Arrow in the Head reviews "Mimic 2"

Mimic 2 (2001)

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Directed by:	Jean De Segonzac
Starring:	Alix Koromzay/Remy
	Bruno Campos/Klaski
	Gaven Eugene Lucas/Sal
	Will Estes/Nicky

RATING

PLOT-CRUNCH:

Some leftover creatures from the first "Mimic" film build their nest in the school in which bug expert Remy (Koromzay) works. Will the bugs turn Remy and her acquaintances into bug chow?

THE LOWDOWN:

I enjoyed the original "Mimic" more and more with each additional viewing. I doubt that the same will happen with this hollow sequel. "Mimic 2" just didn’t feel like a complete movie to me. Where in the first film, we had a strong plot line, this one is just way too minimal. It’s basically: let's trap these people in a school with crazy bugs after them. The paper-thin characters don’t help the film either. Half of them are obviously introduced for the sole reason of becoming bug snacks and this annoyed me even more since the film didn’t even try to hide it. Even the “main” characters are pretty weak! Klaski (Camos) is just a cop that smiles a lot, Sal (Lucas) is just a kid that mopes around a lot and Nicky (Estes) is just a messed up horny teen. Remy (Koromzay) is the character that gets the most exploration but unfortunately for me, I didn’t really care about her. Her vibe just didn’t do it for me (see acting section below). I know that we don’t watch these kinds of movies for in-depth character exploration in the first place, but layering the characters always helps to make the suspense in the film even sharper and definitely helps me get more involved in the story. Didn’t happen here because I didn’t give a fuck about these people.

To make matters worse, the over-flashy directing drowned any minimal interest that I had in the characters or the situation. When a director goes coo-coo with the camera in a film supported by a decent script, it generally works. But in this movie, the camera work seemed to take over and it just felt like the director was showing off. Instead of feeling tension, I was like “look at those kool backlights”! Instead of feeling scared, I was like “look another upside down shot” and instead of caring about the story, I was like “is he trying to out-“Finch” Fincher?” The weak script and the directing overkill made the stalk sequences un-involving as well; I didn’t feel anything while watching them. In fact, the scare factor was non-existent altogether if you don’t count that one cheap boo scare, and made whatever storyline this film had, inconsequential.

The flick did have a few nice touches though. I liked the way that they explored Remy’s character with the bad dates and the Polaroid wall. I enjoyed her clever use of the Polaroid camera to get around and defend herself. I also dug the occasional bug running on the ceiling shots and appreciated the ambitious (for this movie anyways) ending that took the idea that the original film established a bit further. It’s unfortunate that these ingredients aren’t part of a better and more complete movie. "Mimic 2" is just an empty music video that tries to pass itself off as a film. It’s filled with all the clichés you’d expect from this type of flick (the token bad guy, the false ending…) and whatever originality it has is wasted because everything else around it is so damn empty. "Mimic 2" couldn’t mimic Mimic. Squash this bug!

ACTING:

Alix Koromzay (Remy) handles her part well but personally I don’t think she has the appeal to carry a film. Second banana? Fine. But as a lead she didn’t charm me. Bruno Campos (Klaski) doesn’t have much of a part in terms of depth but he compensates by flashing his million dollar smile every chance that he gets. Nice smile! Gaven Eugene Lucas’ (Sal) quiet disposition made him one of the lesser annoying kids to grace the screen in a while. I bought it! Will Estes (Nicky) does fine most of the time, he even pulled a few smiles out of me but he did border on over-acting occasionally, especially in his hysterical moments.

GORE:

A corpse with his face ripped out, bloody after-the-fact cadavers, some bug slashing and gooey bug squashing. The effects don’t live up to the ones in the original, that’s fer sure. Lots of "guy in bug suit" shots.

T & A:

Alix Koromzay strips to her undies and the camera does focus on her butt once but this Arrow was not seduced. She isn’t my type. The ladies get lots of naked bugs.

DIRECTING:

De Segonzac puts way too much dressing on this bug salad. Don’t get me wrong, I dig crazy camera shots, color filters and backlights as much as the next guy, but here he overdoes it to the point that the film seems to be set in a music video reality. I expected Madonna to pop out at any moment! I hated his use of fast motion with a passion but dug his aerial shot and the use of shadows. One more thing; ease down with that smoke machine, buddy!

SOUNDTRACK:

A very "by the numbers" score that didn’t do much to up the excitement level of the film.

BOTTOM LINE:

"Mimic 2" is just there. It rolled before my eyes and not once did I give a damn about what I was watching. The effects are weak compared to the first film and the characters are just dull. Yes, it has a polished look and moves fairly fast (clocking in at 83 minutes) but that’s not enough for me to recommend this poor sequel. I say rent the original "Mimic" again, it has the same themes but they’re way more developed. Here it’s like watching the director’s demo tape.

BULL'S EYE:

This sequel was written by Joel Soisson who also wrote: "Dracula 2000", "Highlander: Endgame" and "Prophecy 3".

The character of Remy (Koromzay) was also in the original (she was Mira Sorvino’s assistant) but to be honest I don’t remember her in there.

The film was shot in L.A for approximately $10 Million.

PLOT HOLE THAT ANNOYED ME: At one point, the cops had the suitcases but later on we see the bug and Nicky with them. How and when did the suitcases leave the policemen’s care? And why didn’t the film ever mention their disappearance?

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