Mimic

In New York City, a disease spread by cockroaches is killing children, and entomologist Susan Tyler engineers a new breed of insect designed to wipe out the carriers. The modified species is meant to die out within a single generation, and the epidemic ends. Three years later, people begin disappearing beneath the city. Susan comes to suspect that the insects she created have survived, grown far larger than intended, and developed the ability to imitate humans, leaving her and her husband Peter Mann, who works for the health department, to confront what they unleashed.

Guillermo del Toro directed the film, the second of the thirteen features he has directed to date, following Cronos and preceding The Devil's Backbone. Matthew Robbins, del Toro and John Sayles wrote the screenplay, and Bob Weinstein, B.J. Rack and Ole Bornedal produced it for Dimension Films. Mira Sorvino plays Susan, with Jeremy Northam as Peter, and Giancarlo Giannini, Charles S. Dutton, Josh Brolin and Alexander Goodwin among the credited cast of thirty.

The film was released in August 1997 and runs 105 minutes. Made for a budget of 30 million US dollars, it took about 25 million worldwide, a return below its cost. On IMDb it holds 6 out of 10 from roughly 59,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.1 out of 10 from around 1,300 votes. A critics' rating of 6.3 out of 10 from 53 reviews places it slightly above the audience scores.