Hope), who still has feelings for him. Sure enough, Patrick is soon boning Holly on the floor of his kitchen, although the girl later claims that it wasn't her he had sex with, but rather her wicked doppelganger (which, if you read on, makes a mockery of the film's final revelation). Holly claims that her 'double' has been plaguing her since she left New York, and is responsible for the deaths of her parents. Naturally, Patrick is taken aback by this news, but decides to help Holly because she's fit.
Writer/director Avi Nesher chucks in a couple of brutal knife attacks and a show-stopper of a shower scene for his sexy star, the water turning to blood as she washes herself, which helps to keep the viewer entertained until the very silly ending in which we learn the truth behind the murders: Holly's psychiatrist Doctor Heller (Dennis Christopher), who is obsessed with Holly, has been donning a Scooby-Doo style rubber mask and wig to pose as her double (as well as pretending to be several other people along the way).
A grown man posing as a petite young woman is incredibly daft, but Nesher has one final surprise up his sleeve for those who think the film isn't stupid enough already: traumatised, Holly's body splits into two hideous creatures (courtesy of special effects team KNB), one of which kills Heller by throwing him though a window to be impaled on a spiked railing. The two halves then reunite as Holly.
*A stinker, yes, but not without a fair amount of entertainment value.
Drew plays Holly, who turns up on the doorstep of writer Patrick Highsmith (George Newbern), answering his newspaper ad for a room-mate. Naturally, he lets her move in right away, much to the consternation of his writing partner and ex-girlfriend Elizabeth (Leslie Hope), who still has feelings for him. Sure enough, Patrick is soon boning Holly on the floor of his kitchen, although the girl later claims that it wasn't her he had sex with, but rather her wicked doppelganger (which, if you read on, makes a mockery of the film's final revelation). Holly claims that her 'double' has been plaguing her since she left New York, and is responsible for the deaths of her parents. Naturally, Patrick is taken aback by this news, but decides to help Holly because she's fit.
Writer/director Avi Nesher chucks in a couple of brutal knife attacks and a show-stopper of a shower scene for his sexy star, the water turning to blood as she washes herself, which helps to keep the viewer entertained until the very silly ending in which we learn the truth behind the murders: Holly's psychiatrist Doctor Heller (Dennis Christopher), who is obsessed with Holly, has been donning a Scooby-Doo style rubber mask and wig to pose as her double (as well as pretending to be several other people along the way).
A grown man posing as a petite young woman is incredibly daft, but Nesher has one final surprise up his sleeve for those who think the film isn't stupid enough already: traumatised, Holly's body splits into two hideous creatures (courtesy of special effects team KNB), one of which kills Heller by throwing him though a window to be impaled on a spiked railing. The two halves then reunite as Holly.
*A stinker, yes, but not without a fair amount of entertainment value.
B-Movie-ish, but worth a look for fans
Fiss13 February 1999
The good? Acting by the "Nice Guy" writer, Newbern, is great. Drew Barrymore's sultry little dances and always seductive scenes. Plot twist will probably surprise you. The bad? Early in Drew's career...look to Ever After and Wedding Singer if you want better acting. Special Effects are stuff I could do with enough silly-putty and Jell-O mix. The ugly? A lot of the plot isn't needed. Could have been wrapped up in a TV show slot, and it indeed felt rushed at the end with a "bad-guy explains his whole evil plot" sequence.
It's good for a laugh, and good to waste some time, but don't be too critical of it. It's more of a confusing B-Movie trying to be a REAL movie than anything.
It's good for a laugh, and good to waste some time, but don't be too critical of it. It's more of a confusing B-Movie trying to be a REAL movie than anything.
Horrible horror
hall8959 October 2009
Here we have a movie which fails in pretty much every way it is possible for a movie to fail. Terrible script, lousy acting, amateurish directing, laughable special effects...it's just an utterly awful movie. Not to mention the fact that when you get to the end you'll realize the whole thing doesn't make a lick of sense. After spending the whole movie wondering what in the world is going on here when things are finally explained you realize the story has been built on a foundation which is ludicrously impossible. In one of those hideous "villain explains the whole movie" sequences we are told that our villain has done something which quite simply can't be done and which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Oh, and after that we see that there also appears to be some kind of jell-o monster involved. I'm sure Drew Barrymore would very much like to pretend this movie never happened. If for some ungodly reason you are ever tempted to sit down and watch this movie may I suggest instead taking that time to bang your head against a wall for 104 minutes. That would prove to be a much more pleasurable experience than sitting through this garbage.
