THE FILM: Mimic (The Director’s Cut)
Up until just a couple years ago, I wasn’t even aware of the troubled production of Sir Guillermo Del Toro’s first big-budget film. During production, Bob Weinstein FIRED Del Toro, telling him that he simply wasn’t cutting it and his ideas weren’t what they were looking for, despite the fact that it was those ideas that landed him the job in the beginning. Upon hearing this, Mira Sorvino stormed into Bob’s office and reportedly said, “You motherfucker, you’re not doing this to him, you’re not doing this to me, this is not the way you make movies, I’m not coming to the set tomorrow without Guillermo directing the movie. I won’t work for anyone else. I’ll split.”
And that’s why I love Mira Sorvino. And so should you. Some people believe that her career was damaged because of this.
Once Del Toro was rehired, they monitored every move he made and forced him to re-write the ending to reflect a more uplifting tone. The changes in this cut may not be apparent at first, but rest assured, this is a different film altogether. Not in content necessarily, but in tone. The film now has a very strong gothic ambience to it that was never present in the theatrical version. Not only that, but the overall confluency is much smoother and much more organic. There are some horrifyingly heartbreaking moments and revelations towards the end that will be with you for days after. Another interesting alteration is the fact that many jump scares have been replaced with moments of supreme unease and high tension (haha). If you’ve never seen this film before, this is the version to see.
Fun Fact: In the original ending Doctor Susan and the kid come up from the subway into Grand Central Terminal only to be confronted by hundreds of commuters dressed like Long John. This ominous ending didn't test well so the 'happy' street scene ending was shot and appears in the final cut.
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