Some thoughts on "Mimic", the Guillermo Del Toro film that always gets overlooked.-UNR

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Which is understandable because Del Toro basically disowned his English language debut feature for a long time due to the shit he had to deal with on the set (this is yet another film the Weinsteins fucked with, to the point that Del Toro described the film as "a beautiful butterfly that had its wings cut off"). And yet the film is still a pretty well-done and frequently creepy monster move with a lot of Del Toro's touches. A few things to point out:

1. The opening scenes with the plague that is threatening to wipe out New York City's children (and leads to the creation of the films' monsters) are rather unsettling to see these days in the wake of COVID. In particular, a sequence with rows of dying children in medical tents that hits WAY too close to home.

2. Del Toro really indulges in his love of bugs and dark wet places in this one. The scene with the bug...um...leavings is maybe the grossest thing he's ever put on screen.

3. It's a pleasure to see Mira Sorvino at her 90s-era Oscar winning peak, although it's tempered by the knowledge that this is a Weinstein production given that Weinstein fucked with her career when he couldn't fuck her. Yet another reason to hate that pig.

4. I always appreciate how merciless Del Toro is with his characters. No one is safe in this, including children.

5. Love the cast in this, especially Charles Dutton as the hardass transit cop who can't believe the shit he stumbled into. And you also get a startlingly young Norman Reedus in a brief but memorable turn as a cheerful sewer worker.

6. One other cast member to note; F. Murray Abraham is so much a Ian Malcom type I'm surprised Spielberg didn't try to get royalties. He even has his own "life finds a way" speech.

7. Genetically designing a killer mutant bug is a dangerous prospect, but naming it the JUDAS Breed is just begging for trouble. Like the name "Decepticon", it just screams "they're going to turn on you."

8. An example of the Weinsteins' meddling; Del Toro agreed to do the film on three conditions, which were (a) no guns, (b) no big explosions and (c) no pat happy ending. Guest what happened?

Still, despite all of its problems, it's still worth a look. When are big bugs not a little creepy?

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