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Mimic 2
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
In 1997, a fairly low-budget creature-feature starring Mira Sorvino called "Mimic" opened to mixed reviews and only minor box office business. It's since gained a small cult following, especially with home theater owners, many of which consider it one of the best demonstration discs for 5.1 surround sound. Although many would hardly give thought to the possibility of a sequel, with a cheaper budget and cheaper stars, anything is possible - except, well, actually improving on the first one. Many studios probably wouldn't have even thought about a sequel, but this is Dimension - and they've made three pictures out of the "From Dusk Till Dawn" series.
This direct-to-video return does bring back Remi (Alix Koromzay) who was apparently in the first picture, but who I completely don't remember (it's been several months since I've seen the first film). A teacher with an interest in bugs (but who simply seems to attract bad dates), the giant bugs from the first film return and have taken a definite interest in her. The only one who tries to stand in the way is a detective (Bruno Campos - who previously stared in the Christina Applegate sitcom "Jesse") who is the latest to take an interest in her.
I'll go light on the plot details because simply, there really aren't any. Where the characters in the original were trying to cure a disease, the characters here realy only serve one purpose: to be bug food. I will say though, that the bug effects are fairly well done and, from watching the picture, it's obvious that there was a fairly decent budget behind this film. It's not obvious though, that there was much effort put into the screenplay by Joel Soisson, who penned the equally awful "Dracula 2000" for Dimension studios.
There's little genuine suspense to the proceedings simply because we couldn't care less about what happens to the characters and in 82 minutes, there really isn't much chance to develop any of them that well. Although "Mimic 2" will provide slightly more entertainment than similar sequels like "Species 2", it doesn't improve on the only mixed results of the original - it doesn't offer better effects and it certainly doesn't offer better performances or plot.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Mimic 2" is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and although not perfect, this is still a pretty respectable presentation from Buena Vista/Dimension. Sharpness and detail are excellent and shadow detail is fine as well; a couple of darker scenes are a little bit murky, but the majority of the dimly lit sequences are quite well-defined.
Yet, there were a few minor problems along the way. Some scenes displayed some light, but noticable pixelation and slight edge enhancement. There were also some minor flaws with the print used. Certainly nothing much in the way of wear, but there were some slight marks and a couple of speckles every so often throughout the picture.
Colors looked superb throughout the film - there's some stylish filters and what-not occasionally unncessarily brought in, but mostly, the picture stays with a nice, rich, natural color palette that looks fine here, well-rendered and accurate with no instances of smearing. Some noticable flaws, but excellent throughout much of the film.
SOUND: "Mimic 2" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. The first picture's scares were mainly due to that picture's outstanding sound design. Often ranked as one of the favorite "home theater demos" "Mimic" used surrounds highly agressively to make the viewer feel as if the creatures were circling around them. The filmmakers of "Mimic 2" realize that sound plays an integral part in the proceedings for a film like this, and they too put the surrounds to agressive use as creepy sound effects flow out from either side.
Like the first picture, the surrounds are used very effectively for genuinely creepy noises and not just blatant "shock" sounds. Helicopters come through the scenes as the film goes on and there's some really well-done scenes where the viewer feels like they're in the helicopter or the copters are flying overhead. Low bass also adds some fun to the film's audio. Although it isn't quite as consistently full of scares as the 5.1 presentation of the first picture, it's nice to find that the filmmakers realized the importance of sound to at least try for some thrills that the script doesn't manage to generate.
MENUS:: Basic non-animated menus with film-themed images. Nothing too exciting.
EXTRAS:
Five Days Of "Mimic 2": These are five short featurettes that take the viewer onto the set of the movie to take a personal look at different aspects of production up-close - not in a "promotional" manner as the featurettes were shot on the film's Los Angeles locations. These are nicely filmed and quite informative, worth a look for those interested in how the movie was filmed.
The Sound Of "Mimic 2": This is a very interesting featurette with the film's sound designer, who sits at the mixing panel and shows how different sound elements are inserted into the final mix of the picture. Definitely a featurette of interest.
Deleted Scenes: There are six deleted scenes included - although a few of them are rightly deleted, a couple of them also do a decent job of actually filling out some of the story details.
Final Thoughts: "Mimic 2" certainly isn't a great (or even very good) film, but it certainly wasn't as horrid as some of the other sci-fi sequels that have come down the river in the past few years. The DVD offers fairly good image quality and strong audio quality along with a few decent extras. If you're a fan of the first picture and are curious what happens in the sequel, you might want to rent this, but don't go in with high expectations.
