MICHAEL MEDVED'S REVIEW OF "MIMIC"
Now that the politicians have totally cured New York's crime problem, the city must
confront a formidable new menace: giant, genetically engineered insects who arise from
beneath the streets to devour unsuspecting residents. What makes these creepy critters
more frightening than your normal man-eating movie monsters is that they've quickly
evolved to "mimic" their natural enemies-- human beings-- by developing an eerie
resemblance to tall, shadowy, black-cloaked stalkers.
And what makes "Mimic" far more chilling than your run-of-the-maul creature in the basement picture is the way it disarms its natural enemies-- film critics-- by taking on the protective coloration of more substantive, challenging fare-- complete with cold, clammy, expressionistic visuals (think "Seven" meets "Batman"), smart writing and world-class acting.
Mira Sorvino stars as a brilliant scientist who recombined DNA of various species to create a short-lived new life form ("the Judas breed") that succeeds in eradicating an epidemic which threatened the lives of the city's children. Three years later, she and her public-health-official husband (Jeremy Northam of "The Net" and "Emma"), discover that the artificially designed species has not only survived (imagine that!) but quickly evolved in horrifying and profoundly dangerous directions. With the grudging aid of a cynical, world-weary transit authority cop (the excellent Charles S. Dutton) and advice from a world famous scientific eminence (F. Murray Abraham) the intrepid couple finds its way down long-abandoned, antique subway tunnels where the evil beasts seem to be germinating.
Director/co-writer Guillermo del Toro (who previously created the classy, acclaimed 1993 Mexican vampire movie, "Cronos") makes these winged, multi-legged monstrosities utterly and indescribably disgusting ---which is, of course, the entire point of the movie. The pacing is expert and seductive, with enough sudden shocks o jolt you several times out of your chair. Sympathetic performances, complete with uncanny romantic chemistry between the surprisingly athletic Sorvino and the smart, smoldering Northam, provide an unexpected bonus.
Unfortunately, a few self-consciously "artsy" details mar the otherwise absorbing
proceedings -- including too much preachiness about the dangers of "man's tampering with
nature" and an especially bizarre subplot featuring the elegant Giancarlo Giannini as a
shoe-shine man (of all things) whose weirdly babbling, autistic 8-year-old grandson
(Alexander Goodwin) develops some odd spiritual connection with the creatures. New
Yorkers also may resent the movie's excesses in using steam and filth and shadows and
rotting garbage and endlessly dripping surfaces to evoke an incomparably ugly and
nightmarish vision of the city-- especially since this grim Gotham happened to be shot in
Toronto. Nevertheless, those unforgettable insects can rip apart and swallow up all such
objections and if you can settle into the properly perverse mood they may seriously bug
you.
THREE STARS
Produced by:
Dimension Films
Certification:
USA:R
Language:
English
Runtime:
USA:105
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital / SDDS
Distributed by:
Dimension Films / Miramax Films
Effects by:
The Character Shop / C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures (CG Mimics) / Hybride
Technologie
MPAA reasons:
Rated R for terror/violence and language.
Directed by
Guillermo Del Toro
Cast (in credits order)
Mira Sorvino
....
Susan Tyler
Jeremy Northam
....
Peter Mann
Josh Brolin
....
Josh
Giancarlo Giannini
....
Manny
Charles Dutton
....
Leonard
Alexander Goodwin
....
Chuy
Alix Koromzay
....
Remy
F. Murray Abraham
....
Dr. Gates
Norman Reedus
....
Jeremy
Dimension Films
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