I have a soft spot for Asian horror films. While the movie does move at a slow pace, it does continually build suspense. Sure, there are some clichés in the movie, but a positive benefit is that the movie is without jump scares. Some viewers might find the ending to be "infuriating" as it defers from a traditional feel good ending, but let's be honest here. Most horror movies involve regular people dealing with grief or trauma while simultaneously battling supernatural entities. The movie is ultimately about a woman dealing with grief and trying to keep her family together. The main characters household is charitable to a deadly fault. Ultimately, the woman's grief defies all rational logic as she is continuously warned about the impending perils she's facing. The concept of a mimic, an entity that mirrors the voice of a loved one, may not be the most innovative monster. However, the movie portrays the creature in an interesting way. If you're a fan of Asian movies that deal with human trauma and the supernatural, this may be a good watch for you. One word of caution, this is a horror movie and horror protagonist always make dumb mistakes. The cinematography was great, the acting was believable, but there were no memorable scores or music to really drive it home. Ultimately, I think it's worth a watch if you don't mind a slow build up.
26 Reviews
Pretty solid imho
borgolarici28 April 2020
I don't understand why this movie received such terrible reviews, I think it's a pretty solid horror.
The plot IS fairly predictable and the final is pretty much what you expect but the atmosphere and the script are gloomy and the Korean folklore is very interesting.
Not super innovative but very entertaining
Past midnight, this movie is somewhat freaky.
sybil1129 August 2020
Caught this on TV just past midnight, and was watching with dim lighting, which definitely set the ambience. There are some horror movie clichés and definitely plot holes, but overall it's a pretty decent and entertaining film, just don't go in expecting award winning, complex writing & characters. I found the acting, atmosphere and cinematography to be quite decent. There are intense and scary moments, and the make-up is pretty good, especially on the Tiger, who's popping out from every single angle. The girl is also pretty freaky when you think about it. As others have noted, her innocence is what makes it her scary. I recommend it if you have some spare time and like Asian horror movies.
A chilling if somewhat slightly flawed effort
kannibalcorpsegrinder2 June 2018
Traveling into the wilderness, a troubled family trying to heal itself from a series of tragedies finds that the reclusive girl they found in the woods nearby leads them into a series of confrontations with a deadly ghost that can mimic human voices and try to protect themselves.
This was quite the fun if somewhat flawed effort. What really works nicely for this one is the fact that it manages to really exploit the concept of its central ghostly figure. This one offers up an entirely novel and chilling ghost that has a great backstory and gets to employ a rather unique concept of mimicking human sound and voices to great effect throughout here which is quite intriguing when it starts to attack. This idea creates a rather enjoyable premise as this goes on where the physical limitations it shows, as the blurry vision and onset of hearing loss, combine together into a truly chilling effort. This in turns leads into the strong action scenes that emerge from this setup. The opening scene showing the couple confronting the creature inside the cave at the side of the forest, complete with the attack on the lone victim, serves as a nice warm-up to the later scenes of the family sensing the spirit around them in places like closets or bathrooms which gives this one enough of a horror feel that it maintains that sense of dread leading nicely into the stellar finale. Taking place within the creature's underground cave home, the freakiness experienced in the setting gives way to the series of confrontations and escapes from that titular ghost, utilizing the strong series of battles in the caves alongside the use of various objects around them to give this a highly intriguing and fun finale. Alongside the great look of the ghost, these here hold it up over it's few obvious flaws. The biggest issue here is the overall sense of blandness that overcomes a majority of the film. Very little happens here that actually affects the family in the film, as things continually build involving the girl which is barely acknowledged within here in order to focus on the other storylines that aren't even all that well-developed anyway. Going from the idea of the troubled family with the mother's mental issues and their own troubling nature regarding the missing child all tend to get brought up yet then routinely ignored which is really troubling. There are several storylines brought out of this setup, as in how the grandmother knows the girls' history or the police investigations into the disappearances which is brought up and then all but ignored which just doesn't do much overall here since this relies mostly on familiar tropes in their place. These here really hold this one down.
Rated Unrated/R: Language, Violence and children-in-jeopardy.