Drew Barrymore at the lowest point in her career...
jluis19842 March 2006
Drew Barrymore is an actress that has gone through bad periods, not only in her career, but in her personal life too. After being a prodigy child actress she descended into obscurity with mediocre films of low quality. While she has recovered from that dark past, this movie stays as a reminder of Drew Barrymore's worst days.
The movie starts with an interesting premise, very reminiscent to Brian De Palma's "Raising Cain"; with a plot dealing with multiple personality disorder that sets the story for a horror/thriller. Barrymore stars as Holly Gooding, a young woman who is trying to make a new life in California after a traumatic event of her past in which apparently her other personality killed her mother.
Suddenly, her past returns to haunt her as her evil personality is back in her life willing to ruin her new found peace and her new found love. In the middle of the chaos his new boyfriend, Patrick Highsmith (George Newbern), will try to help Holly to face the demons of her past.
Unlike De Palma's underrated thriller, "Doppelganger" is for the most part a mediocre film that not only never fulfills it's purpose, it also concludes in one of the worst endings of movie history. While Barrymore is definitely not at her best, she manages to keep her dignity with an above average performance. The rest of the cast however range from mediocre to painfully bad over-the-top performances, although Leslie Hope manages to be among the best of them.
The script is full of clichés and De Palma's influence is quite obvious. While the movie tries to be original by making literary references in almost every line, the dialogs are dull and the wooden acting certainly doesn't do any good. It has a fair share of nudity and for strange reasons, and excessive use of special effects.
The make-up effects are done by the outstanding KNB and are really among the few good things in the movie. However, the bizarre over-use of the effects in the totally out of context ending decreases the impact of KNB's work and makes cheesy what in a different movie would be amazing.
The fact that this is a B-Movie is no excuse for it's low quality, as with a better and more coherent script this could had been an interesting movie. Sadly, all we have here is a mediocre film that gets worse every second. Worthy for Barrymore's beauty. 3/10
The movie starts with an interesting premise, very reminiscent to Brian De Palma's "Raising Cain"; with a plot dealing with multiple personality disorder that sets the story for a horror/thriller. Barrymore stars as Holly Gooding, a young woman who is trying to make a new life in California after a traumatic event of her past in which apparently her other personality killed her mother.
Suddenly, her past returns to haunt her as her evil personality is back in her life willing to ruin her new found peace and her new found love. In the middle of the chaos his new boyfriend, Patrick Highsmith (George Newbern), will try to help Holly to face the demons of her past.
Unlike De Palma's underrated thriller, "Doppelganger" is for the most part a mediocre film that not only never fulfills it's purpose, it also concludes in one of the worst endings of movie history. While Barrymore is definitely not at her best, she manages to keep her dignity with an above average performance. The rest of the cast however range from mediocre to painfully bad over-the-top performances, although Leslie Hope manages to be among the best of them.
The script is full of clichés and De Palma's influence is quite obvious. While the movie tries to be original by making literary references in almost every line, the dialogs are dull and the wooden acting certainly doesn't do any good. It has a fair share of nudity and for strange reasons, and excessive use of special effects.
The make-up effects are done by the outstanding KNB and are really among the few good things in the movie. However, the bizarre over-use of the effects in the totally out of context ending decreases the impact of KNB's work and makes cheesy what in a different movie would be amazing.
