MIMIC
***1/2 (out of ****)
Dimension / 1:40 / 1997 / R Cast: Mira Sorvino; Jeremy Northam; Charles Dutton; Giancarlo Giannini; F. Murray Abraham; Josh Brolin; Alexander Goodwin Director: Guillermo Del Toro Screenplay: Matthew Robbins; John Sayles; Steven Soderbergh
Okay, check this out -- you know those craggy, mysterious, trenchcoat-clad figures that skulk around the alleys and transit systems of New York City? As it turns out, they're really genetically-evolved mutant bug-like monsters. Who'd have thought?
Well, there's actually an answer to that second question, and it's John Sayles, Steven Soderbergh and Matthew Robbins, who use the strange premise to a solid effect in the new horror flick "Mimic." Credit Dimension Films (a subdivision of Miramax) with single-handedly reviving the genre -- they're the movie company behind this, last winter's hit "Scream" and the looks-like-a-winner "Nightwatch," to be released this fall. "Mimic" has its flaws, but its a nonetheless a strong entry in an until-recently dead film category, boasting a sturdy dramatic turn by Mira Sorvino and some of the frightening special effects of the year.
Sorvino plays expert entomologist Susan Tyler. When New York City is seized by an unusual plague that effects only children, Tyler targets the source -- cockroaches. She engineers the creation of the Judas Breed, a ferocious DNA-spliced insect to be released in the city's sewers; their purpose is to secrete a substance that will attract and destroy the disease carriers and then keel over themselves when their six-month life expectancy has been exhausted. Everything is pulled off ... or so it seems, until three years later when bizarre murders begin in the area.
It seems as though the Judas Breed didn't die out as thought. One scientist says, "Evolution has a way of keeping things alive," and in the Judas Breed's case, it has also caused maturity in physical stature, as they can "mimic" their prey in order to infiltrate them. And since we are the game and they are the hunters, they are able to take on human appearance -- albeit a tall, pale, bald human who wears a long, black trenchcoat. Together with disease researcher husband Peter (Jeremy Northam of "Emma" and "The Net") and a quirky secondary cast that includes a tough cop (Charles Dutton) and a sarcastic investigator (Josh Brolin), Tyler takes to the sewers to uncover the nest and find a way to exterminate the Judas Breed once and for all.
I could carp about certain problematic areas of "Mimic" (and I will momentarily), but the movie provides such a high level of gnaw-off-your-fingers fun that it's somewhat useless to even bother. The story background is both interesting and creative, but "Mimic" doesn't spend more time than it should on it. In fact, "Mimic" moves incredibly fast, with dazzling opening credits a la "Seven," a first half that's engrossing, exciting setup and a second part that satisfies with much creepy-crawly impact. Director Guillermo Del Toro toys well with audience expectation, and waits until exactly the right moment to unleash the first full-view of the monster. From then on, the shocks are plenty, the scares are amusing and the terror is palpable.
Sorvino has fashioned a career -- and a great one -- by dazzlingly portraying vacuous airheads in "Mighty Aphrodite" and "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion." The surprise here is that Sorvino is as good playing the brain as she is the bimbo. The dashing Northam offers solid support, as does Dutton in the small but heroic role he normally plays. Giancarlo Giannini, as a local shoeshiner whose seemingly autistic grandson has disappeared after encountering the Judas Breed, is properly eccentric even if the subplot devoted to him is Mimic's most uninteresting one. Brolin ("Flirting With Disaster"), a little-known but appealing actor, is not given much to do but compensates with an engaging performance.
Del Toro, the man behind the Mexican vampire film "Cronos," doesn't skimp when it comes to shocking in the first hour (basically, he's not afraid to kill off children), but my main gripe about "Mimic" is that its concluding 50 minutes isn't so daring, relying more on slick convention than daring innovation to tell its story. At no time was I not entertained, but "Mimic" ends up being a patchwork rip-off of the "Alien" trilogy, "Jurassic Park" and other sci-fi landmarks. Still, that's not something that you don't exactly think about going in, and besides, if "Mimic" mimics other movies, it smartly mimics the best.
© 1997 Jamie Peck E-mail: jpeck1@gl.umbc.edu Website: http://www.gl.umbc.edu/~jpeck1/
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews