Mimic

Eerie film with astonishing images , suspenseful and original direction by Guilermo Del Toro . Three years ago entomologist Dr. Susan Tyler (Mira Sorvino) genetically created an insect to kill cockroaches carrying a virulent disease . For thousands of years, man has been evolution's greatest creation , now the insects are out to destroy their only predator, mankind . Susan and Peter (Jeremy Northam) are called in to investigate.

This heart-pounding picture is full of suspense ,thrills , mystery, lots of gore and a storm criticism to genetic engineering . This slick monster-feast is a triumph of style , well paced and full of frightening scenes . It's packed with overwhelming body count , loathing scenes , grotesque killing, and rivers of red blood . Interesting as well as thought-provoking screenplay by Matthew Robbins and the same director ,screenwriters Matt Greenberg and John Sayles are uncredited in the movie, but were credited in some of the trailers . The movie delivers the goods with hair-rising chills and noisy scares when the giant cockroaches appear savagely stalking and attacking its preys , including children . This is an OK amusing juvenile with interesting characters and scientific plot but quite entertaining . It's remarkable for FX recreation the ferocious and carnivorous beast developing a bloodthirsty hunger for human eating . The actors give vigorous physical performances dodging the giant bugs recreated by means of make-up realized by Rob Bottin , adding the prolific computer generator, as usual . The mutant cockroaches , themselves, of course, are the real stars, and they're marvellous terrifying astounding, and quite convincing .The picture is smartly designed and stylishly photographed by Dan Laustsen . Thrilling and intriguing musical score by Marco Beltrani . The motion picture was well directed by Guillermo Del Toro , though the scene where Mira Sorvino and Jeremy Northam walk in the hall with all the sick kids lying in their beds was actually directed by Ole Bornedal, one of the producers on the film . Del Toro delivers the terror movie goods with sense of style , though was originally planned as a single 30-min. short as part of a feature of sci-fi/horror/comedy shorts by Miramax. Director Guillermo del Toro disowned the film after constant clashes with Bob Weinstein, who would frequently visit the set and make unreasonable demands about what should be shot, deviating away from the script , since then del Toro has never worked with the Weinsteins. Guillermo is an expert on murky atmosphere such as proved in ¨Cronos¨ , ¨Pan's labyrinth¨, ¨Hellboy I¨ and ¨Hellboy 2¨. The picture will appeal to horror buffs and Guillermo Del Toro fans . It's followed by two sequels : Mimic 2 with Alix Koromzay , John Polito and Bruno Campos ; and Mimic 3 with Lance Henriksen and Karl Geary .

With a continuous build-up of suspense and terror, watching this film you never really know whether or not any of the leading protagonists will make it out alive. The science fiction story line is almost convincing enough to make parts of the plot seem possible. F. Murray Abraham has an outstanding guest role and gets to deliver the best lines in the film. Despite criticism directed towards her, I felt Mira Sorvino was also quite good and believable in her role. The direction of Guillermo Del Toro is tight and well-paced. The only real criticism I have is there are a few too many convenient chance meetings and a few too many instances of people being in the right (or wrong) place at the right time. Also I felt the movie was just a little too quick in unveiling its mystery.

In New York a disease carried by cockroaches threatens to wipe out a whole generation of children. A scientist, Susan Tyler, breeds a new bug that mimics the cockroach and wipes out the disease. However years later something is living in New York's subways that looks human. Tyler suspects that her breed has not died out but has evolved to imitate it's natural predator - us. Her investigations into the subway lead her to more than she bargained for.

This is an atmospheric thriller from Guillermo del Toro, director of The Devil's Backbone and Cronos. He manages to mix great director with good old fashioned monster horror to great effect. The concept itself is clever, even if the idea of bugs evolving to look very like humans is a little far fetched. However, once the action moves to the subway the fact that the bugs are clearly lethal no matter what they look like, makes this less important. The film is quite short and makes the action come quicker and seem more urgent. Several people get killed by the bug that wouldn't usually get killed in this sort of horror (children for example), this is very effective as it is quite scary to see the unexpected happen.

The mood is dark throughout and Del Toro uses the sewers and subway to great effect, creating a real sense of claustrophobia - like the humans have entered the bug's world and not the other way round. The bugs are shown early on in the film - usually not a good idea (keep it hidden in the Jaws way), but here the special effects are good enough to make the bug really believable. However the horror is not in seeing the bugs but in they way they hunt and kill - the fear is in what could happen. That's why seeing them doesn't take anything away.

The cast are great, Sorvino especially is very good in the lead. Jeremy Northam and Charles S. Dutton are good in support and Abraham Murray adds a bit of cameo class (though his role is quite unnecessary). But the director is the real star adding some genuine scares and real mood to a film that could have easily been just another creature-feature that goes straight to video and straight to the back of your mind.

Overall a superior creature horror film.

Just like the giant cockroaches in the movie mimic their predators (humans), director Guillermo Del Toro mimics David Fincher's style in "Seven": gimmicky opening credits, excessively dark photography, constant rain, claustrophobic atmosphere. Nonetheless, it is his superior craftsmanship and visual sense that elevates this otherwise standard, conventional monster movie into an above-average standard, conventional monster movie. He is helped, of course, by a capable cast (Mira Sorvino holds her own as the lead), and by the impressively designed creatures, which look much better than the monsters in some more recent horror films. (**1/2)

I love Guillermo del Toro's films for his unique vision and storytelling. 'Mimic' is one of his early feature films and already back then his trademark visionary style became evident. The film manages to create suspense from ordinary, everyday events. I enjoyed the husband and wife team Dr Susan Tyler (Mira Sorvino) and Dr Peter Mann (Jeremy Northam). The sincere, strong bond between them made me root for them even more.

The Underground scenes with the cast being trapped inside a stationary train and being attacked by giant roaches were by far the film's best scenes. Charles S. Dutton had a small role, but delivered! There are a few genuinely disturbing scenes as the giant roaches attack young children. The little boy constantly clapping spoons was a bit annoying, though, although I understand the relevance of this character. The film's visual effects are very good.

The ending leaves the door wide open for a sequel. (Just a pity the original characters and cast did not reprise their roles in the sequel).