The fact that this is a B-Movie is no excuse for it's low quality, as with a better and more coherent script this could had been an interesting movie. Sadly, all we have here is a mediocre film that gets worse every second. Worthy for Barrymore's beauty. 3/10
Oh yeah, its the WORST!
curlylass24 December 2006
Dear God! I kept waiting for this movie to "get started"... then I waited for it to redeem itself... and when it did neither, I just sat there, dumbfounded that: 1) it could possibly be this bad, and 2) that I had just wasted a couple of hours on just sheer stupidity. I had faith that Drew couldn't possibly have made this bad of a movie... and boy, did I ever lose my faith! Don't bother with this one! Drew tried, but the movie was poorly written, poorly acted, and just poorly conceived! I can't believe a script this bad ever got funded! It had a million chances to actually do something with the idea, (the word "concept" is too big for this movie to even qualify for!) and it STILL didn't go anyplace! Its just pitiful! Where the other reviewer got the idea that it wasn't the worst, baffles me! Because believe me, if it got any worse I'd have slit my wrists before finishing it!
"You don't own me. You're not my father"
lost-in-limbo15 October 2010
Such a strange, strange film, but sadly not in a good way. "Doppelganger" is an odd, sensual supernatural horror feature, which is well produced and slickly catered for (it's irresistibly slick). It's a great opening
strikingly seductive but brutal where it has Barrymore's real life mother portraying in her mother on screen. There's obviously money behind it, especially during the climax scenes with a special effects / make-up FX extravaganza. It's a WTF moment. While it might look good, there's no denying how ridiculously silly the story becomes (like some sort of parody) and the acting (mainly the support; Leslie Hope and Dennis Christopher) is overdone. Drew Barrymore is the star, but looks all out of place in the role and George Newbern as her lead comes off bemused more often. The concept isn't bad, but the hollow plot lacks cohesion and involvement in what turns out to be nothing more than unintentionally hilarious in its b-grade shadings and a disappointing smokescreen by the end.
Godawful
moonspinner5514 April 2002
Warning: Spoilers
Although I recently put this on my 10 worst films list, I have to say it's probably no worse than Burt Reynolds in "The Maddening" or any of the "Look Who's Talking" sequels. Still, it's pretty nauseating, even with sexy Drew Barrymore playing something of a horror-movie answer to Holly Golightly, relocating from New York City to Los Angeles but finding out she's being stalked by a murderous look-alike. Poor Sally Kellerman, a quirky actress of great acclaim in the '70s, is reduced here to a paltry supporting role, and Barrymore's leading man George Newbern is the worst type of sitcom actor, always pausing for a laugh after every line. The picture is swill, but Drew's bloody shower scene boasts showmanship, and the identity of the psycho (although right out of a "Scooby Doo" episode) is interesting. But as for the finale...get real! Who had to clean up THAT mess? * from ****
JUST OKAY - (6 stars out of 10)
BJG-Reviews30 October 2021
The stage curtains open ...
"Doppelganger" isn't the best psychological horror movie I've ever seen, but there is something about it that peaked my morbid curiosity to continue watching it right up to the very end. And then, even when you think you've got it all figured out, you don't - they give you one more eye-popping final scene that you won't soon forget.
The movie starts off setting the mood right away. A woman is attacked mercilously and murdered by a knife wielding woman who very much resembles our main character, Holly Gooding (played by Drew Barrymore). Then we cut to the immediate future where Holly is looking for a place to live and meets her new roommate, Patrick (played by George Newburn) when she responds to his ad in the paper. As he gets to know her, he learns the dark secrets behind her family and that she believes she is being followed by her doppleganger, who is performing horrendous deeds. When her own institutionized brother's life is threatened, she decides to take maters into her own hands. Things aren't all as they seem - or are they?
Drew Barrymore never looked better and sold her character, though she's had better turns in other movies. George Newburn filled his role and did his job. I thought that the best performance came from Leslie Hope, who played Patrick's very candid, high-strung friend, Elizabeth. I loved her in this movie. The soundtrack is a product of its time with a sensuous dance scene involving Drew swaying hypnotically to the rhythmic beat, running her hands up and down her body.
"Doppelganger" isn't a bad movie. The one thing that I really liked about it, is that it doesn't sell out with some B. S. ending. At first, I thought it was going to, but then the real fun starts to happen - and I liked it. It pretty much covers all the bases when it comes to horror. It is a guilty pleasure and worth the watch at a solid 6 stars out of 10.
"Doppelganger" isn't the best psychological horror movie I've ever seen, but there is something about it that peaked my morbid curiosity to continue watching it right up to the very end. And then, even when you think you've got it all figured out, you don't - they give you one more eye-popping final scene that you won't soon forget.
