FAQ

In order to eradicate Strickler's Disease carried by cockroaches, entomologist Dr Susan Tyler (Mira Sorvino) genetically engineered an insect, which she named the Judas Breed, capable of killing the roaches. The solution works, but it becomes apparent three years later that the predators, who were supposed to die off after one generation, are surviving, have evolved to mimic human form, and are now preying on humans.

Mimic is based on a short story by American scifi writer Donald A.Woldheim [1914-1999]. The story was adapted for the screen by American screenwriter Matthew Robbins and Mexican film-maker Guilliermo del Toro, who also produced the movie. It was followed by Mimic 2 (2001) (2001) and Mimic 3: Sentinel (2003) (2003).

No. Strickler's disease was made up for the movie. There is a real condition called Stickler (note no "r") Syndrome, a mutation in certain genes involved in the formation of a class of proteins called collagen, and the symptoms often show up in childhood. However, Stickler Syndrome is a hereditary condition; it is not passed by cockroaches.

Susan theorizes that the reason they evolved so rapidly is because she increased their metabolism, which also sped up their breeding cycle. Tens of thousands of generations over a three-year period no doubt resulted in many mutations. She points out that it took only 40,000 generations for apes to turn into humans. She also points out that some bugs evolve to mimic their predators or prey, e.g., a fly can look like a spider or a caterpillar can look like a snake, so the Judas Breed must have evolved to mimic their prey ...humans.

In September 2009, del Toro announced that he was working on his Director's Cut. Due to other obligations on his part, it was only finished and released on the 27th of September 2011 exclusively on Blu-ray disc. It also features an audio commentary, in which del Toro shares some interesting information about the production and the new version. The 7 new minutes are mostly extensions and additions concerning the plot and characters. A rather unintentionally funny scene from the theatrical version was removed. The improvement in picture and sound quality is really significant. Through the use of color filters, the picture in the Director's Cut got a threatening mood, especially in the underground scenes.