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There are few genre fans in the world that don’t know the name Guillermo del Toro, but in 1997 he was still a relatively unknown entity to the western world. The Spanish director was hired by the Weinsteins to helm what was originally conceived as a three part short film project, quickly morphed into a standard feature. But for anyone that knows del Toro’s work, nothing the man does is standard.
On the face of it, and ultimately to del Toro’s chagrin, Mimic was marketed and reedited in his absence to be a monster movie. But all along he had a more complex vision, as he always does, for the tale he wanted to tell. A lifelong fan of Frankenstein and ancient fairy tales, he saw this film as an opportunity to explore humanity through misanthropic eyes; to make the assertion that humanity’s arrogance to play god and indifference to the carnage it creates may seal its own destruction. A dark and imaginative cautionary tale was his agenda. The Weinsteins disagreed.
Skip a decade and a bit and the world now knows how brilliant del Toro is; he has proven himself again and again, and is now a brand name in Hollywood. With that influence, a seldom opportunity for the man to revisit his earlier work surfaced, and we now have Mimic: The Director’s Cut; a version as close to his original vision as was possible. He has added some scenes to better highlight his original intention, and excised a few of the producer’s choices to remove that gimmicky monster scare element he loathed when the film was released theatrically.
Mimic: The Director’s Cut tells the story of an entomologist (Mira Sorvino) who becomes the hero of New York City after she eradicates a dangerous plague of cockroaches that have spread disease and caused the death of thousands. Her seemingly genius plan, a biological experiment using a new insect called the Judas Bug, does their job and is assumed to die off. A few years later, she discovers that the Judas has in fact not only survived, but evolved rapidly, and into something far more deadly than the disease they were designed to destroy. It is up to her to answer how this happened and find a way to stop it before the Judas turns on humanity.
There are del Toro hallmarks all over this, one of his earliest western offerings, and it is head and shoulders above its contemporaries for it. Visually, the film belies its monster movie tendencies with the director’s considered perfectionism for shadow and light, as always, registering as painterly. While the story is not what he wanted, even with the new version, it does satisfy with better character development than your average monster mash up. The creatures are also another instantly recognisable del Toro hallmark, and are unique and terrifying to boot. Nothing about this film is average, so I can understand his frustration at not being able to tell the story the way he wanted it. But as far as monster movies go, this is up there with the best. It may not he Cronenberg’s The Fly, but it’s a worthy addition to the genre. Unlike Richard Donner’s Superman II, there was not enough material for del Toro to completely reshape his film. It’s subtly different and does adequately highlight the things he wanted, but it’s not a major revision by any stretch.
If you like del Toro, and want to see something that is closer to what he originally wanted, give it a go. He may have been disappointed, but I doubt you will be.
MPAA Rating: 