The movie starts off setting the mood right away. A woman is attacked mercilously and murdered by a knife wielding woman who very much resembles our main character, Holly Gooding (played by Drew Barrymore). Then we cut to the immediate future where Holly is looking for a place to live and meets her new roommate, Patrick (played by George Newburn) when she responds to his ad in the paper. As he gets to know her, he learns the dark secrets behind her family and that she believes she is being followed by her doppleganger, who is performing horrendous deeds. When her own institutionized brother's life is threatened, she decides to take maters into her own hands. Things aren't all as they seem - or are they?
Drew Barrymore never looked better and sold her character, though she's had better turns in other movies. George Newburn filled his role and did his job. I thought that the best performance came from Leslie Hope, who played Patrick's very candid, high-strung friend, Elizabeth. I loved her in this movie. The soundtrack is a product of its time with a sensuous dance scene involving Drew swaying hypnotically to the rhythmic beat, running her hands up and down her body.
"Doppelganger" isn't a bad movie. The one thing that I really liked about it, is that it doesn't sell out with some B. S. ending. At first, I thought it was going to, but then the real fun starts to happen - and I liked it. It pretty much covers all the bases when it comes to horror. It is a guilty pleasure and worth the watch at a solid 6 stars out of 10.
Simply terrible
Britney-Keira2 February 2006
Even in a bad film, there is usually some redeeming feature, something that you can say yes it was terrible, but there was that performance, or that part of the script, or that special effect, this was just simply terrible all over. The acting was laughable, the script terrible, complete with many inexplicable Breakfast at Tiffany's references, and even the special effects were shoddy at best. This was a very bad film and one that even Drew Barrymore wishes was expunged from history. Watch it if you want to: a) Suffer harsh self inflicted pain. b) See just how bad a film can be. This is one film where I can use the cliché "there's ninety minutes of my life I will never get back" with some justification!
One of the more entertainingly eccentric 90s creature features!
Weirdling_Wolf21 October 2021
Avi Nesher's diabolically duplicitous 'Doppelganger'is arguably one of the 90s more unjustly neglected horror curiosities. A deliriously De Palma-esque psychodrama about the increasingly bizarre misfortunes of pretty, Holly Gooding (Drew Barrymore). Our Hitchcockian heroine, dramatically flees New York, awkwardly setting up house with guileless, good-natured writer Patrick (George Newbern). Their sweetly burgeoning relationship thwarted by the evilly erotic manipulations of, Helen's homicidally stab-happy, sinisterly stalking, dark glasses-sporting doppelganger.
This tantalizingly twisted body horror oddity is luridly festooned with Noirish tropes: shadowy F. B. I. Creeps: an abusive, scar-faced patriarch, skeevey psychiatrist, gory matricide, and a psychologically-spawned, polymorphously perverse sibling. These sordidly scheming protagonists creepily conspire against Helen's earnest hope for a new life in L. A.! No one could accuse, Nesher's phantasmagoric freak-out of subtlety, as, perhaps, his engagingly erratic shocker's strengths reside in the sensually skewed presence of sinuous scream dream, Drew Barrymore. Barrymore's exquisitely cherubic features, and enthusiastically unfiltered performance, are not without considerable charm. The gruesomely gunk-flinging, gelatinously gooey, KNB FX-laden finale is the deliciously crimson cherry atop this winningly eccentric 90s creature feature!
This tantalizingly twisted body horror oddity is luridly festooned with Noirish tropes: shadowy F. B. I. Creeps: an abusive, scar-faced patriarch, skeevey psychiatrist, gory matricide, and a psychologically-spawned, polymorphously perverse sibling. These sordidly scheming protagonists creepily conspire against Helen's earnest hope for a new life in L. A.! No one could accuse, Nesher's phantasmagoric freak-out of subtlety, as, perhaps, his engagingly erratic shocker's strengths reside in the sensually skewed presence of sinuous scream dream, Drew Barrymore. Barrymore's exquisitely cherubic features, and enthusiastically unfiltered performance, are not without considerable charm. The gruesomely gunk-flinging, gelatinously gooey, KNB FX-laden finale is the deliciously crimson cherry atop this winningly eccentric 90s creature feature!
