There are sequels, and then there’s Mimic 2, a film that scuttled out of the direct-to-DVD bargain bin like the cockroach-human hybrid it desperately wants you to take seriously. Directed by Jean de Segonzac, whose name sounds like a Bond villain but whose direction screams “Tuesday night on UPN,” this follow-up to Guillermo del Toro’s 1997 Mimicmanages to take the faintly silly premise of mutant bug-people and somehow make it worse.
Insect Dating 101
The film stars Alix Koromzay as Remy, an entomologist who—based on her performance—seems less fascinated by insects and more like she’s trapped in a hostage video where her captors are cicadas. Remy is pursued by a shape-shifting mutant insect that has apparently read too many romance novels. Yes, this bug doesn’t just want to kill her—it wants to woo her. Forget Netflix and chill; this monster is more into “mutilate your friends and string them up on power lines before offering you a slice of pizza.”
And really, nothing says romance like a faceless insectoid creep showing up at your door with Papa John’s. The monster isn’t scary—it’s just desperate. It’s like watching the world’s most horrifying episode of The Bachelor, only instead of roses, contestants are decapitated and used as disguises.
Detective Wet Blanket
Enter Detective Klaski (Bruno Campos), whose entire character arc can be summarized as: “confused, vaguely sweaty cop.” At first, he suspects Remy of the murders because she happens to know all the victims. Fair enough—if three of your acquaintances show up hung from power lines without faces, people are going to ask questions. But then Klaski sees the bug, realizes something unnatural is happening, and… immediately decides to fall into horror movie cliché #27: “cop sticks around for no good reason.”
Spoiler: by the end, Klaski becomes the bug’s new skin suit. Which, honestly, is the most personality he shows the entire film.
Pizza Delivery from Hell
Let’s pause on the infamous pizza scene, because it deserves its own paragraph. The mutant bug, disguised as Klaski, brings Remy pizza. Imagine the writers’ room when someone pitched this:
“Okay, guys, what if instead of just killing her, the bug tries to date her? Like, really court her. What’s more romantic than dinner? So the monster should deliver pizza.”
And everyone nodded. Nobody was fired. Cinema was forever scarred.
This is less “terror of nature’s fury” and more “awkward first date where your partner won’t stop talking about their ex.” It’s like The Fly meets Domino’s Tracker.
High School of the Damned
Because no horror film is complete without dragging teenagers into it, Remy’s students get trapped in the school with her and Detective Bland. Naturally, they behave like every cliché high schooler in every bad horror film: loud, useless, and perpetually on the verge of making everything worse.
There’s even a military squad led by a guy literally named Darksuit (Edward Albert). That’s not a nickname. That’s his actual credited name. He exists to bark vague military orders, look concerned, and then decide the solution to all problems is “fumigate the entire school with gas.” Because when in doubt, chemical warfare solves everything—except, of course, the script.
The Monster: Discount Bug Cosplay
In the first Mimic, Guillermo del Toro at least gave us creatures with eerie designs and unsettling movement. In Mimic 2, the monster looks like something a college student built with papier-mâché and three glue sticks from Hobby Lobby. It can shape-shift, but only into people it has killed, which makes it basically a knockoff T-1000 with antennae.
Every time the bug appears, the tension dies faster than a moth in a bug zapper. The creature doesn’t even stalk convincingly; it just sort of… lurks, like a drunk guy trying to find his Uber after last call.
The Ending That Wouldn’t Die
So after all the stalking, mutilation, and pizza-related courtship, Remy finally confronts the bug in her apartment. She decapitates it—a move that would kill literally any other horror monster—but no, not this one. Because apparently cockroaches can live for two weeks without their heads, and someone thought this was the perfect way to end a film.
The movie literally ends with a headless bug body still moving around. Imagine trying to build suspense out of a torso flailing like a malfunctioning Roomba. It’s not terrifying—it’s slapstick. You half expect Benny Hill music to start playing.
Performances: Or, Who Forgot to Tell the Cast This Was a Horror Movie?
Alix Koromzay, bless her, spends the film looking like she regrets every career decision that led her here. Bruno Campos is so bland you could replace him with a houseplant and nobody would notice. Edward Albert as Darksuit seems to be auditioning for a parody of Aliens, only without Sigourney Weaver to save the day.
Jon Polito pops in for a paycheck cameo, no doubt wondering how he went from Coen Brothers films to shouting at mutant cockroaches. And the students—well, let’s just say their acting makes you nostalgic for the subtlety of Saved by the Bell.
A Bug’s Life: The Bargain Bin Edition
Mimic 2 is the kind of sequel that makes you question why sequels exist at all. It doesn’t expand the lore, it doesn’t build on the first film’s premise, and it doesn’t even try to be scary. Instead, it rehashes ideas like “bugs can look like people” and “scientists shouldn’t play God,” while sprinkling in a teen drama subplot that feels like it was rejected from an after-school special.
The creature design is laughable, the pacing drags worse than molasses in January, and the scares are about as effective as a bug spray commercial. By the end, you’re rooting for the monster—not because it’s cool, but because at least then the movie would finally be over.
Final Thoughts
Mimic 2 is proof that some things should remain buried in the bargain bin. It’s not thrilling, it’s not terrifying, and it’s certainly not necessary. It’s the cinematic equivalent of finding a giant cockroach in your kitchen: gross, unnecessary, and you’re not quite sure how it got there.
The film wants to be a dark, terrifying exploration of man versus nature. Instead, it’s a half-baked sitcom where the punchline is always “the bug is horny.”
By the time the credits roll, you’re left with only one thought: Mimic 2 doesn’t just mimic the first film—it mimics your patience, slowly draining it away until you’re a husk strung up on power lines, wondering why you didn’t just watch Arachnophobia instead.
Bad Review Summary
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Plot: Bug wants girlfriend. Bug gets pizza. Bug loses head. Audience loses will to live.
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Scares: None, unless you’re allergic to glue and rubber suits.
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Performances: Vary between “deer in headlights” and “please kill me now.”
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Monster: Looks like cosplay built on a budget of pocket lint.
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Ending: Headless bug flails around. Audience flails for remote.
