Mimic
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Guillermo Del Toro
Mira Sorvino
Jeremy Northam
Alexander Goodwin
Charles S. Dutton
F. Murray Abraham
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Three years ago, two young scientists teamed up to save New York City from an roach-borne epidemic that was killing thousands of children. Their miracle of genetic engineering was the Judas Breed, an insect whose enzimes proved deadly to the disease-carrying roaches. However, their creation has come back to haunt them, altering the balance of nature and tipping the scales in favor of the insects. The thing created in the lab has changed, and now, out there in the city it has begun to mimic the most dangerous predator of all---humans.
Directors
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/GuillermoDelToro.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
Guillermo Del Toro
Rick Bota
Robert Rodriguez
Jeff Authors
Cast
Mira Sorvino
Jeremy Northam
Alexander Goodwin
Charles S. Dutton
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/FMurrayAbraham.296.1.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
F. Murray Abraham
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/JoshBrolin.22845.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
Josh Brolin
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/GuillermoDelToro.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
Guillermo Del Toro
Elisa Pensler-gabrielli
Pak-kwong Ho
Gail Thomas
Julie Payne
Roger Clown
Karen Hute
James Costa
Javon Barnwell
Alix Koromzay
Alan Argue
Arnold Turner
Warna Fisher
Glen Bang
Joe Lala
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/GiancarloGiannini.70722.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
Giancarlo Giannini
Thomas Brunelle
Norman Reedus
Julian Richings
Eve English
Christie Mellor
Charles Hayter
William Calvert
Margaret Ma
Bill Lasovich
James Kidnie
Doug Jones
Bodie Plecas
Leigh French
Luisa Leschin
Crew
Pete Anthony
Maria Armstrong
Jean-yves Audouard
Sandina Bailo-lape
Wendy Baldwin
Robert Ballantyne
Marc Banich
Megan Banning
John Bannister
Kerry Barden
Marco Beltrami
Marco Beltrami
Phil Benson
Louise Bertrand
Enrique Bilsland
Stephen R Blandino
Steve Boeddeker
Ole Bornedal
Bill Boston
Rob Bottin
Dan Bradley
Richard Bronskill
Al Broussard
Reid Burns
Alex Busby
Wes Caefer
Jon Campfens
Lawrence Carroll
John C Casey
Mario Castillo
Fred Cervantes
Dennis Chapman
Penny Charter
Kim Chow
Bob Clark
Grady Cofer
Gilles Corbeil
Gilles Corbeil
Janet Cormak
Stuart Cornfeld
Jeff Crandell
Scott Crawford
Bret Culp
Colin Cunningham
Pam Cveticanin
Enid Dalkoff
Sam De La Torre
Marie Del Prete
Guillermo Del Toro
Guillermo Del Toro
Lisa Campbell Demaine
Marie-sylvie Deveau
Tamara Deverell
Brian Dooley
Leo Duranona
Zach Dveticanin
Tony Eckert
Robert Ellenstein
Tyruben Ellingson
Michael S Esbin
Michael S Esbin
Sara Fillmore
David Flaherty
Peter Devaney Flanagan
Suzanne Fox
John Fraser
Leigh French
Rick Gajdecki
Elinor Rose Galbraith
Jose Antonio Garcia
Walter Gasparovic
Glen Gauthier
Richard Gelfand
Stuart Goetz
Alec Gould
Cary Granat
Matthew Greenberg
Lorna Gusner
Samara Hagopian
Bob Hall
Michele Harney
Dion Hatch
Clark Henderson
Clark Henderson
Ian Hendry
Lora Hirschberg
Steve Hoeger
Billy Hopkins
Paul Howarth
W. Peter Iliff
Jeff Jackson
Shauna Jamison
Sasha Jarh
Brian Jennings
Bill Jordan
Alexandre Joset
Lee Joyner
Lawrence Karman