This was quite the fun if somewhat flawed effort. What really works nicely for this one is the fact that it manages to really exploit the concept of its central ghostly figure. This one offers up an entirely novel and chilling ghost that has a great backstory and gets to employ a rather unique concept of mimicking human sound and voices to great effect throughout here which is quite intriguing when it starts to attack. This idea creates a rather enjoyable premise as this goes on where the physical limitations it shows, as the blurry vision and onset of hearing loss, combine together into a truly chilling effort. This in turns leads into the strong action scenes that emerge from this setup. The opening scene showing the couple confronting the creature inside the cave at the side of the forest, complete with the attack on the lone victim, serves as a nice warm-up to the later scenes of the family sensing the spirit around them in places like closets or bathrooms which gives this one enough of a horror feel that it maintains that sense of dread leading nicely into the stellar finale. Taking place within the creature's underground cave home, the freakiness experienced in the setting gives way to the series of confrontations and escapes from that titular ghost, utilizing the strong series of battles in the caves alongside the use of various objects around them to give this a highly intriguing and fun finale. Alongside the great look of the ghost, these here hold it up over it's few obvious flaws. The biggest issue here is the overall sense of blandness that overcomes a majority of the film. Very little happens here that actually affects the family in the film, as things continually build involving the girl which is barely acknowledged within here in order to focus on the other storylines that aren't even all that well-developed anyway. Going from the idea of the troubled family with the mother's mental issues and their own troubling nature regarding the missing child all tend to get brought up yet then routinely ignored which is really troubling. There are several storylines brought out of this setup, as in how the grandmother knows the girls' history or the police investigations into the disappearances which is brought up and then all but ignored which just doesn't do much overall here since this relies mostly on familiar tropes in their place. These here really hold this one down.
Rated Unrated/R: Language, Violence and children-in-jeopardy.
A Subtle Slow Burn Horror
FuriousFudanshi4 October 2020
Like other horror movies this one has symbolism in it, which isn't a bad thing if you are willing to accept that. If your going into the movie to expect jump scares and what not, that isn't the main point of this movie. The main focus is a family that is still suffering from the loss of their little boy. Specifically the mother, who can't move on with her life, constantly looking for her son and one simple thing ends up easily setting her off a number of times. It's a movie about dealing with grief and what can come from it when going unchecked. Personally, I enjoyed the movie for what it was. Though it was no top tier movie, I found my self caring for the family and hurt with then ending. I think it's at least worth a watch if your interested in getting into more Korean horror films.
Creepy Kid, But Not Much Else
macready8514 September 2017
This movie feels like it's been edited to the bone - there are a bunch of unrelated story elements which pop up throughout, yet go nowhere, and instead of complementing the plot, they just muddy the waters and make the story confusing. Some characters are introduced with apparently important information to reveal, but with absolutely no context as to how they know what they do, or why other characters should even listen to them. Characters affected by the mimic can experience various physical responses, one of which seems quite dire, but the experience just ends as if incomplete and leaves you wondering what happened to the character afterwards.
The most definitive element of the film is the acting of the young girl playing the mimic. She's hard not to like, making the viewer's response conflicting with the scenes that follow, and engaging you to wonder what she will do next. Unfortunately though, the constant plot holes and character actions which simply don't make sense detract from this being anything other than a forgettable horror flick.
The most definitive element of the film is the acting of the young girl playing the mimic. She's hard not to like, making the viewer's response conflicting with the scenes that follow, and engaging you to wonder what she will do next. Unfortunately though, the constant plot holes and character actions which simply don't make sense detract from this being anything other than a forgettable horror flick.
Underrated
Horror_Flick_Fanatic29 April 2021
I found The Mimic suspenseful. The jump scares were well executed and not overdone. The acting performances were on point. The camera cutting back and forth to things that are not there helps with the imagination. The creepy little girl was cuteness overload; I adored her. Does the film have clichés? Umm, yeah, pretty much 90% of horror films do. The closet, the mirrors, the voices etc. But here it was very well done and those tropes came in when appropriate in the story. Not just random occurrences like many B-horror films often use. So here they are effective in my opinion. I appreciated the film wasn't campy or riddled with CG. I think the reverse mirror image CG could have been better done.
