Replicant

In Seattle, the serial killer Garrotte murders another mother and sets her on fire, prompting a threatening call to Detective Jake Riley during his upcoming retirement. The timing is deliberate, pushing Jake to consider chasing the killer one last time. The explosive murder spree forces Jake to confront unfinished business he hoped to leave behind.

A secret government agency recruits Jake to assist on a project involving Garrotte's DNA. They clone Garrotte to create a Replicant who carries his memories and is linked telepathically to him, though the body is that of a 40-year-old with a childlike mind. Jake is tasked with training and guiding this new entity to track Garrotte.

The Replicant emerges as Garrotte's clone, equipped with genetic memories that Jake must interpret and shape into a functioning ally. He forms a bond with Jake, who is both protector and instructor, even as he treats the Replicant roughly at times. The Replicant struggles to understand the world and Garrotte's killer instinct.

Jake and the Replicant team up to hunt Garrotte, using the killer's memories to guide their pursuit. They learn to trust each other as they edge closer to their quarry. The Replicant's loyalty deepens even as danger mounts around them.

Garrotte corners them in a bar and attempts to kill Jake with a bomb. He kills a bartender but spares the Replicant, signaling a dangerous stalemate between hunter and prey. The confrontation reveals Garrotte's ruthlessness and his unwillingness to let anyone get in his way.

A flashback reveals Garrotte's upbringing: abused by his mother, who killed her unfaithful husband and tried to burn the house down. This backstory explains his hatred of women and the roots of his violent behavior. The revelation deepens the moral complexity of the pursuit.

In a parking garage, Garrotte tries to sway the Replicant to join him and questions Jake's trust in his ally. The Replicant is torn, and Jake presses him about loyalty, prompting the famous line: "We are the same." The tension underscores the ambiguous bond between creator and clone.

They uncover Garrotte's real name, Luc Savard, and head to meet Savard's mother, who has died of a heart attack. Garrotte arrives to confront Jake and the Replicant, beating Jake and urging the Replicant to join him in killing his ally. The hospital setting heightens the stakes of their clash.

A chaotic ambulance chase erupts through the parking structure as Jake fights to keep Garrotte from escaping. A toll booth collision temporarily slows the killer, but he escapes again, and the pursuit intensifies. The Replicant and Garrotte engage in another brutal confrontation amid the chaos.

The climactic fight moves to the hospital's furnace room, where the Replicant struggles with his own nature. Jake shoots Garrotte, and the Replicant sacrifices himself to shield Jake as an air conditioner explodes, seemingly killing the Replicant. Jake is left grieving a partner who saved him at great personal cost.

Shaken by the apparent death of the Replicant, Jake chooses to retire from his new role as a government consultant. He reflects on the family he has found in the Replicant and the possibility of returning to a quieter life. The ending hints that danger remains beneath the surface.

Weeks later, Jake spots a man in a raincoat placing something in their mailbox and discovers it is a package from the Replicant—the music box gift he sent as thanks. The Replicant is revealed to be alive and dating Hooker, leaving the future uncertain but hopeful for Jake's renewed protector by his side.