Susan Kelber
Robert Kensinger
Edie Kerschl
Mandy Ketcheson
Tom Killeen
Tom Killeen
Dana Klaren
John Kurlander
Steven R. Kutcher
Traver Lalonde
Francois Lambert
Jim Latham
Dan Laustsen
Rick Lazzarini
Rick Lazzarini
Daniel Leduc
Eric Lessard
Tim Lidstone
Jim Lovisek
Grant Lucibello
Patrick Lussier
Peter Luxford
Doug Macleod
Tristan Maduro
John Mariella
Carol Marinoff
Jeff Marshall
Gary Martinez
Jay Mcclennan
Chris Mcgeary
Ray Mendez
Kyle Menzies
Frank 'pepe' Merel
Jeff Metocovich
Michael Minkler
Todd Minobe
Todd Minobe
Ross Mirsky
Marnie Moore
Michael J. Moore
Sebastien Moreau
Donald J. Mowat
Bob Munroe
Tom Myers
Ng
Dominique Normand
Cindy Ochs
Jeffrey A. Okun
Scott Oshita
Abby Gail Palanker
Carol Pears
Evan Penny
Marc Perrera
Michael Phillips
Stephen Pladino
Francis Polve
Brian Poor
Richard Potter
B.j. Rack
Branko Racki
Pierre Raymond
Greg Reter
Torr Rex
Randi Richmond
Matthew Robbins
Matthew Robbins
Larry Roberts
Andrew Rona
Ted Ross
Dug Rotstein
Ronald G Roumas
Anton Rupprecht
Anton Rupprecht
Thomas Sacchi
Marla Saltzer
Claire Sanfilippo
Robin Sarafinchan
Naomi A Sato
Chris Scarabosio
Erik Schaper
Erik Schaper
Ron Schmidt
Craig Seitz
Ralph Sevazalian
Scott Shiffman
Robert Shoup
Bryan Sides
Bryan Sides
Jessie Silver
Lorraine Silver
Brian Simpson
Brian Simpson
Gordon Smith
Greg Smith
Suzanne Smith
Carol Spier
Chris Squires
Steve Stewart
Dianna Stirpe
Mary Stuart
Cindy-lou Tache
Mick Tebb
Film Details
Technical Specs
Articles
Mimic (Blu-Ray) - Guillermo Del Toro's MIMIC: THE DIRECTOR'S CUT on Blu-Ray
Mimic presents a valid warning to scientists seeking to fine-tune the ecosystem. Caring researcher Susan Tyler (Mira Sorvino) saves millions of New York children from a deadly virus by releasing genetically altered cockroaches that decimate the disease carriers. Three years later evidence suggests that the new strain of 'Judas cockroach' developed by Sorvino has not died off as planned, and instead has mutated into a completely unexpected forms. Ambitious slum kids and nervous sewer workers bring in terrifying evidence of insects as big as people. The search for the creatures leads Sorvino's husband, Center for Disease Control doctor Peter Mann (Jeremy Northam), into the vast maze of abandoned subway tunnels under Manhattan. Uncooperative transit cop guide Leonard (Charles S. Dutton) is surprised to find no homeless people living in their usual haunts. For that matter, the investigators see no rats, which should be everywhere in the dark tunnels.
The screenplay by del Toro and veteran Matthew Robbins saves the last half of the movie for a harrowing descent into the monsters' lair. They learn as they go. The new super bugs have evolved lungs, allowing them to grow much larger than ordinary insects. Like many insect species, they are masters of disguise: the adult monsters have developed the ability to roughly imitate humans, and habitually creep around the dark margins of the city without being noticed. Susan applies the same tactic for her counter-strategy. When her fellow humans smear themselves with bug excretions (!) the killer insects fail to recognize them as enemies, and pass them by. Little Alexander Goodwin, the son of a shoeshine man played by Giancarlo Giannini, imitates the insects' clicking by playing the same staccato patterns on his spoons. The noise serves as an insect "password", allowing the boy to avoid the fate of some other unlucky children.
