Directed by: Guillermo del Toro, Jean de Segonzac, JT Petty
Starring: Mira Sorvino, Jeremy Northam, Charles S. Dutton, Bruno Campos, Alix Koromzay, Lance Henriksen, Amanda Plummer
MPAA Rating: R
Distributed by: Lions Gate
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Running Time: 270 minutes
Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars
The “Mimic” franchise was started by one of the greatest and visionary directors of our time Guillermo del Toro. It all started from him. Though he wasn’t happy with the film, so luckily this film set includes the director’s cut of the film and a whole lot of extras. This set is rounded out by its direct-to-video sequels “Mimic 2” and “Mimic 3: Sentinel”. There is something about direct-to-video sequels that I loved from Miramax like “Children of the Corn” and “Hellraiser”. They are not the best movies but they are true to this series and just fun to enjoy for fans of the series. All three films come backed with great visual effects, even the sequels. If you don’t own “Mimic” on Blu-ray already, I would highly recommend picking up this great collection.
The first film “Mimic” started it all with the ‘Judas’ breed of a new insect in order to prevent an epidemic. The film is directed by the fantastic Guillermo del Toro and it packs such a great cast. The second film “Mimic 2” picks up four years after, where the mutated cockroaches have now undergo another metamorphosis and plan on taking over again. To sum up this franchise, “Mimic 3: Sentinel” gives this series a new twist. Directed by JT Petty, the mutant breed of these giant insects comes back again and the world finds out that the ‘Judas’ breed is far from extinct.
The Blu-ray presentation are all absolutely stunning. The first “Mimic” not only looks great in its high def 1080p transfer, it sounds beyond fantastic with its DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track. The rain and special effects are showcased perfectly with this audio track. The other films also pack a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, which also shines very well. All three of the films are very dark but yet they look fantastic, overall very impressive transfers.
“Mimic: The Director’s Cut” comes packed with some very impressive special features. There is a “Video Prologue with Director Guillermo del Toro” and “Audio Commentary with Director/Co-writer Guillermo del Toro”. The audio commentary is very informative, as they always are with him. “Reclaiming Mimic” is a featurette that focuses on how the original vision for the film was brought in for this new cut. “A Leap in Evolution – The Creatures of Mimic” is featurette on creating these amazing creatures. “Back into the Tunnels – Shooting Mimic” is a featurette on the film’s dreadfully wet and dark shooting locations. There are three deleted scenes, including an alternate ending. There are six “Storyboard Animatics”, which I enjoyed but which they were longer. Lastly there is a gag reel included.
For direct-to-video sequels, “Mimic 2” and “Mimic 3: Sentinel” also come with some decent special features. They are in SD like most of the “Mimic” extras but still decent. The second film has “5 Days of Mimic 2”, focusing on the production. “Behind the Sound of Mimic 2” focuses on creating the score for the film. Lastly included also are a few deleted scenes. The third film comes with an decent behind-the-scenes featurette, which I enjoyed. An audio commentary with Writer/Director J.T. Petty, which was also informative. Lastly there was cast auditions included as well.