Mimic (1997 film)

Sometimes an insect will even mimic its predator. - Susan Tyler

Happy New Year, and welcome to the new start of Happy Horror!  Now, I know, you're probably thinking, "We just had a new start three years ago.  Why are you starting again?  Do we have to get ANOTHER review of the original Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween?"  The answers are: Yes, we did; because I want to get a fresh start; and no, I'm not redoing those.  What I've done previously here stands on its own and I'm proud of that work.

However, every so often it's important to freshen up my work, and I have some major ideas for this place.  I'll detail those ideas as I go, though, because today, I want to bring you an almost forgotten classic in Mimic.  Based off of a short story of the same name, Mimic is the story of a disease called Strickler's Disease that spreads through cockroaches, affecting children.  A scientist from the CDC, Susan Tyler, genetically engineers a new breed of insect called the Judas Breed designed to wipe the roaches out.

Jump ahead three years and we find a priest running for his life onto a rainy roof as something massive pounds on the door behind him.  As the priest's pursuer starts knocking the door loose, the priest himself runs to jump to another building but finds the way too far.  The door busts in and a figure approaches him in the rain, getting closer and closer, finally pushing the Asian priest off the edge of the building and onto the street below to his death.  Meanwhile, a young, possibly autistic, boy observes the prone priest, seeing and naming the make, color and size shoes the priest has on from the view of his upper floor apartment.  As another figure approaches the priest's body, a strange clicking sound can be heard, which the boy imitates with a pain of spoons.  The figure drags the priest's body away as the little boy, Chuy, remarks, "Funny shoes."

The film was a fun ride.  I received it for Christmas in a 3-pack with its two sequels (which I'll also be covering).  The story, about giant bugs that can (barely) pass themselves off as human is an interesting concept.  The effects work well, both practical and CG, and the acting is great.  Mira Sorvino played Susan Tyler, the scientist who created the bugs and is called on when the Judas Breed makes an unexpected reappearance.  Miss Sorvino's first film role was an uncredited part in The Stuff, she also was in The Summer of Sam and The Final Cut.  Her father, Paul Sorvino, played the villain Rotti Largo in one of my favorite movies, Repo: The Genetic Opera.  Charles S. Dutton plays Officer Leonard Norton, a subway cop who initially blocks Susan's efforts to research, but ultimately helps out.  He was also in Alien 3, Stephen King's Cat's Eye, Surviving the Game, Seven and many others.  F. Murray Abraham played Dr. Gates, Susan's superior, who first grasps the danger of the Judas Breed situation.  A long established actor, some of his genre films include Thir13en Ghosts, Blood Monkey and Shark Storm.

I give this film a 4 out of 5.  I enjoyed it a lot, and it was a great start to what was, ultimately, a short series.  In 2010, director Benicio del Toro announced he was working on a director's cut of the film, which he released September 6, 2011.  I haven't seen that cut, yet, but I hope to find it sometime and see how it differs from the original finished product.  Tune in next time, where we'll cover the sequel, Mimic 2.  Until next time, as always, this is Red Hawk signing out!