This Director's Cut rearranges some scenes and adds others, allowing del Toro to flesh out concepts cut from the shorter Theatrical Version. A subtext suggests that man's tenure as ruler of the Earth may have expired, and that the insects will take over. Susan and Peter are having difficulties conceiving a baby, a procreation problem not shared by the incredibly fecund bug monsters. The creatures are well on the way to consolidating their nest and overrunning the city.
Del Toro's expert direction encourages us to accept everything on view, before considerations of realism and effects work come into play. Special makeup effects expert Rob Bottin (The Howling, RoboCop) was tapped to design some of the all-too-credible bug monsters. The elaborate underground sets are equally convincing and include a vintage electric subway car that the humans must hot-wire to make their escape. The expositional dialogue is unusually good save for a few scenes in which Susan explains basic aspects of insect life to children, informational points that of course become crucial in the later monster siege. Some of the juvenile dialogue is also on the weak side, as when a slum kid tells Susan, "whatever peels your banana."
Mimic will remind viewers of the underground battles with giant ants in the vintage Sci-fi classic Them! There's even a search for a lost child seized by the monsters. Susan's instinctual female warrior suggests another monster classic, 1979's Alien with Sigourney Weaver.; as she's pregnant, Susan is defending her unborn progeny as well. Guillermo del Toro's exciting film reinvigorates a discredited genre by reviving qualities long absent from monster movies. The story is intelligent and sympathetic to its characters, and none of the killings are cynical or gratuitous. These human heroes deserve to survive. Mimic is a smart, suspenseful thriller that never insults our intelligence.
Lionsgate's Director's Cut Blu-ray of Mimic is rich, colorful and detailed. Its appreciation requires the full resolution of HD, for cinematographer Dan Laustsen dotes on images of dark monsters creeping out of dark shadows. Any lessening of detail and the proper impression would be lost.
Guillermo del Toro appears visibly pleased by the opportunity to revise Mimic to better reflect his original intentions. He contributes a full commentary, a video introduction and appears in a featurette to explain the changes from the theatrical version. Also included are a behind-the-scenes short subject and a separate examination of the film's special effects. Galleries contain three deleted scenes, storyboard development animatics, a gag reel and the original trailer.
The prolific Del Toro hasn't finished with the classic Sci-fi vibe: his coming project Pacific Rim is said to show humanity constructing huge robots to battle giant alien monsters, as in the Japanese Godzilla fantasies. He promises that it will be "the biggest monster movie ever."
For more information about Mimic, visit Sony Pictures. To order Mimic, go to TCM Shopping.
by Glenn Erickson
![Mimic (Blu-Ray) - Guillermo Del Toro's Mimic: The Director's Cut On Blu-Ray](https://prod-images.tcm.com/img/film-participant-detail/Featured-Artilce_Placeholder.png)
Mimic (Blu-Ray) - Guillermo Del Toro's MIMIC: THE DIRECTOR'S CUT on Blu-Ray
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States 1997
Released in United States on Video March 17, 1998
Released in United States September 1997
Released in United States Summer August 22, 1997
Shown at Deauville Film Festival September 5-14, 1997.
Shown at Venice International Film Festival (Mezzanotte) August 27 - September 6, 1997.
Began shooting September 22, 1996.
Completed shooting January 4, 1997.
Dimension Films is the genre film division of Miramax Films.
John Sayles & Matthew Greenberg were also credited for screenplay on some early prints of the film, but their names were subsequently dropped.
Originally conceived as part of the Dimension anthology film "Light Years."
Released in United States 1997 (Shown at Venice International Film Festival (Mezzanotte) August 27 - September 6, 1997.)
Released in United States on Video March 17, 1998
Released in United States Summer August 22, 1997
Released in United States September 1997 (Shown at Deauville Film Festival September 5-14, 1997.)