Directed by Guillermo Del Toro
Review based upon the Dimension DVD release
After the massive success of Guillermo Del Toro’s directorial debut “Chronos” in 1993, the Mexican-born auteur was invited to Hollywood for his next movie. Assembling an unusual cast including rising stars Mira Sorvino and Jeremy Northam, Del Toro’s American debut is based on a short story by Donald A. Wollheim. Produced by Weinstein’s Dimension films, “Mimic” is a very different picture to his previous work, but does the director sell out or does he manage to retain the artistic integrity that was so prevalent in his first feature?
An epidemic breaks out in Manhattan, threatening to kill every child in the city. Discovering the virus is transmitted by cockroaches, CDC advisor Dr Peter Mann (Jeremy Northam) calls in entomologist Dr Susan Tyler (Mira Sorvino) to release a biologically altered strain of roach called the Judas breed into the sewers in an attempt to wipe out the disease. The solution seems to work, but three years later the two are called back to the city when people start to go missing under mysterious circumstances. As Tyler investigates she becomes convinced that the Judas breed has somehow mutated into something deadly; something that’s threatening to fight back. Enlisting the help of reluctant police officer Leonard (Charles S. Dutton), the team begin to search the sewers for evidence, only to be confronted with something that no one ever expected. But how has the Judas breed remained undetected for so long? And what exactly has it evolved into?
Guillermo Del Toro manages to bring the unique visual style he demonstrated in “Chronos” to the table with this flick, one that’s essentially a big-budget monster movie. It stands out in the Del Toro canon as probably his most obvious attempt at a blockbuster (“Hellboy” was more focussed on the character dynamics and humour than is present here), and while the screenplay he wrote with Matthew Robbins contains more Americanisms t
han in his other movies, there is still plenty of lush imagery to enjoy. “Mimic” looks great, thanks to some incredible sequences where Del Toro uses the ominous darkness of the sewer network to maximum effect, making the whole piece both unsettling and unnerving. The creature created by Rob Bottin (the man behind John Carpenter’s “The Thing”) looks suitably hideous and the preference given to animatronics over CGI means that the bug effects haven’t lost their impact over the 12 years since this flick was first released.The violence is suitably understated, most of it taking place in half-shadow, but is nonetheless chilling. Del Toro makes gleeful use of SFX to emphasise the monster attacks, having the foresight to give the audience a chance to think for themselves rather than being given clear visual reference points. This works well with some of the characters too, as in several cases the viewer is left in the dark about the fate of certain individuals, adding solid aspects of tension to the events unfolding on screen.
The obvious problem with “Mimic” when comparing it to the rest of Del Toro’s work is that with a few momentary exceptions it simply doesn’t feel like one of his movies. It arguably lacks the subtlety and finesse that shines through pieces like “The Devil’s Backbone” and “Pan’s Labyrinth”, and this is primarily down to the fact that “Mimic” is a monster flick where stock characters have a tendency to be wheeled out to play their standard roles in the narrative flow. However, if taking into account the conventions of this particular horror sub-genre, “Mimic” is a vastly superior entry and one which does still manage to have several aces up its sleeve in spite of the constraints present when working with this kind of story arc. A great example of this is the sequence with Leonard on the train tracks in the final few moments, as the audience expectation is so far removed from what act
ually unfolds on screen.The cast perform well, Mira Sorvino being a particular standout as she wrangles with the morality of her decision to unleash the Judas breed without full testing, something which Del Toro explores carefully to give her character something of an anti-hero flavour. As usual, Charles S. Dutton is great here, filling his lines with pathos and humour and almost stealing every scene in which he appears. The rest tend to deliver performances you might expect from this kind of material, but they do make the best of their contribution to the overall impact.
When watched over ten years later, “Mimic” still holds up well and delivers an interesting premise with a unique visual style and some very tense moments. It might be a little predictable and lack the intellectual challenge of the other flicks in Del Toro’s directorial oeuvre, but it nevertheless offers up something that entertains solidly for 90 minutes. It might not be up to the standard of “Alien” or “The Thing”, but this picture has aged well and the parallels between this and the two “Hellboy” films are interesting to note. Considering this is only his second feature, “Mimic” shows conclusively what a unique vision Del Toro possesses; one which would take him from strength to strength for the rest of his career. This is a great horror movie which has plenty to recommend it. After all, how can you go wrong with big scary bugs?
7 out of 10
A monster movie which looks stunning even today... Del Toro manages to take his style to Hollywood and produces something that is incredibly enjoyable, if a little obvious in places