This one is definitely worth streaming.
This one is definitely worth streaming.
An Average Movie
Foutainoflife6 August 2018
Warning: Spoilers
This has a lot of things going on in it. It is about an entity. This entity is in the form of a tiger. Long ago there were shamans who served and tried to appease this entity. One of the shamans, who served faithfully, became a partial physical embodiment of the entity and it still was not appeased. So in a, for lack of a better word, ritual, this shaman offered up his whole self along with his abused daughter. His daughter had a quality that would make the entity strong. After the ritual, both the shaman and the daughter disappeared into a cave, never to be seen again.
The area around the cave became a notorious hotspot for missing people who claimed to be hearing voices during the days prior to their disappearances. It is revealed that the shaman, who is now the entity, uses both the daughter and an ability to mimic voices to exploit vulnerabilities to lure people to the cave.
It wasn't scary but the scene where the entity takes total control of the shaman was slightly disturbing. The shaman's daughter had a story that was heartbreakingly sad and her ghost, which was a solid, physical form when manifested, had moments of creepiness in her behavior.
It was just an average watch for me.
The area around the cave became a notorious hotspot for missing people who claimed to be hearing voices during the days prior to their disappearances. It is revealed that the shaman, who is now the entity, uses both the daughter and an ability to mimic voices to exploit vulnerabilities to lure people to the cave.
It wasn't scary but the scene where the entity takes total control of the shaman was slightly disturbing. The shaman's daughter had a story that was heartbreakingly sad and her ghost, which was a solid, physical form when manifested, had moments of creepiness in her behavior.
It was just an average watch for me.
Slow-burning folk horror
Leofwine_draca19 October 2019
Warning: Spoilers
THE MIMIC is a relatively low budget, amorphous slice of Korean horror not for those looking for action or in-your-face scares. Instead it's a brooding kind of melodrama, similar in style to THE WAILING, and small scale in its depiction of a small family at the mercy of sinister supernatural forces. It's a film without much in the way of plot; in its place there's depth and plenty of it, alongside the usual strong production values familiar from Korean cinema and exemplary performances from an enthusiastic and willing cast. The horror is slow burning, building gradually to a subterranean climax which features some memorably nasty-looking antagonists. Not a classic, but better than the other IMDb reviews would have you believe.
Quick review
d-shilling-110 September 2018
pretty solid
raereese-700795 July 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The only reason i brought myself to watch this was because of a game, but besides that after i got interested in the folklore of both the game and movie. Very interesting, the acting was pretty solid. The plot was good and kept me watching for a couple hours because of how many i paused to think lol. Dont quite understand why it got bad reviews?
The idea was good
szemeteskuka7229 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I really enjoy these kind of slow going horrors that have a certain creepy vibe to them, and the plot itself was kind of scary but I felt like especially by the end they went a little overboard and some scenes that were meant to be frightening were rather laughable.
-spoiler-
I still enjoyed the film overall and I really liked that it had a message. From how I interpreted it by the end it seemed like the spirit can only succeed at taking the people who can't let go of someone they had lost. The grandmother gave up when she heard her sister, even tho she knew it's not really her and the mother did the same, she knew it wasnt her real son but she couldn't accept that he's probably dead so couldn't help but go back. That's why the father survived at last, even though he cared for his son as well he came to accept that he probably will never be able to get him back. I always enjoy seeing horrors that have some sort of a massage or meaning behind them instead of just being filled with jumps cares so I really liked that about it.
On the other hand it did feel dragged and illogical sometimes, I'd definitely recommend it for one watch but it's not a must see.
-spoiler-
I still enjoyed the film overall and I really liked that it had a message. From how I interpreted it by the end it seemed like the spirit can only succeed at taking the people who can't let go of someone they had lost. The grandmother gave up when she heard her sister, even tho she knew it's not really her and the mother did the same, she knew it wasnt her real son but she couldn't accept that he's probably dead so couldn't help but go back. That's why the father survived at last, even though he cared for his son as well he came to accept that he probably will never be able to get him back. I always enjoy seeing horrors that have some sort of a massage or meaning behind them instead of just being filled with jumps cares so I really liked that about it.
