In the original Mimic there was a plague of cockroaches that were threatening to kill the children of the city. An entomologist created a new breed of mutant insect using DNA from ants and termites, the only problem being that the new mutant creature wanted to eradicate its main rival – mankind. Mimic 2 sees the return of these creatures, but this time around they are starting to take more of a human form.
Mimic 2 begins very well, with some good edge of the seat type suspense. A man is stalked while leaving a train station and soon meets his fate. From here we are soon reintroduced to Remy Panos (Alix Koromzay) from the first film, this time she is the lead character. Remy is a school teacher who is having trouble finding a suitable partner, she is constantly dating but is forever finding fault with each of them. The other strange occurrence is that her dates are beginning to disappear.
One of the mutant creatures has taken up residence in the school where Remy works and appears to be building a nest. For some strange reason it also sees Remy as a suitable partner and is eradicating the competition. Aided by a couple of school students and a police detective, they must try to escape the clutches of the creature, will they survive? Well we can hope not!
I apologise if any of the information above in any way gives away the plot, but this film is quite lame in content and with a plot as predictable as this, it is unavoidable. After starting off well the film soon deteriorates to B-grade horror. The acting is pretty ordinary and the special effects, the highlight of the film, are also average. Most sequels struggle to emulate the original so some consideration can be given, but this fails on most accounts. There are just so many holes in this story. The lead character literally has men throwing themselves at her feet. Now even if she was the most stunning looking woman out there, she is still an insect obsessed nerd, not what most men look for in a prospective mate.
The other issue that really bugged me (pardon the pun) was that this lead character is also continually travelling by pushbike through some very dark alleys and on one occasion even bumps into a talk dark stranger, simply apologising and moving on. Now if the character is not scared of these dark places then how should we the audience be expected to be? There are many other little irritations in this film and I could go on, but I am sure you get the idea.
No doubt there will be fans of B-grade horror who will enjoy this film – myself not included. It did have potential to be a decent sequel and after a good start soon resorted to a boring and predictable storyline. This fits into the category of worth renting if there is nothing else available - well, it beats watching the golf or cricket anyway!
Audio is supplied by default in English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround and is very nice indeed. Directional effect is well balanced through the surrounds and for the most part adds to creating a good creepy atmosphere. There are a couple of occasions where insect noises seem added for the sake of it, but generally they are well placed. Dialogue is sharp throughout and synch is never a problem. The sound effects for this film remind me a lot of the noise made by the creature in Predator, but are no doubt accurate for what a giant cockroach would sound like. Overall, though, a very good audio track.
Overall this is not a great film, or even a great sequel. Fans of the first film, along with the rest of us, would be best advised to wait around until this is a weekly rental. The acting is average, the story predictable and most importantly, it just isn't scary! The video and audio seem wasted on this film and the one saving grace for this release is the inclusion of some extras. My overall impression after watching this was to go and by some bug spray!
