Mimic 3: Sentinel (2003)

Movie Info

I-Spy a bug-guy killing people

Marvin (Karl Geary) is a shut-in who spends his day taking pictures of people living on his block and in the apartment across the way.  Marvin is a victim of the severe allergic reaction to cockroaches which spawned the creation of the Judas Breed and still suffers from hypersensitive reactions.  When a mysterious man he labels the Garbage Man (Lance Henriksen) takes up residence, Marvin suspects that there could be murders.  When Detective Dumars (John Kapelos) refuses to believe him and becomes involved with his mother (Amanda Plummer), it is up to Marvin, his sister Rosy (Alexis Dziena), and a neighborhood girl Carmen (Rebecca Mader) to investigate the disappearances.

Directed by JT Petty, Mimic 3:  Sentinel is a follow-up to Mimic in 1997 and Mimic 2 in 2001.  The movie was released straight-to-video and has gained a cult following.

Mr. Funnyshoes takes a back seat in this movie

Mimic 3:  Sentinel is a real different film when compared to Mimic and Mimic 2.  The story is unrelated and feels more like it was merged into a Mimic film.  Running only seventy-six minutes, the movie is basically a riff on the set-up from Rear Window and has the Judas Breed picking off inhabitants of the building.  The movie doesn’t try to hide this, and the Marvin character even brings up the movie (not by name of course).

With a complete plot change, the movie is different.  It is extremely low budget and there are even less of the Judas bugs than in the previous (and awful) sequel.  The problem with the film is that there is a third act in which the plot falls apart.  It is like they had a concept, but didn’t really know what to do.  It is a shame because the movie is rather stylish up to that point.

I’m banging your mom…not investigating bugs…

The movie’s acting is so-so.  With such a short movie, the characters don’t really get a chance to evolve.  I generally think Amanda Plummer is a fun actress, and she’s very underused as the kids’ mother.  The other actor who just feels shoved in is Lance Henriksen.  I know that the makers probably just looked for someone that could maybe get a horror audience and Lance Henriksen is in every horror movie…he just maybe shouldn’t be.

Mimic 3:  Sentinel is an interesting divergence.  It isn’t the best film, but I admire it for trying something different in a rather ho-hum series.  It could have benefited from a longer running time, a more developed ending sequence, and a bit better actors.  It is still worth seeing if you are fan of the original and thought the second film could have been better.

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Related Links:

Mimic (1997)

Mimic 2 (2001)