Zo's Reviews: The Mimic (Jang-san-beom)

 

The Mimic is a horror mystery written and directed by South Korean filmmaker Jung Huh and stars Jung-ah Yum, Hyuk-kwon Park, Jin Heo, and is about a mother of a missing child who takes in a lost girl she finds in the woods, but soon begins to wonder if she is even human.

I literally just finished watching this film, and even though I shouted it out on my Twitter feed, I just had to come here to write about it right away. I find myself loving Asian horror lately. Between this, Metamorphosis, and Impetigore, I'm finding that there are some very intriguing and intense films coming out of that region that really need to get more eyes on them. So, let's talk about The Mimic...

As per usual, I won't drop any spoilers, but I will talk about the technical aspects of the film, going over what I liked about it, what I didn't like about it, etc. So, what didn't I like? Well...the main character of the mom was pretty damn annoying. But I suppose if I were a mother dealing with the emotional traumas that she is dealing with, I'd also be kind of annoying? I don't know. I can't really connect with that because throughout the film, the character kept making mistake after mistake, even after being told "don't do that because this is bad." It reminded me of another film, The Other Side of the Door, where right off the bat the main character is told not to do something...and she immediately does the thing she was warned not to do. It's become a bit of a cliche in horror movies to do things like this, but I guess without it we wouldn't have much of a movie to begin with, so I can't really blame it too much for that.

As for the good...nay...the GREAT parts of this film? Let me start by saying that the cast is pretty good, the kid actors are really giving it their all, and even with the annoyances of the main character's decision making, the actor herself was pretty good. The effects in the film were effective, the CGI was hardly used. The thing that really stood out? The scares. This movie is downright terrifying. It had me screaming due to things I wasn't ready for (no, not cheap jump scares...these are actual scares...) The plot of the film was also something I really appreciated. The mixing of this great folktale in a modern setting is something that a lot of Asian cinema is known for, and I love learning more about it and watching it unfold in horror films.

So, is this movie worth watching? You're damn right it is. It's streaming now on Shudder and you definitely need to check it out! Special thanks to @BudFugate on Twitter for the recommend. This one was long overdue and you were not wrong! Go give him a follow while you're at it, he's a wild and crazy dude!

FINAL SCORE: A