Bad but good
caffeinequeen184 May 2019
I do have a soft spot for this terrible horror movie which really doesn't make sense at the end.
It is so very 90's, I loved Drew's movies and she looks beautiful here in her long brown wig. I do always find her a convincing and likeable actress, even in this silly story.
There's also a weirdness to the whole thing that I really like. The lighting at night at the units is just slightly off, the weird dream at the end. It's like Melrose Place with gore (kind of).
I certainly would be careful who I recommended this to. To say I like it and rate it highly is not at all the same as calling it good.
A lousy movie with a beautiful Drew Barrymore
Alex_Traveller25 March 2009
I have just watched the movie for the first time. I wanted to watch it as I like Drew Barrymore and wanted to see one of her early movies.
The movie is about a girl (played by young and beautiful Drew Barrymore), who moves from NYC to LA in order to get over her recently troubled loss. Short after moving to a guy who falls in love with her, it becomes obvious that she has an evil twin=doppelganger, who haunts her.
The movie is quite poor and lousy. Both the dialogs and the acting make the film not really worth seeing it. Summing up it is just something for the fans of Drew Barrymore.
The movie is about a girl (played by young and beautiful Drew Barrymore), who moves from NYC to LA in order to get over her recently troubled loss. Short after moving to a guy who falls in love with her, it becomes obvious that she has an evil twin=doppelganger, who haunts her.
The movie is quite poor and lousy. Both the dialogs and the acting make the film not really worth seeing it. Summing up it is just something for the fans of Drew Barrymore.
good b-movie
blazerfan403 March 2001
You have to start somewhere to try and outgrow that little girl image, why not in an adult horror flick. Drew Barrymore made this not long after poison ivy and in this one she goes a step further towards adulthood by playing a good girl who's being stalked by a slutty, murderous double of herself. Is it a great movie? no. Does it entertain? yes. Plus drew is nude. b-movie classic.
mild horror for Drewbies
poem26 July 2006
I got the DVD very cheap and I'm a total Drewbie, and thats probably the only constellation where this movie could ever interest anyone.
An early Drew movie, she's looking great, and she gets a quite lot of really cute scenes of her, like a shower scene, a sexy dance scene, quite a number of sexy outfits etc. She does never show the friendly charm we know from her more recent movies.
The movie itself is pretty average or sub-average, and much more looking like being made for the TV than one for the cinema. There is no real horror or tension built up and the dialogs are often cheesy.
The most interesting part is probably the end because I honestly don't understand it. But maybe there is nothing to understand about it anyway. But at least you don't get the end you would be expecting, and it also comes much sooner than one would have expected.
Overall I think this movie is exclusively for Drewbies.
An early Drew movie, she's looking great, and she gets a quite lot of really cute scenes of her, like a shower scene, a sexy dance scene, quite a number of sexy outfits etc. She does never show the friendly charm we know from her more recent movies.
The movie itself is pretty average or sub-average, and much more looking like being made for the TV than one for the cinema. There is no real horror or tension built up and the dialogs are often cheesy.
The most interesting part is probably the end because I honestly don't understand it. But maybe there is nothing to understand about it anyway. But at least you don't get the end you would be expecting, and it also comes much sooner than one would have expected.
Overall I think this movie is exclusively for Drewbies.
Mediocre psycho-horror cliché fest
mstomaso16 August 2007
Doppelganger has its moments, but they are few and far between.
Essentially, this is a grade B blend of pop-psych thriller, ghost story and horror. Drew Barrymore plays a young woman who is haunted by the demons of her past (most of her family has been murdered and she was, in at least one case, the prime suspect), or does she just have a really bad case of multiple personality disorder? George Newbern is her new room mate, and most of the action centers on him.
Newbern's character is pretty sympathetic, and both he and Barrymore do decent work (though not exactly good). The mediocre to (at times) totally horrendous script and the unimpressive directing seem to have combined to sink the rest of the performances into oblivion. Leslie Hope's character is memorable, but so irritating that you will want to forget her.
The plot eventually disintegrates into a bifurcated (one story arc is psychological realism, the other is supernatural horror) outlandish climax which is so badly conceived, acted and photographed that it effectively counteracts most of what value the film had achieved previously.
