Mimic is an American science fiction horror film, with elements of a slasher film, released in 1997. Directed by Guillermo del Toro, the script was inspired by a short story of the same name by Donald A. Wollheim. Mimic, whose U.S. theatrical gross was $25 million[1], was followed by two direct-to-video sequels: Mimic 2 (2001) and Mimic 3: Sentinel (2003).

Although del Toro was unhappy with the film as released www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2007-01-02-pans-labyrinth-side_x.htm, it includes several examples of his most characteristic hallmarks. "I have a sort of a fetish for insects, clockwork, monsters, dark places, and unborn things," said del Toro[2], and this is evident in Mimic, where at times all are combined in long, brooding shots of dark, cluttered, muddy chaotic spaces. According to Alfonso Cuaron, del Toro's friend and colleague, "with Guillermo the shots are almost mathematical — everything is planned.”[3] That feature is evident too in Mimic, in the photography, most notably in the brooding shots described above and especially in the set design.