DVD Reviews

Mimic (The Director's Cut) – Blu-ray Review

By Patrick Luce Oct 2, 2011, 15:03 GMT

$From acclaimed director Guillermo Del Toro (Pan\'s Labrynth, Hellboy) comes$

From acclaimed director Guillermo Del Toro (Pan\'s Labrynth, Hellboy) comes "a terrifying film of great elegance" (San Francisco Chronicle). Starring Academy Award© winner Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite) and screen favorite Charles S. Dutton (A Time to Kill) and Josh Brolin (True Grit) this electrifying thriller brings the epic battle between man and nature to life when a team of scientists discover a glitch in their miracle cure. With the power ...more

Guillermo del Toro’s sci-fi horror blend Mimic has arrived on Blu-ray in a director’s cut edition, and is worth picking up even though there isn’t a massive difference in the two versions of the film.

It is also not a true director’s cut of the film as a lot of what the director wanted to do with the movie never made it past the script stage thanks to interfering producers and studio.

The release is closer to del Toro’s original vision of the film (which he seems to truly love despite the negative experience he had making the movie), and one that will please fans of the movie who were looking for a little more character development in the story and a little bit meatier of a plot to the humanoid insects in the New York tunnel system.

Released in 1997 and shot for an estimated $25 million, the film was based on a short story by Donald A. Wollheim with screenplay writing chores handled by del Toro and Matthew Robbins (2010's Don't Be Afraid of the Dark).

It starred Mira Sorvino (who was starting to break big thanks to Romy and Michele's High School Reunion being released the same year), Jeremy Northam, Alexander Goodwin, Giancarlo Giannini, Charles S. Dutton, Josh Brolin, Alix Koromzay, F. Murray Abraham, James Costa, Javon Barnwell, and Norman Reedus.

The plot is basically the classic science gone wrong monster tale and starts off by showing the audience how a deadly disease that is spread by common cockroaches is killing the children of Manhattan.

Bug doctors Susan Tyler (Sorvino) and her husband Peter Mann (Northam) genetically create a new species of insect they call the Judas Breed that is designed to spread an enzyme capable of killing the roaches and the disease. They also designed the bug not to have a long life-span so that they won’t overpopulate the sewers and cause their own problems.

The film then jumps ahead several years as Susan discovers that the Judas Breed might not have died off like they thought. The audience quickly learns that the bugs have also massively evolved and can now “mimic” humans – who also happen to be their favorite food source.

People are going missing and it doesn’t take long before Susan, Peter, and several others find themselves in the dark tunnels of Manhattan’s subway systems fighting for their lives against killer bugs the size of humans.

Although it has a heavy “dangers of science” feel to it, the film is basically another example of Del Toro’s love of the monster genre. It is rather fast-paced (though it drags in a few parts), and the director makes full use of the film’s dark setting.

There is never a feeling that the characters are safe as they constantly put their hands into small openings, or blindly walk into a dark room. Del Toro also doesn’t go lightly with the gore as the Judas bugs enjoy making the bodies bloody.

The director’s cut of the film is really close to the theatrical version and keeps most of the same themes that made it to the big screen. From the introduction and features on the Blu-ray, it sounds like del Toro had other plans in the script that were never able to be shot (including a darker ending that would have been a bit of a downer for the audience).
With that in mind, it is hard to call this release a true director’s cut of the film and casual fans will probably not notice that much of a difference between the two versions.

Still, the Blu-ray looks incredible and the format helps Mimic take full advantage of del Toro’s moody style of filming. The director (who is one of my favorite filmmakers) was a perfect fit for the film, and you have to wonder how great it could have been had the studio and producers had let him do as he wanted.

The Blu-ray also comes loaded with special features that make it very much worth the double dip. Features include commentary, deleted scenes, storyboard animatics, a gag reel, and the theatrical trailer. There is also a video prologue with del Toro where he quickly discusses his love for the movie and several featurettes - including "Reclaiming 'Mimic'" where he talks more about his vision for the film.

If you are a fan of the monster film genre or the director, Mimic (The Director's Cut) is more than worth the double dip. There isn’t a massive difference to the two versions of the film, but it looks great on Blu-ray and is well worth taking another trip to the dark tunnels haunted by giant bugs that are very hungry.