MovieChat Forums > Mimic (1997) Discussion > Del Toro on Mimic

Del Toro on Mimic

posted 15 years ago by craig-278
8 replies | jump to latest

"I don´t hate the movie for what it is- I feel hurt by what it could have been. The script that got away, the ending that was edited out, the ending that was NEVER filmed, etc

You have all heard me voice these complaints again and again. But there is NO secret that I feel VERY proud of a good 50-60 minutes of that film.

It is so difficult to make this known without voicing my displeasure, without sounding so self-absorbed…

But, contained in that movie are beautiful, jewel-like moments of darkness. Some moments that will forever make me proud and that, I believe, to be amongst the best stuff I´ll ever make.

I´ll take the stand and declare that:

I love Carol Spier and Dan Laustsen-

I love the opening scenes: the hospital, the plague victims, etc

I love the priest being killed by God´s creatures beneath a large JESUS SAVES sign. The movie tries to be Medieval in its vision of the world. It tries to define the fact that we don´t know anything about the order of nature or the real dimension of God´s plan. It tries to say something about pride.

I love Mira´s hand being bitten by the Nymph insect (the baby Mimic) and the scene where she looks through pieces of paper under her desk.

I love the first visit of Chuy to the church. The broken religious symbols the plastic-covered icons, etc.

I love the first locker room scene and the scene in the garbage facility –there´s Norman Reedus before BLADE II!!!

I love the killing of the kids in the subway. To my mind it is still one of the scenes I´ve shot that I feel the proudest… It is my belief that I have not shot a horror movie since MIMIC. CRONOS, BLADE II, HELLBOY and even DEVIL´S BB are hybrids. Half melodrama and/or action film and half dark fantasy WITH horror elements… But MIMIC was a bona fide MONSTER movie without much cross-breeding.

I love the first FULL ON reveal of the Mimic and the kidnapping of Mira into the tunnels. It is a fairy tale moment. A moment of horror and awe that I feel truly happy with.

I love the scene of the hanging *beep* and the discovery of the old abandoned station. I have said in the past that all the movies I do are linked by common textures, light and shadow plays and recurring obsessions. MIMIC was so fulfilling in this sense. I find the light, the textures of Carol Spier´s sets, the rotting, antique world we created, to be almost sensual in its creation… Style over matter some would claim but images know no distinction between the two, not when they are loaded by a perverse desire to communicate a world, a smell, a feel, an atmosphere. Content and form become one and the same.

I love the attack on the subway car and the smearing of the intestinal goo… Again, on of my happiest creative moments. I really loved doing that sequence…

I love the encounter in the service tunnel between Peter and the bug-

And finally, I love the death of Leonard- Why? Well, heck I just admire Dutton soooo much.

These are my moments. I own them. I recognize them. I cherish them.
But is that it?? Do I hate the rest??

Pretty much".

"I'm entitled. Simple. End of.."

[–] puirt-a-beul 14 years ago

Thanks for posting this, craig-278.

It's interesting (and reassuring in a way) to see that Guillermo's list of moments he is happiest with in this film match my favourite moments too, and the ones that I think show the magic of his talent.

It's a serious bummer, what happened to this movie, and I really hope we see his preferred version of it released sometime soon.

You might very well think that. I couldn't possibly comment.

[–] battenkill 14 years ago

Good to hear you like a lot of the scenes involving the visual effects. I love the fact you wrote about the drama and power of many of those scenes while not mentioning the CGI. I think it means the effects blended in such a natural way that they did what they were supposed to do or what I wanted them to do, blend into the story and the darkness and create drama and emotion without drawing attention to themselves.
It was a hard film to make with so many political and creative intrusions. I wondered if I would remember how miserable some of those shooting days were in the future and turns out I only remember the good time and satisfaction of delivering on some level what GDT asked for.
It was some of best vfx work I was involved in because Of GDT's amazing vision.

anonymous guy

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] Minus_The_Beer 14 years ago

I love reading Del Toro's thoughts on this mess of a movie. Mimic was, sadly, just another Miramax casualty of the late '90s. Nothing can be done to salvage it, as the preferred ending was never filmed to begin with, so sadly all we are left with is a final product that will never live up to its potential.

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] RM18CPR 13 years ago

According to the director's cut Blu-Ray, Del Toro's original scripted ending was to have the male mimic approach Mina Sorvino's character at the end as a fully transformed, perfectly evolved person.

The insect's face is flawlessly human, as are the fingers on its hand. It walks over to Sorvino, put its finger on her chest, and says "LEAVE."

Guillermo Del Toro said he felt this ending was much scarier, but the studio heads instead demanded a "saves the day" denouement.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] 13 years ago

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