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'Mimic' not for the roach-sensitive
August 22, 1997
Web posted at: 1:53 p.m. EDT (1753 GMT)
From Reviewer Carol Buckland
(CNN) -- Yuck-fest fans, rejoice. "Mimic" is the kind of sci-fi horror film that will have the audience shrieking for an exterminator.
The story is a variation on the ever-popular, "Be careful when you mess with Mother Nature" theme. Scientist Susan Tyler (Oscar-winner Mira Sorvino) eradicates a terrible New York City plague by genetically engineering a new breed of cockroaches. These bugs are supposed to go bye-bye once their dirty duty is done.
But they don't. Major surprise -- not!
Three years after their initial creation, the roaches resurface. They're big. They're bad. And, having undergone an only-in-the-movies kind of evolution, they now possess the ability to take on -- "mimic" -- human form.
A singularly gross insect autopsy alerts Susan to the fact that something ugly is going on. The nature of the ugliness is driven home when she's snatched by one of the "mimic" mutants and temporarily held captive in a pest nest hidden in the bowels of the Manhattan subway system.
Being the heroine of this flick, Susan manages to check out of the evil roach motel essentially intact. She then hooks up with her scientist-hubby (Jeremy Northam, who played the swoon-worthy Mr. Knightley to Gwyneth Paltrow's Emma last year), another researcher (Josh Brolin) and a hard-core yet humorous cop (Charles S. Dutton).
Fueled by an understandable desire to survive -- and Susan's guilty conviction that this is all her fault -- the group does battle against the pissed-off, predatory bugs.
Sorvino brings an appealing mix of brains and beauty to her role. Although her on-screen responsibilities become increasingly genre-generic as the movie unreels, she's convincing throughout. The rest of the cast (including F. Murray Abraham, Giancarlo Giannini and Alexander Goodwin, as well as those previously mentioned) does solid work with what are basically stock characters.
'Mimic' movie trailer
"Mimic" was directed by Guillermo Del Toro, who co-wrote the screenplay with Matthew Robbins, Matthew Greenberg and John Sayles. He's got a nastily effective way of working on the nerves. While this flick scores fairly high on the ugh! meter, it also has moments of eerie visual artistry.
The first hour of the movie is the best. Then its creep-house sophistication gives way to a bunch of shock-the- audience stuff that's really pretty stupid. Still, "Mimic" will have entomophobes in the audience yearning to bug out, and scare-seekers squirming in their seats.
This film runs 105 minutes. It's rated R. There's profanity, gore, and extremely gross special effects. Sensitive souls of all ages are strongly advised to steer clear.
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