'Species' & 'Mimic' movie series discussion

[jefferiestubes8]

Species & Mimic.
Let's compare & contrast these two movie franchises.
Mimic (1997)
Mimic 2 (2001) [direct-to-video]
Mimic 3: Sentinel (2003) [direct-to-video]

Species (1995)
Species 2 (1998)
Species III (2004) [direct-to-video]
Species IV - The Awakening (2007) [direct-to-video]

Species came out first and has 4 films total.
Even 2010's Splice is an homage to it.
I remember seeing the 1995 Species in the theater. I may have seen Mimic in the theater too.
Species first film even came out with a 2nd DVD release as a special edition.
I believe the Resident Evil (2002) movie series took the female sci-fi lead sexy style role from these two films along with Ripley in Alien (1979).

Which films do you like?

 

[FordSVT]

Other than being sci-fi, having female leads, and lots of killing, these two franchises really don't have much to do with one another.

Resident Evil is based on a video game franchise that started in 1996 that also featured female protagonists in Jill Valentine and Claire Redfield, I'd say Alice was influenced by that tradition.

The influence of Ripley on attitudes towards female roles in science fiction in general, especially in the West, can't be denied, but I'm not sure what direct influence the character herself has on any of these characters besides influencing our ability as a society to help accept them as believable characters.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

Other than being sci-fi, having female leads, and lots of killing, these two franchises really don't have much to do with one another.

Storylines selects from imdb
Species

a [SETI] transmission detailing an alien DNA structure, along with instructions on how to splice it with human DNA. The result is Sil, a sensual but deadly creature who can change from a beautiful woman to an armour-plated killing machine in the blink of an eye.

Mimic

Dr. Susan Tyler genetically created an insect

...the species has survived and evolved into a large, gruesome monster that can mimic human form.

FordSpooky I disagree. Both franchises first movies have genetic engineering creating monsters that mimic humans.

 

[FordSVT]

Well there you go. Not really sure where you want to go with the conversation though.

What specifically did you want to contrast and compare? Or did you just want to type up a plot synopsis for each movie?

 

[jefferiestubes8]

What specifically did you want to contrast and compare?

I think I've only seen the first two of each series (the first being the strongest of both). Can anyone comment on the others?

 

[Greg Cox]

It's probably worth noting that MIMIC was based on a short story by Donald Wolheim that was first published way back in 1942, so it's not like SPECIES came first.

 

[Reverend]

Also, given that even the so-called "best" in each series are pretty poor at best (in spite of a surprisingly good cast in Species' case) I don't see much point in discussing either series.

As for the broadly similar plot elements, you might as well throw the likes of The Unnamable II and the more recent (and much much better) Splice into the mix.

 

[bullethead]

Species might have been a good movie had they not done the typical "aliens want to destroy humanity" thing and instead tried to make the hybrid a biological communications device, but Species II irrevocably ruined it forever by inflicting guro tentacle porn upon us.

 

[Captain Pike]

The basic premise behind Species is a solid one. It reminds me of Sagan's Contact, but with a sinister twist; what if the authors of the interstellar message have less than benign intentions? This idea, coupled with Ben Kingsley & HR Giger's reputation in alien design promised a lot.

Unfortunately, the film did not deliver at all. It quickly devolves into a b-grade exploitation flick, and is a horrible waste of time. It really was a wasted opportunity.

As for the sequels, well I have never had any interest in seeing them - the first movie was such an abysmal betrayal of it's core premise that I could never bring myself to watch any of them.

 

[JarodRussell]

Did they turn Mimic also into a soft porn series like Species?

 

[Greg Cox]

One of my dumber moves was turning down the novelization of SPECIES. I read the script and thought it read like, well, soft porn.

Imagine my regret when the book (by Yvonne Navarro) went through at least eight printings!

 

[JarodRussell]

One of my dumber moves was turning down the novelization of SPECIES. I read the script and thought it read like, well, soft porn.

Imagine my regret when the book (by Yvonne Navarro) went through at least eight printings!