Overall, the film has the feel of what might expect to be the result of M. Knight Shamalyan's first undergraduate film class. The acting and script for the two leads are just good enough to make you care a little about them - at least until the film derails utterly and completely.
My recommendation - send your doppelganger, but avoid a first-person encounter.
Essentially, this is a grade B blend of pop-psych thriller, ghost story and horror. Drew Barrymore plays a young woman who is haunted by the demons of her past (most of her family has been murdered and she was, in at least one case, the prime suspect), or does she just have a really bad case of multiple personality disorder? George Newbern is her new room mate, and most of the action centers on him.
Newbern's character is pretty sympathetic, and both he and Barrymore do decent work (though not exactly good). The mediocre to (at times) totally horrendous script and the unimpressive directing seem to have combined to sink the rest of the performances into oblivion. Leslie Hope's character is memorable, but so irritating that you will want to forget her.
The plot eventually disintegrates into a bifurcated (one story arc is psychological realism, the other is supernatural horror) outlandish climax which is so badly conceived, acted and photographed that it effectively counteracts most of what value the film had achieved previously.
Overall, the film has the feel of what might expect to be the result of M. Knight Shamalyan's first undergraduate film class. The acting and script for the two leads are just good enough to make you care a little about them - at least until the film derails utterly and completely.
My recommendation - send your doppelganger, but avoid a first-person encounter.
Worst film I have seen in years
TomWills23 January 2005
Warning: Spoilers
I was interested in the topic, and only fans of Drew Barrymore's dancing on David Letterman's desk will find anything remotely interesting in it. OK, she shows some breast (or maybe a body double does). The plot is slashed to bits and the acting is horrible. Neither lead has any material to work with, as the direction of the film leads nowhere. Don't waste your time. See Donnie Darko instead if you want a creepy Drew Barrymore film, and if you want to see another, skip this and see Darko again.
The treatment of the Doppelganger legend is absolutely criminal as well. Refer to Charles Williams' novel "Descent Into Hell" for something worth considering instead. This is just an excuse to make a B film to go straight to video and suck some life out of people at Blockbuster.
What makes any of these people think the acting here was praiseworthy? Give me a break.
The treatment of the Doppelganger legend is absolutely criminal as well. Refer to Charles Williams' novel "Descent Into Hell" for something worth considering instead. This is just an excuse to make a B film to go straight to video and suck some life out of people at Blockbuster.
What makes any of these people think the acting here was praiseworthy? Give me a break.
Drew Barrymore's Double Trouble
wes-connors18 October 2011
During the opening credits, we see an aroused Drew Barrymore squirming around with an unidentified man. She appears to be enjoying a very pleasant sexual experience, but is later haunted by this memory. Next, Drew Barrymore visits an unidentified woman and stabs her after bleeding from the nose and showing webbed fingers. The story really gets started when Barrymore (as Holly Gooding) arrives in Los Angeles to answer a "roommate wanted" ad placed by cute young writer George Newbern (as Patrick Highsmith). He wears a hat to bed, but Mr. Newbern is not balding...
Also in town is a Barrymore twin she calls her "Doppelganger"...
Newbern first sees the second Barrymore at a café with ex-girlfriend Leslie Hope (as Elizabeth). Then, she disappears. Dennis Christopher has fun as a mad doctor with Hell to pay and Sally Kellerman is a reformed nun. Newbern doesn't know what to think, and neither will you. There is a lesson here - if a beautiful young woman arrives to be your roommate, there will be a catch. Cheers to Avi Nesher and the crew for finding and re-decorating what looks like my old Los Angeles apartment. The curtains, tea kettle and dish drainer went with the place. The TV never worked.
***** Doppelganger (4/24/93) Avi Nesher ~ Drew Barrymore, George Newbern, Leslie Hope, Dennis Christopher
Also in town is a Barrymore twin she calls her "Doppelganger"...
Newbern first sees the second Barrymore at a café with ex-girlfriend Leslie Hope (as Elizabeth). Then, she disappears. Dennis Christopher has fun as a mad doctor with Hell to pay and Sally Kellerman is a reformed nun. Newbern doesn't know what to think, and neither will you. There is a lesson here - if a beautiful young woman arrives to be your roommate, there will be a catch. Cheers to Avi Nesher and the crew for finding and re-decorating what looks like my old Los Angeles apartment. The curtains, tea kettle and dish drainer went with the place. The TV never worked.
