Mimic: The Director's Cut

Based on the short story by Donald A. Wollheim, Mimic tells the horrific tale of Dr. Susan Tyler (Sorvino) and her husband (Northam), who genetically engineer a new species, the Judas Breed, to eradicate an epidemic threatening the lives of New York City children. Three years later, their cure has taken on a life of its own beneath the city, camouflaging itself by mimicking human beings. Guillermo Del Toro's Director's Cut restores many of the thematic elements that were not present in the studio-approved original release, for a more powerful and suspenseful experience. (Gary Reber)

Special features include commentary with Director Guillermo Del Toro; a video prologue with Del Toro; three featurettes: Reclaiming Mimic narrated by Del Toro (HD 14:31), A Leap In Evolution (SD 09:35), and Back Into The Tunnels (SD 05:22); two deleted scenes and an alternate ending (SD 05:11); six storyboard animatics (SD 06:04); a gag reel (SD 02:20); up-front previews; and a digital copy of the film.

Originally reviewed as a LaserDisc and a non-anamorphic DVD in Issue 28, at that time in optical disc development, the LaserDisc picture quality was excellent, with natural fleshtones, warm colors, and deep blacks. The non-anamorphic DVD exhibited slightly sharper and finer detailed images, with more fully saturated colors and fleshtones, when viewed through the component video output. The picture was solid throughout in both versions, with no apparent noise or artifacts. The LaserDisc and DVD aspect ratios were matted at 1.85:1. The new unrated Director's Cut is presented on Blu-ray Disc™ in the 1.85:1 1080p AVC format, with the addition of seven minutes. The picture reveals a much more cinematic character, with a seemingly enhanced sense of suspense and fear. While much of the movie takes place in dark underground surroundings, shadow detail and contrast are excellent. The inherent grain structure conveys a more gritty visual experience, with fine detail revealed. The Blu-ray picture is hauntingly graphic and texturally engaging, with a natural color balance and deep blacks. (Gary Reber)

The repurposed DTS-HD Master Audio™ 7.1-channel soundtrack greatly improves on the previous DTS® Digital Surround soundtrack and is stellar. While previously there were infrequent .1 low-frequency effects, the bass energy has been effectively energized. Bass extension is deep and powerful, extending to below 25 Hz, even in the surrounds. Surround envelopment is very aggressive, for a holosonic® soundfield experience that is adrenaline pumping. Dialogue is generally natural sounding and often nicely integrated spatially. The music score is haunting and very expansive in its spatial dimension across the soundstage. Directional sound effects are effective in the surrounds. The added two channels appear to be positioned at 90 degrees relative to the sweet spot listening position and dramatically enhance the holosonic envelopment experience, particularly the sense of spatially dimensionalized atmospherics and sound effects. The sound is consistently nerve-rattling and effectively heightens the horrific discovery and aftermath. (Gary Reber)