Mimic (1997)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Guillermo del Toro

Writers (WGA):

Donald A. Wollheim (short story "Mimic")
Matthew Robbins (screen story) ...

Release Date:

22 August 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

For thousands of years, man has been evolution's greatest creation... until now.

Plot:

Three years ago entomologist Dr. Susan Tyler genetically created an insect to kill cockroaches carrying a virulent disease, now the insects are out to destroy their only predator, mankind!

Plot Keywords:

Insect | Disease | Entomologist | Manhattan | Cockroach

Awards:

3 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Mira Sorvino	...	Dr. Susan Tyler
Jeremy Northam	...	Dr. Peter Mann
Alexander Goodwin	...	Chuy
Giancarlo Giannini	...	Manny
Charles S. Dutton	...	Leonard
Josh Brolin	...	Josh
Alix Koromzay	...	Remy
F. Murray Abraham	...	Dr. Gates
James Costa	...	Ricky
Javon Barnwell	...	Davis
Norman Reedus	...	Jeremy
Pak-Kwong Ho	...	Preacher
Glenn Bang	...	Yang (as Glen Bang)
Margaret Ma	...	Chinese Woman
Warna Fisher	...	Bag Lady

Also Known As:

Judus (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for terror/violence and language.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG (uncut) | Malaysia:U (cut) | France:-12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Belgium:KNT | Brazil:14 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:PG | South Africa:16 | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Disused lower platform, Bay subway station, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Dimension Films

Trivia:

The escalator in Delancey Street subway station is shown as dismantled for maintenance because the scene was filmed on a Toronto subway station platform that was closed in 1966, so its escalator was removed (See also The Time Shifters (1999) (TV)).

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Susan (Mira Sorvino) takes her pregnancy test, Leonard (Charles S. Dutton) and her move around and shake the test. This results often in false readings.

Quotes:

Susan Tyler: They mimic us. We mimic them.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

Soundtrack:

Wake Up This Morning

You've got a HUGE bug problem, lady...

With "Cronos" being immensely popular among horror-loving audiences, its Mexican director Guillermo Del Toro was quickly offered a reasonable budget and an adequate crew to shoot his very first US film. The result was "Mimic"; a surprisingly ordinary Sci-Fi thriller that balances between an "Alien" rip-off and a typically 70's creature feature. It's not a bad film and definitely one of the best achievements of the weak 90's decade, but it lacks something special, something exclusive to make it truly memorable and/or an absolute genre favorite. The film revolves on a deadly plague of genetically manipulated cockroaches and the mimicking of the title reverts to the scientific fact (apparently) that certain insects physically 'imitate' their natural enemies. What I really appreciated about the film is the whole background-story why Dr. Susan Tyler tampered with the DNA of cockroaches in the first place! No deranged scientists messing with Mother Nature's creations to boost up their own egos this time, as the genetically altered cockroaches exterminated the carriers of a disastrous epidemic that nearly killed an entire generation of New York children. Only, the new & stronger roaches refused to die afterwards... Three years later, the species moved itself up a couple of places in the food chain and lurks its human pray in the subway tunnels beneath the city. "Mimic" eventually disappoints because of the shoddy special effects and some hopelessly muddled sub plots. A boy obsessed with shoes? Dubious 12-year-old merchants?? The impenetrably dark subway-setting hasn't got anything original to offer and there sure are scarier monsters than man-sized cockroaches. Del Toro's directing is occasionally very stylish, especially during the atmospheric opening sequences with the aforementioned eerie epidemic, and Mira Sorvino is truly good as the lead heroine. Good supportive cast, too, with F. Murray Abraham ("Amadeus", "The Name of the Rose"), Giancarlo Giannini ("Black Belly of the Tarantula") and Norman Reedus in his (very small) debut role.