***** Doppelganger (4/24/93) Avi Nesher ~ Drew Barrymore, George Newbern, Leslie Hope, Dennis Christopher
Hope this movie doesn't have a double
MartianOctocretr518 September 2011
Weak. Illogical plot lapses, inept attempts at weird scares, and a waste of Drew Barrymore. She was slumming it to appear in this one.
Her acting isn't bad, even at that lean part of her career she could take the least of characters and make the most of it. Such is the case with this dud. Basically, Drew's character is a nut-job who thinks she's got a ghostly apparition following her around. The only ones who believe are a NY shrink and her new bf in LA. Or is it a doppleganger? Is something else actually going on? Does anybody care? About five minutes in, the film clumsilly makes the answers all too obvious.
Things take the predictable horror movie turns: repeated sightings, terror, a few bodies and blood, etc., until the producers got tired of looping around in circles and give a ridiculously nonsensical ending. Yes, it's a understandable end as to what happens, but it's also incomprehensible that a script writer would pen such a moronic ending.
Her acting isn't bad, even at that lean part of her career she could take the least of characters and make the most of it. Such is the case with this dud. Basically, Drew's character is a nut-job who thinks she's got a ghostly apparition following her around. The only ones who believe are a NY shrink and her new bf in LA. Or is it a doppleganger? Is something else actually going on? Does anybody care? About five minutes in, the film clumsilly makes the answers all too obvious.
Things take the predictable horror movie turns: repeated sightings, terror, a few bodies and blood, etc., until the producers got tired of looping around in circles and give a ridiculously nonsensical ending. Yes, it's a understandable end as to what happens, but it's also incomprehensible that a script writer would pen such a moronic ending.
Entertaining Drew Barrymore mystery/thriller with a bizarre ending
Wuchakk22 February 2023
After a murder in Manhattan, a young woman (Barrymore) moves back to her old haunts in Los Angeles where a promising writer takes her in as a roommate (George Newbern). Unfortunately, her deadly alter ego seems to have followed her.
"Doppelganger" (1993) is part spooky mystery and part romcom with some slasher bits. Drew was really cute at 17 during shooting, similar to "Poison Ivy" from the previous year. Meanwhile the story is amusing with a compelling mystery: Does Holly really have an evil doppelganger or is she experiencing multiple personality disorder? Or is something else going on?
Regrettably, the climax is unlikely (in a Scooby-Doo kind of way) and, then, outlandish (in a Hellraiser kind of way). Writer/director Avi Nesher must've asked himself, "What can I do to totally throw viewers off, a twist that no one sees coming?" Although confusing, I suppose the revelations make sense: Those who abused and manipulated a certain person for their own selfish ends unknowingly caused what is observed.
FYI: The first victim is played by Drew's mother, Jaid Barrymore.
The film runs 1 hour, 44 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles (including Old Anoakia Mansion in Arcadia), as well as Manhattan for the opening scenes.
GRADE: B-
"Doppelganger" (1993) is part spooky mystery and part romcom with some slasher bits. Drew was really cute at 17 during shooting, similar to "Poison Ivy" from the previous year. Meanwhile the story is amusing with a compelling mystery: Does Holly really have an evil doppelganger or is she experiencing multiple personality disorder? Or is something else going on?
Regrettably, the climax is unlikely (in a Scooby-Doo kind of way) and, then, outlandish (in a Hellraiser kind of way). Writer/director Avi Nesher must've asked himself, "What can I do to totally throw viewers off, a twist that no one sees coming?" Although confusing, I suppose the revelations make sense: Those who abused and manipulated a certain person for their own selfish ends unknowingly caused what is observed.
FYI: The first victim is played by Drew's mother, Jaid Barrymore.
The film runs 1 hour, 44 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles (including Old Anoakia Mansion in Arcadia), as well as Manhattan for the opening scenes.
GRADE: B-
Are you kidding that was AWFUL!!!
