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Mimic (1997)
An eight-year-old boy from Manhattan...
...was delivered dead on arrival today The Centers for Disease Control. Are we dealing with an epidemic? Whatever the carrier, we know that it's not the water. We don't believe that it's airborne. One, two, three, four Strickler's Disease was first diagnosed two years ago. We're no better off now. I needed you to see this for yourself, Dr. Tyler. It's the same at every hospital in the city. For the lucky ones, its a lifetime in leg braces. Most of these kids wont make it. We need your help. Strickler's Disease came to New York... ...like a thief in the night, threatening to steal... ...an entire generation of our children from before our eyes. Dr. Peter Mann, Deputy Director of the Centers for Disease Control The killer was cunning. It was deadly. Neither a cure nor a vaccine could be found. We at the CDC had to contain it... ...before it could spread beyond Manhattan Island. So we went after its carrier, the common cockroach. Or rather she did. Dr. Susan Tyler is the reason that there hasn't been... ...a new case of Strickler's in this city for six months. Dr. Susan Tyler. Dr. Susan Tyler, Professor of Entomology... ...at the New York State University. Thank you, Peter. I don't think I need to tell you New Yorkers just how resilient... ...the common cockroach is. Since it has proven to be virtually immune to chemical control, we had to find a new avenue of attack. So, with the aid of genetics labs across the country, we recombined termite and mantis DNA to create a biological counteragent, a new species to be our six-legged ally... ...in wiping out the roach population. We call it the 'Judas' breed. Once in contact with the Judas' secretions, the common roaches were infected with an enzyme... ...which caused their metabolism to go into overdrive. - Come on, Susan. You're missing it. - No matter how much the common roaches ate, every last member of the nest... ...starved to death within a matter of hours. I hope someone's taping this. This announcement's been a long time coming, ladies and gentlemen. - Coming home. The Strickler's outbreak has officially been contained. The epidemic is over. Hey, Susan. Honey. Any other questions? - Dr. Mann, what did this victory mean to you personally? It means that I can move on to other projects with the, uh Our 15 minutes are gone. And personally, um, it's where I met my wife. What is this? Is this some kind of Catholic guilt thing? We don't even know what the impact is of what we did. The impact is that... ...a lot of kids will be running around next year because of you. A lot of kids. Maybe we get lucky. Maybe a couple of them'll be ours someday. Oh, a couple, huh? - Mm-hmm. Oh, okay. Were not rushing things. I didn't want to overtax you. It's been a hard year. It's been a great year. Oxfords. Seven and a half. Black. Leather soles. Funny, funny shoes. Funny, funny shoes. Funny, funny shoes. Funny, funny shoes. Funny CDC. CDC. Hey, Boss, welcome to disease land. Tuck it in. - All right. All right. Are you sure this is yellow fever? What, are you ignoring your pages now? -Listen, l Okay, these two cops saw the broken scaffold, and then the paint mess here. And then they looked through that cellar window. Go ahead. Take a look. Pleasant, isn't it? Couldn't let 'em out until you gave me the okay, so Roughly, there were three dozen people trapped in here. We got bacterial samples reading off the scale, though nothing's airborne. We got a Reverend Harry Ping. Preacher, if you can imagine that. He ran this place. Well, theres no sign of him. Oh, have you had lunch? - Uh-huh. Try to keep it down when you see this, okay? Piece of shit on the ceiling. Hmm? Figure that one out. - Here you go, Josh. The subway? You know what? l-l This is what I love about my job. I get to travel, see the world... ...and meet new exotic cultures. It's It's all bacterial, but hey, what the fuck, right? Thanks a lot, Miguel. - Board up every exit. If this leads to the subways, I don't want anything to spread. Quarantine everything. What's going on, Remy? Oh, I'm just... ...commemorating my sad moments. So, we're at this great restaurant. I'm thinking, finally, a fucking gentleman. I go to the ladies' room. I come back. I catch the schmuck slipping a half-ounce of sedatives into my drink. What a pervert. This city is full of perverts. You don't know who anybody is anymore. Jesus, I look like shit. - Hey, guys. You the bug lady, right? We're here to deal. When you pick them up, you should pick 'em up by this front vein on the wing, 'cause it's the strongest part of the wing. See, that way you don't break it. Now, let's see what else you have in here. Oh, look. What do we have here? - Swallowtail? Excellent. - How come you like bugs so much? Just imagine that youre one of them. What, eating furniture and stuff? Thats gotta suck. No, no, no. Now, don't judge them too quickly. These guys were building castles while dinosaurs were still wimpy little lizards. Now, say you're him. He's what we call a soldier. Now, there is no way that you would ever quit fighting, no matter how badly injured you were. It would be a battle to the death. But most insects don't kill... ...unless their territory