On the other hand it did feel dragged and illogical sometimes, I'd definitely recommend it for one watch but it's not a must see.
Room for more.
Patient44429 August 2018
The Mimic was easy to anticipate and this is its biggest flaw. Had so many options, ways to scare, to intrigue and in the end to switch, yet all it did was being linear.
I would not call it abysmal, definitely not an work of art, I do believe Asian Horror cinema has much better movies out there to recommend, but if you are with some friends and all of you are bored, I guess you can give this one a try. Doesn't bring much new, execution is average, acting is ok but also it comes with all the clichees. I got bored at times, waiting for the finale and sadly that was a complete letdown.
Thus I feel like I should warn any potential viewer, The Mimic is not what you would expect, this being said, in a negative way of course. If you must, just know what to expect. Mostly disappointments.
Cheers!
I would not call it abysmal, definitely not an work of art, I do believe Asian Horror cinema has much better movies out there to recommend, but if you are with some friends and all of you are bored, I guess you can give this one a try. Doesn't bring much new, execution is average, acting is ok but also it comes with all the clichees. I got bored at times, waiting for the finale and sadly that was a complete letdown.
Thus I feel like I should warn any potential viewer, The Mimic is not what you would expect, this being said, in a negative way of course. If you must, just know what to expect. Mostly disappointments.
Cheers!
this movie kinda great
dangneyspears1 May 2020
Loss and gain
kosmasp13 March 2021
I ususally am not a fan of movies that have characters in them, that act in a really bad way. In a way that will make you and me and every person who thinks logical cringe to say the least. We have one of those scenes towards the end with the mom ... but I forgive the movie. I forgive it especially because it really turns up the heat in the last third of the movie.
So if you feel there is not enough horror or excitement in the beginning, try to stick with it. It is rewarding I'd say in the end (no pun intended). Being a fan of Korean movies in general, I might not be objective, but then again who really is? We all judge and review movies based on certain factors and never can be completely objective. So while this isn't the best of anything out of Korea, it still has a lot potential and really is well done
So if you feel there is not enough horror or excitement in the beginning, try to stick with it. It is rewarding I'd say in the end (no pun intended). Being a fan of Korean movies in general, I might not be objective, but then again who really is? We all judge and review movies based on certain factors and never can be completely objective. So while this isn't the best of anything out of Korea, it still has a lot potential and really is well done
Uneven and drawn-out but an engaging horror flick
shakercoola21 November 2018
A Korean action horror. A story based on a Korean urban legend of The Jangsan Tiger, a man-eating creature that lures people by making a sound that resembles a woman's wail. The film competently builds an emotional level around the characters arnd steadily this is amped up to add more drama to the story. However, the plot is slow and it only starts to become interesting in the second half of the movie. The atmosphere is thick with bleakness, especially with a minor with apparently nefarious intentions, which is unsettling. For all the story build up it has a drab ending, though the film resonates on the powerful theme about a bond between a mother and her child.
Creepy and too slow.
meydiana-6524226 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Past midnight, this movie is somewhat freaky.
Caught this on TV just past midnight, and was watching with dim lighting, which definitely set the ambience. There are some horror movie clichés and definitely plot holes, but overall it's a pretty decent and entertaining film, just don't go in expecting award winning, complex writing & characters. I found the acting, atmosphere and cinematography to be quite decent. There are intense and scary moments, and the make-up is pretty good, especially on the Tiger, who's popping out from every single angle. The girl is also pretty freaky when you think about it. As others have noted, her innocence is what makes it her scary. I recommend it if you have some spare time and like Asian horror movies.
