Mimic (1997)

An ultracreepy blend of horror and fantasy (think of it as Beauty and the Bugs) from Mexican director Guillermo del Toro (Cronos) about giant cockroaches in the subway tunnels beneath Manhattan. Like its DNA-altered spawn (the title refers to the way some insects evolve to resemble their predators), Mimic is not your everyday bug picture, but a more poetic (though quite gruesome) sort of film, literally crawling with bizarre, striking images. In this case, the mutant bugs are not the result of evil atomic experiments (as in Them!), but are the unexpected side effect of work done by an entomologist (Mira Sorvino) and her Center for Disease Control officer husband (Jeremy Northam), who, in a last-ditch effort to control a roach-carried disease epidemic that was killing children, released a genetically altered form of sterile cockroaches beneath the city. They stopped the virus, but... Also starring Charles Dutton, Giancarlo Giannini, F. Murray Abraham, and Josh Brolin. --Jim Emerson Amazon.com

It's not a mammal

In 1997, Guillermo del Toro was not a rising legend in the movie business -- in fact, he was a relative newbie.

So obviously the sci-horror flick "Mimic" was an attempt to forge roads in the rough world of Hollywood. It's a flawed gem among horror movies -- it builds up a sense of slow, shadowy horror based on what could happen if humans play God, loaded with symbolism and eerie clicking noises. But it also has an insane climax, and Del Toro's direction often gets buried under the scares.

In the near future, children are ravaged by a cockroach-carried disease. Dr. Susan Tyler (Mira Sorvino) creates a solution -- a sterile mantis/termite crossbreed that will destroy the cockroaches, then die.

A few years later, Susan buys bugs from some street kids -- and finds a Judas larva among them (which promptly vanishes). Then the kids go missing... as do the subway dwellers. When an enormous dead insect is found washed into the water treatment plant, Susan knows for sure that the Judas bug has not only survived and reproduced -- but it's evolving at a ghastly rate.

Meanwhile, her hubby Peter Mann (Jeremy Northam), subway cop Leonard (Charles Dutton) and an immigrant (Giancarlo Giannini) looking for his autistic son all venture down into the deserted subways. But Susan has run afoul of the Judas insects -- and as all the humans huddle in an abandoned subway car, she finds that the insects have evolved even further than she thought.

The filming of "Mimic" was apparently a pretty bad one -- Bob Weinstein and Del Toro apparently argued a lot, and Del Toro later compared the final film to a pretty girl with her arms chopped off. Sadly, a lot of Del Toro's unique style was stripped from it, since the creep factor (an autistic boy wanders through a ruined chapel) and religious symbolism get smothered in lots of "boo!" bug scares.

But he does give "Mimic" a lot of atmosphere -- it's cloaked in a bleak, grimy, rainy atmosphere, full of decayed old subways and tangles of rusty pipes. While the science is sketchy at best, Del Toro manages to give the vaguely humanoid bugs a special quality of horror -- though the idea of insects mimicking a coated, hat-wearing man sounds silly, their crusty eyeless "faces" are pretty ghastly.

The first half of the movie is something of a bio-mystery, slowly building the suspense about where these bugs are, and how much they've evolved. Then the story explodes into a "Night of the Living Dead"-style horror flick, with the fearful humans trapped in a small space with bugs about to smash inside, and picking them off if they venture out.

The biggest problem? The ending. Both Susan and Peter face off against the bugs in a literally explosive finale -- the events of which stretch credibility until it snaps and zings you in the face. Really quite bad.

Sorvino and Northam are a bit stiff at first, but both blossom when one of the bugs carries her off into the tunnels -- after that their performances are full of barely-restrained hysteria. Charles S. Dutton is the scene-stealer here as a blues-singing, sharp-tongued cop who finds himself in over his head, and ends up being the most heroic of them all.

Buried under the surface of "Mimic" is a brilliant horror film, but the plot is dragged down by a hokey ending and mutilated direction. Maybe we'll get lucky and have a "director's cut." November 13, 2008

It has some suspenseful moments. It's worth watching once.

It has some suspenseful moments. It's worth watching once. However, there are a lot of familiar scenes I've already seen in other movies. It's worth watching once. November 3, 2008

great movie!

i absolutly LOVE this movie! the reason (s) that i like it so much are the following:
-its acctually scary
-great special affects
-great acting
-OK plot (though, its got lots of plot holes...........but who cares!)
i apsolutly reccomend this movie for tose who enjoyed such movies as:
-arachnophobia (spelling?)
-arachnid
-and other creepy crawly movies July 7, 2008

Mimic Review

Mimic is an excellent and well-made horror film. It especially has a very fine and suspenseful musical score by Marco Beltrami. April 5, 2008

BUGS GALORE and GORY

I had to chuckle about the comment of bringing religion into it? I never even noticed or gave a thought other than the way the "priest" was pulled through a sewer hole he didn't exactly fit through.

An old relic of an abandoned church? or where ever the insides lead to.
To me the very high light was of the child with the clicking spoons and his mistaken idea that he had found a friend.

Sorvino was a pretty, conscientious leading lady played as a sympathetic
character that became better as the movie progressed. Why would they used human DNA in the mixed genetics of their bug?

Is there really so many sub-tunnels under New York? that they built over the existing ones. Other than that the mimicing roaches needed to be near a food supply [humans] there were lots of room to hide.
How come they didn't attack that group of weird ones the two boys passed in the tunnels.

Charles S. Dutton is a favorite character to look for and enjoying his performance. Recognized Josh Brolin - too bad his character met his end.

Who, Who played the 6 foot tall roach. Person or artistic work - gruesome blend of parts to make a face.

Old buildings and underground tunnels have always fascinated me - especially how they came to be. Any other spooks around? By the way how does one male get all those females - seems like they would have been protecting him. Loved the way Sorvino psyched it out. Smart cookie.

The way it ended was so very touching and unexpected - have watched it 2 or 3 times already - probably again in another 6 months.

Definitely not for youngsters - but is of great entertainment value.
Enjoy! September 23, 2007

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