Copycat Killer

This show started off very promising until it became clear that the writing was just not upto the level expected of a good serial killer drama show. All the major characters involved in solving the crime/s i.e the Prosecutor and Police Task Force act illogically and irrelevantly throughout the whole show making the viewing rather infuriating.

The directing, production values and cinematography are all top notch however. The acting is generally pretty good except for a couple of actors.

There is a good show hidden underneath but unfortunately the creators were unable to execute it successfully due to subpar writing.

A killer is targeting women in Taiwan in a way that ensures maximum media coverage in the 1990s. This includes making calls to a specific news station. The crime shares distinct similarities to a previous apparently solved murder. The prosecutor in charge becomes convinced that the cases are linked. As the series progresses we follow the prosecutor, and his police colleagues, as well as characters at the TV station. Tensions raise when somebody close to a member of the investigating team is snatched on a night out.

I thought this was a really good addition to the crowded serial killer genre. The identity of the killer becomes obvious a little earlier than I expected but that wasn't a problem as watching the authorities working to catch him was still gripping. We get a nice twist with a few episodes to go; this is neither too obvious nor unbelievable. The cast do a really solid job making the characters feel believable. I enjoyed the nineties setting; modern enough not to seem dated but old enough to avoid certain modern technology that would make solving the case easier. Things do get a little melodramatic towards the end but not enough to spoil my enjoyment. Overall definitely worth watching if you like the genre.

These comments are based on watching the series in Mandarin with English subtitles.

Superbly shot. Excellent attention-to-detail on old equipment; CRTs and analogue equipment of the late 1990's. Superb acting. So reminiscent of 'Memories Of A Murder' and a lot of voyeuristic viewing.

The build-up play is full-on Hitchcock suspense. It's extremely sleek and professional with a good budget but also it's done to a very high standard.

There's probably a bit of troll-rating happening as it's 6.8 but it only dropped to Netflix very recently so there's clearly bogus reviews. Anything Asian+Murder+Gore gets trolls it seems.

The sequencing of each episode and how the story is set is excellent. It's proper storyboard-to-series. I love how artifacts from the era are in pristine condition despite now being 25 years old!

Actos are great. I feel at ease with them and Cammy Chiang is a future star. Wu Kang-ren is astounding. The way he acts like a cop more than a prosecutor is refreshing. There's a bit of Triad crackdown involvement which is true to history after a Google search found a 1997 article in the Indiependent about that.

The style is very like the artistic leadership of 'Memories For Murder' (Director of Parasite) which the creators deserve huge credit for. It's glossy and well-produced and a real nugget in SEA TV criteria where there's an incredible amount of choice. Great stuff! More please.

This Series Left me speechless by the end, with multiple twists and turns shifting the expectations again and again. Chris Wu being the lead is what truly solidified my rating as his character was much different from what I'm used to. In a role where the director would apply more pressure for sympathy, Hsiao-Chi Kuos Traumatic past takes a backseat while still being prevalent. Where other titles would make this character very vulnerable Copycat Killer Lets Hsiao-Chi Kuo be a more stoic and stable character throughout the majority of the series. Every Character is given the opportunity to grow and learn from the experiences in the series that makes you care about them. The killers motives were very unique as well with Jia-Wun Shens Character being particularly heartbreaking. By the end every characters story ended at the perfect time with the right outcome leaving no extra weight for an unneeded cliffhanger.

The show was good overall and worth a watch. However there were a few issues that held the show back from getting to the next level. I feel like the last 4 episodes were kind of unnecessary. They could of stopped the series halfway and I would of still enjoyed it. The villain's logic was flawed and the way the killer was brought to justice was lazy writing. The show seemed to drag a bit from time to time within episodes too.

There was a lot of positives though. Without giving too much away, I liked some of the motives to the villains. It seemed as a way to help redeem them in some way. Some of the twists were creative with a good storyline.