HAVE you heard the ghost story where a child hears her mother calling from the kitchen but on her way there, she hears her mother’s voice coming from the closet saying “Don’t go. I heard her too”?
Creepy, isn’t it?
Apparently there’s a Korean urban legend that has a similar theme — The Jangsan Tiger, a man-eating creature that lures people by making a sound that resembles a woman’s wail. The Mimic is inspired by this spooky legend.
Hee-yeon (Yeom Jung-ah) is still traumatised by the disappearance of her toddler son Jun-seo five years ago and can’t accept the horrifying possibility that he may be dead. She moves to the countryside with her husband, their daughter and his mother.
One day, she finds a little girl (let’s call her Little Girl because she doesn’t actually say what her name is) lost in the forest near their house and takes her in. But soon after she moves into their home, inexplicable things start happening to the family. They discover that her voice is eerily similar to Jun-seo, triggering Hee-yeon’s memories of her missing son and which makes her become attached to Little Girl.
We learn a bit about the child’s past, abused by her father and waiting desperately for her mum to come home. We also learn about how Jun-seo went missing, so viewers will be able to understand Hee-yeon’s guilt and remorse even more.
Both Hee-yeon and Little Girl (Shin Rin-ah) need each other in that sense to lighten their heartbreak. Hee-yeon’s husband, Min-ho (Park Hyuk-kwon) is desperately trying to help his wife recover from Jun-seo’s disappearance but Hee-yeon refuses to forget.
The emotional level surrounding the characters are amped up to add more drama to the story. However, the plot only starts to become interesting in the second half of the movie. In the first half, the story moves at a snail’s pace.
The atmosphere in the story is also very bleak, with how it’s always cloudy around their home; and their outfits are mostly in earthy hues. A clever way to set the dark and gloomy tone to the plot.
The scares also don’t really happen until later but you will always be apprehensive of what Little Girl is capable of doing whenever she’s on screen. Seeing how she suddenly turns up, you would have guessed that she’s bad news, but Hee-yeon is so blind to that fact.
The actual supernatural antagonist is featured at the start of the film but only briefly. It is just to show what it can do — mimicking voices. Only much later into the movie will you be introduced to its origins. And after such a boring start, the film becomes much more satisfying to watch when the supernatural element finally kicks in.
There’s a nerve-wracking scene during the climax where Hee-yeon encounters the villain of the story. Try to imagine yourself in her shoes. You’ll go crazy! Unfortunately, the exciting climax drops down to an unsatisfying and typical ending.
There are certain plot points that were left unexplained, while as a whole, the storyline could have been tighter.
But if you’re looking for a simple, straightforward Asian horror movie, The Mimic is a good choice.
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THE MIMIC
Directed by Heo Jung
Starring Yeom Jung-ah, Park Hyuk-kwon, Shin Rin-ah, Heo Jin
Duration 100 minutes
Rating P13