Pretty boring
zoebell-1923024 September 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I was looking forward to watching this as the plot behind it intrigued me, but instead I found that you always knew what was going to happen next there was no shock or wow factor to it. From the moment I laid eyes on that little girl I knew she was a wrong one. As soon as the mum got even semi attached I just knew she wouldn't leave that little girl in the cave on her own due to the loss of her son. It's all very predictable. I was also left frustrated at the lack of stories brought to the viewers attention that were never actually exaplined or finished. Almost get the feeling they just forgot about them, for example the grandmother losing the son in the shopping mall, 'she could know where he is but her memories not so good so she finds it hard to remember,' that was interesting was looking forward to seeing how that developed but after that statement nothing more was ever said about it, what was the point in even mentioning it to begin with? If they had actually incorporated the grandmother and her story a bit more especially surrounding the boys dissapearance then maybe it wouldn't of been such a predictable, stereotypical horror movie.
It's not the worse I've seen but there's better.
It's not the worse I've seen but there's better.
A good horror film...not bad but not great
toutouguy25 July 2022
Personally, I enjoyed this movie. It's definitely better and scarier than a lot of other boring cliche jump-scare heavy horror films. The "Tiger" entity coupled with the crazy Shaman is pretty neat and is identical to the North American Navajo monster known as the Skin-walker. I've always loved listening to firsthand accounts of skin-walkers. If you can look past the plot-holes and annoying irrational decision making from the protagonists, the movie isn't horrible. A solid 6.5 out of 10.
Quick review
d-shilling-114 September 2018
Yawn... This was abysmal...
paul_haakonsen4 August 2018
Yay, another South Korean horror movie that I got the chance to sit down and watch. And anyone whom might be familiar with my track record of movies watched, will know that I am jump at any given chance to watch a movie from the Asian cinema. And South Korean cinema usually put out some rather extraordinary and creepy horror movies.
"The Mimic" (aka "Jang-san-beom"), however, was not one such movie. And that was somewhat of a cold slap to the face. Sure, I had not heard about the movie prior to getting the chance to sit down and watch it today. But I needed no encouragement or persuasion to do so. But of course, not every South Korean horror movie can be a work of pure genius.
The story told in "The Mimic" was unfathomably slow paced and rather unappealing, to be bluntly honest. There was nothing interesting about it and I was quickly losing interest in it. But I managed to endure to the very end, in the hopes that the movie would turn around its slump and become worthwhile. Alas, that did not happen.
The characters portrayed in the movie were one-dimensional cardboard cut-outs that you formed absolutely no bond or relationship to. So whether they died or survived was all the same. Sure, the children actresses were doing their fair share to carry the movie, but it was hardly enough to make it worthwhile.
There was nothing scary about this movie - well, unless you count being utterly mundane as a scary thing. And the story was just not appealing or one that managed to capture my interest.
"The Mimic" was a swing and a miss for director and writer Jung Huh. And this is not a movie that can sustain multiple viewings, because there simply was hardly enough contents to sustain a single viewing, much less anything beyond that.
"The Mimic" (aka "Jang-san-beom"), however, was not one such movie. And that was somewhat of a cold slap to the face. Sure, I had not heard about the movie prior to getting the chance to sit down and watch it today. But I needed no encouragement or persuasion to do so. But of course, not every South Korean horror movie can be a work of pure genius.
The story told in "The Mimic" was unfathomably slow paced and rather unappealing, to be bluntly honest. There was nothing interesting about it and I was quickly losing interest in it. But I managed to endure to the very end, in the hopes that the movie would turn around its slump and become worthwhile. Alas, that did not happen.
The characters portrayed in the movie were one-dimensional cardboard cut-outs that you formed absolutely no bond or relationship to. So whether they died or survived was all the same. Sure, the children actresses were doing their fair share to carry the movie, but it was hardly enough to make it worthwhile.
There was nothing scary about this movie - well, unless you count being utterly mundane as a scary thing. And the story was just not appealing or one that managed to capture my interest.
"The Mimic" was a swing and a miss for director and writer Jung Huh. And this is not a movie that can sustain multiple viewings, because there simply was hardly enough contents to sustain a single viewing, much less anything beyond that.
If you like J- & K- Horror, you've seen this all before....
joebloggscity24 November 2019
Back in the noughties, the Far East Horror movie was at its peak, and was the best in the world for its range & quality of movies, bolstered by the DVD market and a lull in the Western World. Those days may be over, and this one reflects that change in film.