In 1997, a fairly low-budget creature-feature starring Mira Sorvino called "Mimic" opened to mixed reviews and only minor box office business. It's since gained a small cult following, especially with home theater owners, many of which consider it one of the best demonstration discs for 5.1 surround sound. Although many would hardly give thought to the possibility of a sequel, with a cheaper budget and cheaper stars, anything is possible - except, well, actually improving on the first one. Many studios probably wouldn't have even thought about a sequel, but this is Dimension - and they've made three pictures out of the "From Dusk Till Dawn" series.
This direct-to-video return does bring back Remi (Alix Koromzay) who was apparently in the first picture, but who I completely don't remember (it's been several months since I've seen the first film). A teacher with an interest in bugs (but who simply seems to attract bad dates), the giant bugs from the first film return and have taken a definite interest in her. The only one who tries to stand in the way is a detective (Bruno Campos - who previously stared in the Christina Applegate sitcom "Jesse") who is the latest to take an interest in her.
I'll go light on the plot details because simply, there really aren't any. Where the characters in the original were trying to cure a disease, the characters here realy only serve one purpose: to be bug food. I will say though, that the bug effects are fairly well done and, from watching the picture, it's obvious that there was a fairly decent budget behind this film. It's not obvious though, that there was much effort put into the screenplay by Joel Soisson, who penned the equally awful "Dracula 2000" for Dimension studios.
There's little genuine suspense to the proceedings simply because we couldn't care less about what happens to the characters and in 82 minutes, there really isn't much chance to develop any of them that well. Although "Mimic 2" will provide slightly more entertainment than similar sequels like "Species 2", it doesn't improve on the only mixed results of the original - it doesn't offer better effects and it certainly doesn't offer better performances or plot.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Mimic 2" is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and although not perfect, this is still a pretty respectable presentation from Buena Vista/Dimension. Sharpness and detail are excellent and shadow detail is fine as well; a couple of darker scenes are a little bit murky, but the majority of the dimly lit sequences are quite well-defined.
Yet, there were a few minor problems along the way. Some scenes displayed some light, but noticable pixelation and slight edge enhancement. There were also some minor flaws with the print used. Certainly nothing much in the way of wear, but there were some slight marks and a couple of speckles every so often throughout the picture.
Colors looked superb throughout the film - there's some stylish filters and what-not occasionally unncessarily brought in, but mostly, the picture stays with a nice, rich, natural color palette that looks fine here, well-rendered and accurate with no instances of smearing. Some noticable flaws, but excellent throughout much of the film.
SOUND: "Mimic 2" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. The first picture's scares were mainly due to that picture's outstanding sound design. Often ranked as one of the favorite "home theater demos" "Mimic" used surrounds highly agressively to make the viewer feel as if the creatures were circling around them. The filmmakers of "Mimic 2" realize that sound plays an integral part in the proceedings for a film like this, and they too put the surrounds to agressive use as creepy sound effects flow out from either side.
Like the first picture, the surrounds are used very effectively for genuinely creepy noises and not just blatant "shock" sounds. Helicopters come through the scenes as the film goes on and there's some really well-done scenes where the viewer feels like they're in the helicopter or the copters are flying overhead. Low bass also adds some fun to the film's audio. Although it isn't quite as consistently full of scares as the 5.1 presentation of the first picture, it's nice to find that the filmmakers realized the importance of sound to at least try for some thrills that the script doesn't manage to generate.
MENUS:: Basic non-animated menus with film-themed images. Nothing too exciting.
EXTRAS:
Five Days Of "Mimic 2": These are five short featurettes that take the viewer onto the set of the movie to take a personal look at different aspects of production up-close - not in a "promotional" manner as the featurettes were shot on the film's Los Angeles locations. These are nicely filmed and quite informative, worth a look for those interested in how the movie was filmed.
The Sound Of "Mimic 2": This is a very interesting featurette with the film's sound designer, who sits at the mixing panel and shows how different sound elements are inserted into the final mix of the picture. Definitely a featurette of interest.
Deleted Scenes: There are six deleted scenes included - although a few of them are rightly deleted, a couple of them also do a decent job of actually filling out some of the story details.
Final Thoughts: "Mimic 2" certainly isn't a great (or even very good) film, but it certainly wasn't as horrid as some of the other sci-fi sequels that have come down the river in the past few years. The DVD offers fairly good image quality and strong audio quality along with a few decent extras. If you're a fan of the first picture and are curious what happens in the sequel, you might want to rent this, but don't go in with high expectations.
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