Good movie but grossly overrated

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

The first must-see film of the year.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

RELEASED IN 2015 and directed by Guillermo del Toro, "Mimic" is a nature-runs-amok movie about a Manhattan entomologist (Mira Sorvino) who genetically creates an insect with a virulent disease to kill cockroaches. Three years later these insects have evolved into man-sized creatures with an uncanny ability and are bent on wiping out their only predator, humankind. Jeremy Northam plays her hubby while Charles S. Dutton appears as a subway cop and Josh Brolin as (I think) a detective.It is said that you shouldn't allow your mistakes to bring you down; after all, even God made the cockroach. All joking aside, this is a serious creature feature with a dark tone similar to "The Relic," released the same year. I mean 'dark tone' both figuratively and literally, as the proceedings take place at nighttime in the city or in the underground tunnels. Thankfully, it's not as dark (literally) as "The Relic." The creatures are top-of-the-line and are just as good, if not better, than the best movie monsters you can cite. Unfortunately, there's very little human interest or interesting subtext to draw one into the events. The characters are mostly forgettable while the mindfood amounts to "Don't fool with mother nature." But I do like how the story turns into a survival situation in the tunnels by the third act wherein the protagonists have to use their wits to survive. If you love cockroaches (and who doesn't?) you'll like this movie.THE MOVIE RUNS 105 minutes and was shot in Toronto with some stuff done in Los Angeles. WRITERS: Matthew Robbins & del Toro wrote the script from Donald A. Wollheim's story.GRADE: C+/B- (5.5/10)

Criminally underrated horror film by Guillermo del Toro. Great cast, interesting concept and wonderful visual look elevates this above you're standard monster (or in this case insect) movie. Make sure you watch the Director's Cut. The acting is more than adequate for a genre film and the effects which are mostly practical don't seem dated. The opening credit sequence was done by the same people who the opening credit sequence for David Fincher's "Seven", and it shows, but in a good way.

This is an atmospheric thriller from Guillermo del Toro, director of "The Devil's Backbone" and "Cronos", who manages to mix great direction with good old fashioned monster horror to great effect. The concept itself is clever, even if the idea of bugs evolving to look very like humans is a little fa-fetched; however, once the action moves to the subway the fact that the bugs are clearly lethal no matter what they look like, makes this less important. The film is quite short and makes the action come quicker and seem more urgent. Several people get killed by the bug that wouldn't usually get killed in this sort of horror (children for example), this is very effective as it is quite scary to see the unexpected happen. The mood is dark throughout and Del Toro uses the sewers and subway to great effect, creating a real sense of claustrophobia, like the humans have entered the bug's world and not the other way round. The bugs are shown early on in the film - usually not a good idea (keep it hidden in the "Jaws" way), but here the special effects are good enough to make the bug really believable, yet the horror is not in seeing the bugs but in they way they hunt and kill, but the fear is in what could happen. The cast are great, Sorvino especially is very good in the lead. Jeremy Northam and Charles S. Dutton are good in support and Abraham Murray adds a bit of cameo class (though his role is quite unnecessary). The director is the real star, adding some genuine scares and real mood to a film that could have easily been just another creature-feature that goes straight to video and straight to the back of your mind.A few things I didn't like about this film was some of its more subtle things. Mira Sorvino was playing an entomologist, yet when she studies or investigate specimens, she takes no logical safety precautions. The same recklessness occurs repeatedly for her and every other cast throughout movie. Things like touching bugs that likely carry unknown diseases with your bare hands, or when they go underground to hunt for the roaches without any type of scientific or safety equipment is just very illogical to me. To think that in the beginning of the movie, the city undergone a catastrophic epidemic that were spread by roaches and for them to go on the rest of the movie every time without any planning or taking precaution is just unthinkable. The plot was nicely written and the story flowed well, but the reckless actions from supposedly "experts" just kills it. It doesn't just happen once or twice, but every single time. A number of scenes also seemed very forced and felt like they were put there just so the story can continue the way the director wanted, yet they made no logical sense.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

"Mimic" is one of those types of horror Sci-Fi movies that can be watched again and again, with a few years in between each viewing. And that is because of director Guillermo del Toro managing to put together a riveting story that crawls in under the skin and sticks with you.The story in "Mimic" is about a man-made mutated cockroach variant that were intended to destroy a mysterious disease that were plaguing mankind. But cockroaches are resilient bugs and nature has a way of evolving, leaving the insects out to destroy the only predator that threaten them, mankind.In itself a rather simple storyline, but there are layers to "Mimic" that add to the enjoyment of the movie, such the individual stories and backgrounds of the characters, and the fact that mankind brought about the abomination that they are now facing.This first "Mimic" movie does have some good talents on the cast list, including Mira Sorvino, Josh Brolin, Charles S. Dutton and even Norman Reedus. The actors and actresses did help make "Mimic" stand out as a good horror Sci-Fi and as a watchable movie.For a movie of this type then the special effects are crucial. And the effects team in "Mimic" did come together quite nicely and came up with some very interesting effects and creature designs. I have always been fascinated with the mimic ability of these insects since the first time I watched "Mimic" back in the late 1990's."Mimic" is an entertaining movie that does hold some good thrills. For a horror movie, then there is actually nothing scary about it. But that is not a bad thing, because the movie is entertaining as a thriller. And director Guillermo del Toro masterfully built up the suspense in the movie quite nicely, a suspense that permeated the entire movie from start to end.