In the year 1997, the mexican director Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth) received 30 million dollars from Miramax in order to realize a movie about mutated killer insects. Up to this point, he had only created 3 short movies and one feature.
This new movie was shown on the silver screen as Mimic and definitely shows his handwriting, however, the director was not content with the version that was released. Seemingly, differences between del Toro and Miramax boss Bob Weinstein were the reason for this.

In September 2009, del Toro announced that he was working on a Director's Cut. Due to other obligations on his part, it was just recently finished. Now, 14 years later, the Director's Cut can be bought exclusively on Blu-Ray. It also features an audio commentary, in which del Toro shares some interesting information about the Director's Cut.

Guillermo del Toro probably really wanted to improve his movie, however, he did not succeed in doing so. The viewer does not gain any new insights in the story and the characters do not get more depth either. The extensions are only additions concerning the plot and there does not seem to be any reason why the director's cut was released as Unrated. Most likely, this just happend to spare the costs for another MPAA classification. However, interesting is that a rather unintentionally funny scene was removed from the theatrical version.

The improvement in picture and sound quality is really significant. Through the use of color filters, the picture in the Director's Cut got a really threatening mood, especially in the underground scenes

Despite the weaknesses of the movie, the Blu-Ray is still a must-have for del Toro fans. In the already mentioned audio commentary the viewer gets to know a lot about the production of Mimic, a documentary about the creation of the movie, Deleted Scenes and an alternative ending can also be found on the dis.


Comparison between the R-Rated DVD and the Unrated Blu-Ray.

Running times:
R-Rated: 90:08 min. NTSC (w/o ending credits)
Unrated: 96:20 min. NTSC (w/o ending credits)

00:00:00
The Theatrical Version starts with the Dimension Films logo, whereas the Director's Cut shows the Miramax logo (22 seconds longer) after a slightly longer black screen (1 sec.).
23 sec.

KF	DC

00:12:07
Susan and her friend Remy talk while the decorators fetch a flag and Peter enters the building.
23 sec.

Susan: "Can you raise it a little bit on the left? It's sort of drooping. Don't you think?"
Remy: "Husband, incoming, 6:00 o'clock"

Susan and Peter enter an exhibitiob room in oder to be alone. Peter gives her allegedly fertilizing pills because he wants to have a child with her.

Peter: "I'm sorry I was late."
Susan: "Everything crazy out there today?"
Peter: "I got T.B. breaking out all over the city and the mayor's in my face about scaring off another convention. So, nice lunch, huh?"
Susan: "Very nice lunch."
Peter: "Choose"
Susan: "What's this?"
Peter: "Come on, choose."
Susan: "Oh, honey, why'd you get this?"
Peter: "Baby in a bottle. It's ours. Dr. Chadwick said if you take that twice a we..."
Susan: "... Do you know where this comes from?"
Peter: "Sure."
Susan: "It comes from the urine of italian menopausal nuns."
Peter: "So? Monks bottle their own wine, so..."
Susan: "Not natural, Peter."
Peter: "Um, would you at least think about this? For the last six months, I've been the one running around with ice in my underwear. And that's not natural. I really got to go. See you."

00:14:55
Peter and his colleague are exploring an underground facility, where Chinese people are forced to produce pirated products and probably an epidemy of yellow fever has broken out. Josh shows Peter around longer in the DC.
59 sec.

Josh: "Oh, have you had lunch?"
Peter: "Uh-huh."
Josh: "Try to keep it down when you see this, okay?"
Josh: "Roughly three dozen people were trapped in here. One toilet, no paper. We got bacterial samples reading off the scale, though nothing's airborne. We got a Reverend Harry Ping."
Peter: "Preacher?"
Josh: "Yeah. Preacher, if you can imagine that. He ran this place. But there's no sign of him. So what do you say, boss?"
Peter: "Quarantine 'em. Quarantine the cops that found it. Quarantine anybody who touched anything."
Josh: "Immigrations's gonna love you."
Peter: "Tell'em to send the flowers to the usual address."
Josh: "You got it."

00:16:16
When they continue to have a look at the place, a Chinese woman is carried out on a stretcher. She speaks Chinese without interruption and Peter has a Chinese policeman translate it for him.
1 min. 3 sec.