What we have here is an admittedly well filmed, directed and acted film but with a very derivative storyline. Take the cliches of the Asian horror market (e.g. spooky young girl, spirits, mirrors, mystery and old people with superstitions etc) and it's all here. So really this offers nothing new at all, and if anything it was boring.
This film is really a poor ripoff in some ways of the far superior classic Japanese film 'Dark Water' which I highly recommend to everyone to watch. If you've seen that film, you will have noticed certain parallels and you could see the ending a mile off (they went as far as ripping off the ending too).
This one is best avoided. It's simply boring. Get 'Dark Water' out and watch that instead (the Japanese version not the lesser American remake).
What we have here is an admittedly well filmed, directed and acted film but with a very derivative storyline. Take the cliches of the Asian horror market (e.g. spooky young girl, spirits, mirrors, mystery and old people with superstitions etc) and it's all here. So really this offers nothing new at all, and if anything it was boring.
This film is really a poor ripoff in some ways of the far superior classic Japanese film 'Dark Water' which I highly recommend to everyone to watch. If you've seen that film, you will have noticed certain parallels and you could see the ending a mile off (they went as far as ripping off the ending too).
This one is best avoided. It's simply boring. Get 'Dark Water' out and watch that instead (the Japanese version not the lesser American remake).
A Voiceless Horror
samhastam10 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Talk Mimic is a Korean horror movie that tries to adapt the urban legend of the Jangsan Tiger, a mythical creature that lures people into the woods by imitating human voices. The movie has a good idea, but a very bad execution.
The movie's main problem is its lack of coherence and logic. The movie introduces many subplots and characters that are either irrelevant or underdeveloped. The movie fails to explain the origin and motivation of the creature, the connection between the creature and the little girl, the reason why the creature targets certain people, and the rules of the game that the creature plays. The movie also contradicts itself several times, such as when the creature can mimic anyone's voice, but only uses the voice of the little girl's father, or when the creature can enter the house through mirrors, but does not do so when the family is vulnerable.
The movie's other problem is its lack of horror and suspense. The movie relies on cheap jump scares and loud noises that are predictable and ineffective. The movie does not create any atmosphere or tension, as the scenes are either too dark or too bright, and the camera work is shaky and confusing. The movie also does not make the audience care about the characters, as they are either annoying or stupid, and their actions are illogical and irrational.
Overall, Mimic 2017 is a disappointing horror movie that wastes a good concept and fails to deliver any scares or thrills. It is a movie that might bore some horror fans, but it is not a movie that will impress them either. It is a movie that is better left unseen.
The movie's main problem is its lack of coherence and logic. The movie introduces many subplots and characters that are either irrelevant or underdeveloped. The movie fails to explain the origin and motivation of the creature, the connection between the creature and the little girl, the reason why the creature targets certain people, and the rules of the game that the creature plays. The movie also contradicts itself several times, such as when the creature can mimic anyone's voice, but only uses the voice of the little girl's father, or when the creature can enter the house through mirrors, but does not do so when the family is vulnerable.
The movie's other problem is its lack of horror and suspense. The movie relies on cheap jump scares and loud noises that are predictable and ineffective. The movie does not create any atmosphere or tension, as the scenes are either too dark or too bright, and the camera work is shaky and confusing. The movie also does not make the audience care about the characters, as they are either annoying or stupid, and their actions are illogical and irrational.
Overall, Mimic 2017 is a disappointing horror movie that wastes a good concept and fails to deliver any scares or thrills. It is a movie that might bore some horror fans, but it is not a movie that will impress them either. It is a movie that is better left unseen.
GREAT BUT NOT ENOUGH
jeromesgabilo27 September 2022
Unlike its contemporary films, this film was a bit less charismatic and less famous, probably because of the overuse of supernatural elements and the lack of excitability to the premise of the film. The characters were relatable and their performance was great, but none of them really captured the attention of the moviegoers. The direction was also a bit ineffective. Although the bloody scenes were perfect and the sound design flawless there was a lack of considerable "energy" and charisma to the direction. However, the story was original. I don't think I have seen the similar to any other films.
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