Review: Mimic (1997)

People in the Movie: Mira Sorvino (Romy & Michele's High School Reunion), Jeremy Northam (The Invasion), Charles Dutton (Alien 3)
Director: Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth)
Pigeonhole: Horror/ Sci Fi/ Thriller

On the surface: In New York City, a deadly epidemic called 'Strickler's Diesease' is killing hundreds of children.  Strickler's is being spread by the large cockroach population, so entomologist Dr. Susan Tyler (Sorvino) and her husband Dr. Peter Mann (Northam) are contacted to find a way to stop the spread of the disease by means of killing the carriers.  Susan and Peter very reluctantly agree to genetically engineer an insect which they call the 'Judas Breed'; it is described as a cross between a termite and a praying mantis.  These predator insects are then released into the sewers and effectively stop the cockroaches.  Soon no new cases of Strickler's are reported.  Because Susan and Peter bred the Judas' as all female and with a genetic flaw, they die out after one generation.  Ok, not really.
Three years later, strange things begin happening in and around the subways.  A priest disappears from his church, and a child hears strange clicking over a several day period.  Susan is brought a specimen of a large strange looking bug, which she discovers is genetically identical to the Judas Breed.  Uh oh.
She and Peter proceed into the old subway tunnels, with a grumbling Metro Security officer named Leonard (Dutton), in tow.  It seems nature has a surprise in wait, and the cockroaches are not the only things that the Judas Breed are going to eliminate...

Deeper down: **spoiler alert**
Mimic plays out like a monster movie, or "creature feature".  No new ground is broken as far plotline -the basic premise is that the Judas bugs, of course, evolved and are now going to be predators of humans.  I think the "human sized bugs" were scary looking, and did not come off like something comical or too mocked-up - which is often a problem in monster movies.  While they were human sized, you could still have that "creepy crawly bug feeling" seeing them on the screen.  I was very impressed with the scenery and background - being very dark, and cramped due to the fact they spend most of the movie underground either in old subway tunnels or in the sewers.  Even the scenes above ground were equally gloomy, and either took place at night or shots were in the shadows.  The environment del Toro created lent itself well to building tension, and made every area seem like the mimic bugs were just waiting to attack.
Where the light broke through:
- The previously noted creature effects and environments make this worth seeing, right away.  While I often criticize Hollywood for having way too many movies take place in New York City or Los Angeles, this time it really works well to be in subterranean New York.  Seeing the bugs in their different stages of their life cycle, and when they were in their human-like mimic forms was very hair raising to see.  I give these points very high marks.
- I thought the leads were all good in their roles.  I think Sorvino did a great mixing the "tough scientist" with a vulnerable, human side.  She was also hesitant about messing with nature when creating the Judas bug, so there was no arrogance on her part thinking there could not be repercussions.  No one came off like the superhero, either, which I really appreciated.  There can be a tendency for Alpha-type character to try to save the day in monster movies.
- The tension rose and fell at a good pace.  Scary scenes were scary - meaning there were no one-liners, or comic relief that threw off the balance.  (Other than the ending, which I will get to, below.) 

What was sewer-rific:
- The Judas bugs seems to be both hyper-intelligent (e.g. capturing and not killing Susan and a child at different points; or stalking different characters throughout), but then can be fooled by their own scent glands and secretions?  I have no problem with any single one of these elements, but taken all together it seems almost contradictory that these predatory creatures could behave in near human-like ways, as well as their apparent blood lust, yet be "fooled" by something so "basic".
- Susan and Peter seem to quickly arrive at the conclusion that "there is only one fertile male in the colony" of the mimics (which we are led to from the prior information that their original breeding was done from termites).  Wait a second - isn't the whole point of reaching the stages of chaos they were at in the film because of mutation and evolution?  This dialogue just seemed like horror movie stupidity to me, especially because these are two doctors who are witnessing first hand what "should not be happening" based on how they engineered the Judas Breed in the first place, which was supposed to have died after one generation.  I also considered it highly short-sighted for them to have concluded that there was only the one colony there in the subways and sewers, so they believed they should only be looking for one male to kill.
- The ending seemed too "easy" for me to reconcile.  Peter finds the nest somewhat near where all the prior action had taken place, and it's conveniently equipped with gas line to rupture and ignite, so he can kill all the other mimics, who are all now supposedly in one place (minus the "king" who Susan gets to kill).  Based on how the whole rest of the film went, this just seemed like a cop out, or a quick way to try to tie off the action with the easiest possible answer.  This fact takes Mimic from being a great film, down to just a good film, in my opinion.

Recommendation: See it for some great cinematography, decent story, and for Mira Sorvino's part.  Multiple tense moments are enough to override the slow-down points and not-so-great end.  'R' rating is for creature/horror gore, violence and language. 
*I have not seen the extended director's cut as of this date, so I do not know if anything significant was added.

Extras:
- There are 2 direct-to-video sequels.
- One ending, possibly the original ending, reportedly has Susan and the child make it back into the subway only to see that all the commuters looked like the mimics in the "Long John" human form.  Unfortunately it did not test well, so the happier ending was used.  Too bad.