Search - Mimic 2 on DVD

Direct-to-video movie that doesn't try to be more than it is

Michael J. Tresca | Fairfield, CT USA | 01/26/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I saw Mimic in the movie theaters and enjoyed it. The original plot: scientists in the near future genetically engineer bugs to stop an infestation of plague-spreading cockroaches. They called them "Mimics" because they mimicked the behavior of the roaches and were able to infiltrate their nests.

Fast-forward a few years and the Mimics have gotten out of hand. Instead of being sterile, they reproduced. And instead of just being able to mimic bugs, they are now giant-sized beetles that have an outer shell that looks a lot like a guy in an overcoat wearing a hat. In short, the Mimics started hunting us.

There was way too much religious symbolism in the first movie for my tastes (from stigmata to calling the bugs "Judas breed"), but it was a sci fi film that aimed high even if it didn't always hit the mark. Mimic 2, a direct-to-video sequel, aims low and hits its mark anyway.

A minor character from the first film, Remi (Alix Koromzay), comes back as a hard-working redheaded schoolteacher who just wants to settle down with a nice guy in a soundstage-version of New York. She has a tough time though, mostly because she seems to like bugs a little too much and talks about them a lot.

What, you don't remember Remi from the first film? Neither do I. She was part of the CDC though, so we can assume she's fallen on hard times when we see Remi traipsing through the crumbling halls of a soon-to-be-condemned school teaching weird little freaky kids that talk about being insects and killing happy families.

Remi's life is interrupted by a series of killings, all of them involving men who have their faces torn off. The handsome Officer Klaski (Bruno Campos) enters to investigate and tolerates Remi's rambling about insects just enough to create something of a spark between them.

Mimic 2 doesn't hit you over the head with the plot, which is unfortunate because sometimes you need a good whack to understand what might be obvious to the director. Apparently, there is a Mimic from the original hive (you're shocked, I know) that's attempting to build a new hive right in the condemned schoolhouse. We're supposed to infer all of this from Remi's conversations about a single soldier ant who is the last of his kind to die "without a queen."

The rules of foreshadowing demand that we understand this to mean a few things: 1) that there's just one Mimic left, 2) that it's a soldier, 3) that it's looking for a queen. If you don't catch this little dialogue and interpret it correctly, the movie doesn't really explain itself much further. In fact, there's a scene that hit the cutting room floor that's on the DVD that explains everything. Without it the movie grasps at straws.

But what about the face ripping? Here's a quote from The Thing to help you out: "Man is the warmest place to hide."

That said, there are lots of surprises, shocks, and twists in the movie. The director (Jean de Segonzac) is competent and the writing (Joel Soisson) is well done. Unfortunately, the movie seems to have bad timing. In at least two scenes, the movie gives itself away too early-by about 10 seconds in each case. What the lone Mimic soldier is doing and what it plans to do is quite sinister, but pulling off the surprise twist requires careful timing, which this movie lacks. De Segonzac has directed TV, mostly, so maybe that's part of the problem.

The characters are a mixed bag. Remi's suitably quirky, although a little TOO quirky at times. The guys she dates rate high on the creep-o-scale, a fact that of course guarantees they will all die horrible, faceless deaths. The two kids Remi struggles to protect (Nicky played by Wil Estes and Sal played by Gaven Lucas) are really one-dimensional but are suitable foils for Remi's motherly instincts. Detective Klaski is well done, as is the government agent who competes with him to exterminate the bug. When Detect Klaski encounters the Mimic, he empties his entire gun into it, grabs a gun from his ankle holster, and fires the rest of that too. Now THAT'S what a normal cop would do when faced with a giant bug!

Not that it helps. Fortunately, the special effects are sparsely used. There are occasional computer graphics, but for the most part the bug is a rubber suit just off screen. We never see it in good lighting; a good thing too, given that when we do see the big bug it looks like a guy in a suit. The director works with what he's got and uses it sparingly.

The ending is the big payoff, but your reaction to it will really depend on your perspective of the film throughout. If you think the idea of a bug taking the role of a serial killer and stalker is preposterous, the ending is so ridiculously absurd that it's just plain comical. If you think the idea of a big bug flying around trying to stick its ovipositor in your gut is disturbing, then the ending will keep you awake at night. It's all a bit misogynistic, actually, but then most stalker movies are.

Koromzay is no Mira Sorvino, but she does okay. There's a cut scene where a creepy cigarette-smoking guy who sits in the stairwell of the building explains how Remi is an "average-looking chick that guys think they have a chance with," which explains why she has so many problems. That's sums up the movie too...it knows it's a direct to video sequel and doesn't try to be more than it is."

Why bother?

raul galindo mendoza | el paso, texas USA | 06/25/2001

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Mimic was a very clever and original film that gave the audience what we were looking for, some good scares, great SFX, a great story, a cast that you could care for. Why would anyone try to destroy all of this? who knows but Mimic 2 has to be the worst sequel I have ever seen, I've always been a fan of nature gone crazy and critter horror and I must say I was offended by this dreadful film, the Character of Remy is not strong enough to save this one, I mean, she was a whole lot likeable in the first one even though we were left wanting to see more of her but not like this, also the bugs were totally absent, the new direction the story took it was completely stupid, the fact that they wanted to look more like humans was just to justify the absence of good SFX that made the original so amazing. In a nut shell, it is not scary, it is not original, it is not entertaining, it is NOT a Mimic sequel, just ignore it exist. If you crave a good insect flick just watch the original MIMIC or BUG with Bradford Dillman, and again, ignore this straight to video attempt of a sequel."

Fun low-budget sequel

J. A. Torrontegui | Spain | 07/03/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I found this movie was much better than expected. But you've got to take it for what it is, a genre b-movie.
Ok, so maybe the police detective character is a tired cliché played by an uninspired actor, and maybe the heroine is a bit too weird (the emotional photo-collage thing), and the movie could have benefited of a bigger budget. But still, the plot's main gimmick is inventive and works, overall entertaining, with some slightly scary moments, and the visual effects are good.
I don't know, I had fun watching it and didn't feel insulted. To give you some reference, I think 'Species 2' is a laughably bad sequel, and I find the original 'Species' very overrated. So I guess I don't fall for every sci-fi movie out there.
The dvd is anamorphic widescreen."

Alix Koromzay is the real surprise in "Mimic 2"

F. P. Kovacs | Ohio USA | 07/10/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Never mind the low expectations; face it, it's a sequel to a not particularly brilliant bug-monster movie, we're not expecting genius here. But what we do get is a very well made action-horror film, some highly effective and inventive camera work, and a neatly done finale. Right there is about twice what I would have expected of a straight-to-video movie with a less than stellar cast.One member of the cast ought to go stellar here: Mimic 2's real surprise is Alix Koromzay, reprising a role nobody noticed in the first picture. Here, she's solidly in the lead and we're right there with her. Koromzay manages the trick of portraying a character we care about, and root for, without for a minute descending to the typical woman-in-peril hokum of countless other thrillers. She is tough when she has to be, terrified when you'd expect her to be, and pulls this picture out of its B-movie niche. I have not seen Koromzay in a lead role before but she pulls this off with quiet polish and spunk.Bottom line? Solid little thriller that contains an unexpected but welcome twist: A good performance."