Another day, another flick. We’re 8 days from Halloween now, and everyone should be getting reasonably hyped. This Guy’s continuing his ritual of 10 straight days of horror movies! So, if you want great recommendations every day, check back in and see what This Guy’s watching so you can ‘mimic’ the watch list.

Today, This Guy’s going with a bit of a deep cut. This one never won any Oscars, but in terms of sheer fright and creative creature work, it’s in a league of its own. So, today, why not take a look at…

Guillermo del Toro’s Mimic

One of del Toro’s earlier films (only his second feature, and his first in English), Mimic is an insanely polarizing movie. The writing is a bit silly, and it falls into a lot of the cliche 90s horror tropes. But the creature is cool, the visuals are terrific, and it’s genuinely scary most of the way through. None of this should be surprising with del Toro at the helm.

“They mimic us; we mimic them.”

The film deals with a genetically engineered species of cockroach. They were created to curb the spread of an insect-spread disease in New York. Three years later, their enhanced metabolism has led to insane growth, and adaptation. The Judas breed are now monstrously huge, and frighteningly intelligent, even able to mimic their prey: humans.

It’s got a great cast, including Mira Sorvino, Josh Brolin, and Norman Reedus, who actually make some of the shoddier dialogue passable. The real treat is the creature work, as usual for del Toro’s flicks. And it features an early collaboration with Doug Jones (Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth) as one of the Judas monsters.

If you’re only going to watch ONE horror movie featuring human-sized insects terrorizing the New York underground, Mimic is a great choice. This Guy’s watching, and you should too!