How do you know that your version would have done the same?

 

[Greg Cox]

One of my dumber moves was turning down the novelization of SPECIES. I read the script and thought it read like, well, soft porn.

Imagine my regret when the book (by Yvonne Navarro) went through at least eight printings!

How do you know that your version would have done the same?

Good point! Although I suspect the success of the movie had something to do with it . . .

Alas, the novelization of SPECIES 2 (which I did edit) didn't sell nearly as well.

 

[Holdfast]

I haven't seen any of the Mimic films, but the Species franchise devolved into some seriously messed up shit in II and III, after a first film that was a pretty decent sexploitation type of movie. The tentacle porn stuff in II was just way out there.

Part III was just only barely above watchabe, though the tentacle porn was at least a little less present than II.

I haven't seen Species IV; is it more of the same or does it return to the first film's style?

 

[bullethead]

One of my dumber moves was turning down the novelization of SPECIES. I read the script and thought it read like, well, soft porn.

Imagine my regret when the book (by Yvonne Navarro) went through at least eight printings!

How do you know that your version would have done the same?

Good point! Although I suspect the success of the movie had something to do with it . . .

Alas, the novelization of SPECIES 2 (which I did edit) didn't sell nearly as well.

I actually have the novel for Species 2 (I got at a Salvation Army thrift store for 25 cents to help a dude with a review of Species 2) and while it was still stupid, it certainly was better at dealing with the characters than the movie.

I haven't seen any of the Mimic films, but the Species franchise devolved into some seriously messed up shit in II and III, after a first film that was a pretty decent sexploitation type of movie. The tentacle porn stuff in II was just way out there.

Part III was just only barely above watchabe, though the tentacle porn was at least a little less present than II.

I haven't seen Species IV; is it more of the same or does it return to the first film's style?

I haven't seen Species IV in a long time (since it first aired on SciFi), but it was sort of interesting in that it had this dude fully mature one of the creatures without the crazy sex drive, but she started having medical problems because of that. The solution to that problem results in her becoming a sex crazed monster and leads to her adoptive dad killing her (IIRC). So yeah, I think it's more in the vein of the first film, but not that much better than III in terms of production values.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Did they turn Mimic also into a soft porn series like Species?

Mimic Sentinel was a take-off of Rear Window of all things. I've never seen the first movies, I've meant to catch Mimic at some point but something always gets in the way.

 

[Holdfast]

I haven't seen Species IV in a long time (since it first aired on SciFi), but it was sort of interesting in that it had this dude fully mature one of the creatures without the crazy sex drive, but she started having medical problems because of that. The solution to that problem results in her becoming a sex crazed monster...

Love it.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

'Mimic' movie series discussion

Species first film even came out with a 2nd DVD release as a special edition.

in 2004. It only added 2 commentaries.

I just saw today now that Mimic is getting a director's cut. A Director's cut!? Who would have thought that 10 years after the DVD release they'd do a director's cut to sell the Blu-ray? The commentary by Guillermo del Toro should do the trick.

Lionsgate has announced Mimic: The Director's Cut for release on Blu-ray on 9/27 (SRP $19.99), featuring 7 minutes of restored footage. Extras will include a video prologue and audio commentary by director Guillermo del Toro, 3 all-new featurettes (Reclaiming Mimic, A Leap in Evolution: The Creatures of Mimic and Back Into the Tunnels: Shooting Mimic), deleted scenes, storyboard animatics, a gag reel and the film's trailer.

I'm guessing that the new featurettes will be in HD which is pretty nice for a 14-year old scifi movie.
The film only made a $480k profit at the cinema so I guess they can milk some more out of it.

 

[DarKush]

Regarding Mimic, I thought the first one was pretty good; never seen the others. As for Species, I pretty much agree with a lot of the other commenters. But I didn't mind the trashiness of the first Species film. The second one was a let down, but I didn't hate it like some did, three suffered from a lack of production values and action. Four worked better than three, but also suffered from being on a TV budget. So, I think most of those films were just some good B-movie fun.