MuggySphere11 May 2003
Are you kidding that was AWFUL!!!
But that notwithstanding I got given this film and 3 others and they were all on DVD. The film starts of pretty much an OK movie but goes downhill from about the middle onwards.
And the ending well let's just say it was one of the most anti climatic endings in recent film history. Lots of gore in the end sequence and if you like a dose of schlock horror then this is the film for you....
3/10
But that notwithstanding I got given this film and 3 others and they were all on DVD. The film starts of pretty much an OK movie but goes downhill from about the middle onwards.
And the ending well let's just say it was one of the most anti climatic endings in recent film history. Lots of gore in the end sequence and if you like a dose of schlock horror then this is the film for you....
3/10
Drew Barrymore In a Very Different Type of Role!
BreanneB3 March 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Drew Barrymore was excellent in this film. This role is the type of role you don't normally see Drew play. Her typical role is as a woman looking for love. The storyline is also great.
When Holly is implicated in her mother's murder she moves to L.A. She moves in with a guy who becomes her lover. But her brother who is in a mental prison hospital for what they believe is murder is almost killed she is wrongfully accused. It is then revealed to her lover that she has Multiple Personality Disorder. After that another woman becomes paranoid when she's around her. In the end though, they find out the truth.
When Holly is implicated in her mother's murder she moves to L.A. She moves in with a guy who becomes her lover. But her brother who is in a mental prison hospital for what they believe is murder is almost killed she is wrongfully accused. It is then revealed to her lover that she has Multiple Personality Disorder. After that another woman becomes paranoid when she's around her. In the end though, they find out the truth.
Poor Conclusion
claudio_carvalho30 July 2021
Holly Gooding (Drew Barrymore) moves from New York to Los Angeles to visit her brother in a mental institution and rents the room of the aspirant writer Patrick Highsmith (George Newbern), who needs money to be not evicted. Soon they have a brief affair but the erratic behavior of Holly intrigues Patrick. He learns that she is followed by her doppelganger, and she has discussed the subject with her psychiatrist Doctor Heller (Dennis Christopher). What is happening to Holly? Does she have also a mental problem? Does she have a doppelganger?
"Doppelganger" is an intriguing horror movie from 1993, with the eighteen-year-old Drew Barrymore very sexy. In the 90's, this film was successful in the video rentals despite the poor conclusion. The plot holds the attention of the viewer, but unfortunately the conclusion is terrible. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Enigma Mortal" ("Deadly Enigma")
"Doppelganger" is an intriguing horror movie from 1993, with the eighteen-year-old Drew Barrymore very sexy. In the 90's, this film was successful in the video rentals despite the poor conclusion. The plot holds the attention of the viewer, but unfortunately the conclusion is terrible. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Enigma Mortal" ("Deadly Enigma")
Drew in bad horror
SnoopyStyle12 May 2015
New York heiress Holly Gooding (Drew Barrymore) kills a relative who's looking to push her out of the family fortune. Or is it an evil doppelganger? She moves to LA and rents a room from writer Patrick Highsmith. She's having nightmares. He starts a relationship with her but it's possibly an alter-ego or an evil twin. Elizabeth (Leslie Hope) is his writing partner. Doctor Heller has been treating Holly in New York.
It's a silly little horror. The only point is to wait for the final reveal of whichever way the story wants to use as an explanation. It's not really a mystery. The movie has a few possible ways to go and the audience is simply left waiting for it to decide. The jump scares don't work. The music cues are extremely heavy. There are some bad camp here. If not for Drew, there would be nothing interesting to see. One would think a movie couldn't possibly screw up a naked Drew. However, even the blood shower looks amateurish. The horror effects are subpar and becomes even more noticeable as the movie takes the turn.
It's a silly little horror. The only point is to wait for the final reveal of whichever way the story wants to use as an explanation. It's not really a mystery. The movie has a few possible ways to go and the audience is simply left waiting for it to decide. The jump scares don't work. The music cues are extremely heavy. There are some bad camp here. If not for Drew, there would be nothing interesting to see. One would think a movie couldn't possibly screw up a naked Drew. However, even the blood shower looks amateurish. The horror effects are subpar and becomes even more noticeable as the movie takes the turn.
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