Blu-ray Review: The Mimic (2017)

Hee-yeon (Jung-ah Yum) moves with her family to the Korean countryside following a family tragedy (namely the disappearance of her son) that has taken a toll on their mental state (as you would imagine such a thing would). Everything seems simple enough with the bucolic life, but soon a body is found within a brick wall deep in the woods while simultaneously a mute waif shows up who Hee-yeon takes in…this is not going to go well. Anyway, soon the child begins perfectly mimicking the voice of our heroine’s daughter and acting like a complete weirdo (okay, this kid is strange right from the get-go). Before you can say “boo” the ol’ paranormal activity in the house goes from “zero” to “fucked up” and the already strained family relations become even worse. Can our protagonists survive the outre attack, or will their reality come crashing down?!!
Filled with slick cinematography, a suitably drab color pallet, and strong acting (in particular Yum shines as our emotionally destroyed antagonist), The Mimic is a solid supernatural romp. It ticks off a lot of the boxes of what makes a fright flick fun; to wit you have your strange child, a seemingly haunted house, a beleaguered family trying to make sense of it all, and nicely ties it in to a regional legend (and traditions) that will doubtless be unfamiliar, and there fore fresh, to Western viewers. Also present are some nice scares (mainly during the film’s third act) and impressive make-up effects…which given the nature of the monstrous menace the family faces (which I will not spoil here) I’m ecstatic the producer’s of this one went practical instead of CG (minus some minor augmentation here and there).
On the downside, this film is a slow burn, and while it does have it’s flashes of ghostly goings-on, it takes it’s sweet ass time getting to them…and believe me, there are points where this one seems like a very, very long haul (and that hundred minute run time doesn’t help things).
As for extras on this Blu-ray release from Well Go USA, we get a brief interview with Director Jung Huh (labelled confusingly as a “Commentary”), as well as a featurette featuring the actors, the film’s trailer, and a handful of previews for other Well Go releases.
To sum it up, The Mimic is a well shot and acted supernatural tale filled with conventional fright flick tropes, but with enough unique elements to keep the whole affair interesting…despite the slow pace and slightly bloated run time.