Peter: "You're gonna be okay. We'll take care of you."
Josh: "Hey, she doesn't speak English."
Peter: "You tell her, please."
Policeman: "*speaks Chinese*"
Peter: "Man, she's delirious. What's she saying?"
Policeman: "I don't know. She keeps saying something like the dark angels. She says they're coming to get her. Chinese people man. They come up with some pretty wild stuff."

Alternative Einstellung
00:17:34
The meeting with Remy shortly before they meet the guys with the insects is different.
Theatrical: 44 sec. / DC: 17 sec.

Theatrical:
Susan: "What's going on, Remy?"
Remy: "Oh, I'm just commemorating my sad moments. So we're at this great restaurant. I'm thinking, finally a fucking gentleman. I go to the ladies room. I come back. I catch the schmuck slipping a half-ounce of sedatives into my drink."
Susan: "What a pervert."
Remy: "This city is full of perverts. You don't know who anybody is anymore. Jesus I look like shit."
Susan: "Hey guys."

DC:
Remy: "But, um, in the middle of the third date, he tells me that he wears women's underwear."
Susan: "What a pervert."
Remy: "This city is full of perverts. Oh, some of your fans."

Theatrical Version	DC

00:21:24
Susan explains the effects of female insects on the males to Remy with a little experiment. She plays the sound of female insects in order to check the reactions of some male ones in a small labyrinth. One of the insects in the plastic oxes reacts as well.
1 min. 1 sec.

Susan: "I've had limited success with this combiniation of pheromones because it tends to wear off. But now, watch this male when I add sound. See, this is a female I recorded in the field. Look at him go. It's like the Donna Summer of cricketdom."
Remy: "Wow. He wants it bad."
Susan: "Siren song. If we put these speakers in fields that are overinfested, we can collect the males, save the crops and restore the balance of the ecosystem. All without putting harmful chemicals in food."
Remy: "What the hell?"
Susan: "Those kids, we've gotta find them."

Missing shot in the Director's Cut
The two boys meet a few homeless people when they try to find the insects' nest on their own.
1 min. 15 sec.

00:43:21
Something is clogging the filter in the water plant. The foreman sends one of his men to check.
58 sec.

Jeremy: "Hold on. Something's blocking filter 'D'."
Jeremy: "Jules, come on, man. Hurry it up."
Jules: "Fuck off."
Jeremy: "It's not a date."
Jules: "Oh, God."
Workerr: "What's the problem?"
Jules: "I think it's kid."

00:46:52
The ringing phone wakes Peter up. It is Remy, who wants to talk to Susan urgently. Susan is in the bathroom and uses a pregnancy test. The result seems to be negative and she throws it away. After she has left for the water plant, the DC features a tracking shot to the waste basket, in which the result of the test changes.
24 sec.

00:48:08
Peter finds the pregnancy test.
23 sec.

00:52:14
Peter, Josh and the policeman Leonard explore the sewers under the subway tunnels when Peter gets a call from Susan out of the water plant. However, the connection is bad.
1 min. 36 sec.

Leonard: "Now, down here is the land of talk. The wildest version goes the farthest. This is mole speak. Hobo language. Most of'em they can't read or write. They mark out an area with a sign or drawing, and it's as good as closed. Here, here. See? This one. This one says, 'Go away'. 'Man with gun'. That's me."
Peter: "Yeah?"
Susan: "Hey, it's me again."
Peter: "Susan?"
Susan: "Yeah."
Peter: "Hey, Susan."
Susan: "Peter?"
Peter: "Yeah, Susan?"
Susan: "Can you hear me?"
Peter: "Barely. I haven't found a thing yet."
Susan: "Okay, I have. I have to talk to you right away in person."
Peter: "How long would it take to get back to the platform?"
Leonard: "About 30 minutes, you knock off the sightseeing."
Peter: "Susan, I'll meet you at the platform at a quarter to 12:00."
Susan: "Honey, did you say quarter to 12:00? Peter?"
Peter: "Susan, the test was positive."
Susan: "Peter? Peter I can't hear you!"
Peter: "She didn't wait long enough."

01:10:44
Peter looks around longer while Leonard examines an old subway train.
18 sec.