is invaded. You'd just stun your prey up here. And then you drag it all the way down through here to there, into what is kind of like a pantry. Will he eat it alive? Yeah. They're not really squeamish about those kind of things. This is the nest. Its the heart of the colony. The big enchilada. Why? - Well, if anything were to happen to the nest, the entire colony would die out. I'd just bail and start my own. Well, you couldn't do that. See... that big guy there? Next to the queen? Wait. Look over there. He's the king. And out of all the nest, hes the only fertile male. He got a good deal. Yeah. It's a simple structure designed for their survival. It's perfectly balanced, and it's very beautiful. Whatever peels your banana, lady. So, you wanna buy the butterflies, or what? You know what? You guys have done a really good job. So, how about five bucks? That's your best? I'm gonna show her the weird bug. - Costs a dollar just to look. It's a really great bug. Got it on the subway. We kind of broke it a little. - Okay. My best offer. Ten bucks for everything, plus a specimen jar, some tweezers and some mounts. Deal. Are you crazy? This is the best. This is our meal ticket. Come on. Bugs almost dead anyway. It's yours. You gave 'em ten bucks. - They're from Alphabet City. There's much worse things they could be selling. Oh, no. Your papers. Help me get the window. Susan. Push. h, come on. - Oh, I hate this window. Okay, on three. One, two, three. Who the hell do you think you are, putting my two officers on quarantine? Listen to me, Captain. Those two, they go home, they kiss their wives, they kiss their kids, and I'm the one with a full-blown epidemic Come on, Chuy. We have to make dinner. Dinner. I don't care. I do care. Jesus, God, I hate cops. They make the worst coffee. Shiny wire. Still giving you a hard time? As always. - Don't stare. People look back if you stare. It's not polite. I can't believe this. - What? I spend an hour in the field. I get a weekend's worth of crap. Oh, speaking of that. That turd that I took to the lab? I found these in it. What are they? Buttons. - Buttons? Maybe they needed fiber. Sorry. Wow. Oh, my God. Youre just a baby. Oh, my God. The transfer of recombinant genetic material... ...from termites and mantis into Judas breed will allow rapid enzymatic change... ...insuring 100% sterility in all Judas females... ...utilization of a suicide gene... ...leading to a life expectancy of 120 to 180 days. Hmm. Not too little... ...and not too much. You rub it in. Around and around. Like this, huh? Let the leather take it. Funny shoes. Aieee. Mr. Funny Shoes. No one is there. It's empty. Chuy, listen to me. They have Jesus on the cross, but that is not a holy place. Can you call me back tonight? Thanks, Officer. Cops are on it. Good. Well, they said Can you do me a favor and hold off working at night for awhile? I can't do that. I was actually thinking I had to get back Susan, someone broke into your office, okay? I'm sorry about you losing a specimen, but let's try and get our priorities straight. - This is not just a specimen. I did a pH test, and there are only two species... ...that match what I found. Now, one of them is a leaf cutter ant in the Amazon. The other one we released here three years ago. You said Y-Y-You said the ones we released only had a life span of six months. We engineered them to be sterile adults. The Judases were not supposed to last past one generation. So what happened? - The one I examined today was a baby. They were designed to die. They are breeding. I shine them good. Chuy, Black Lincoln. Chuy? Black Lincoln. This one. Chuy, pay attention, please. This is where you found the bug? Yeah, man. But they changed the lock. You sure you havent seen one of those? No. What is it? It's an ootheca. It's kind of a fancy name for an egg case. There's probably more, like, weird bugs inside of it. No way. I see one of those, I puke. Here you go. Here. - Hold on. Is there money to be made on this egg thing? Sorry. - Dealing days are over. Vamonos. These egg things look nasty. Thought you liked finding nasty things. Well, what if we go find these things. She'll pay us, right? Is that all you think about? Come on. This bug. What does it look like? Did you hear that? How deep does this go? - Let's see. Let's take a look. You see anything? - Not yet. Shit. I dropped it. I can't reach it. Let me try. My hands are smaller. Just leave it. - Well, no. Wait. I think I'm almost there. How much you think the bug lady'll give us for this egg thing? At least a 20 spot. Jesus. Fucking moles. Hey. Got any change? - Get a job, scag. Hey, kid. Get the hell off the tracks. Hey, how about a quarter? - Get off my tracks. That's where he is. Long John. That's where he is. Long John. Don't be talking to the moles. They messed up. - Hey, moles. Eat my long john. Look, I already told you this is CDC business. And I'm telling you that those lockers are MTA business. Okay, we'll we'll pay for the lock that we broke, Officer. I mean, whatever we can do - Lady, who am I talking to now? You or him? - You're talking to me, okay? You're talking to me. All we wanna see is See what? Thats the old maintenance bridge, buddy. This insect that we are looking for Look, man. Your lady want a bug... ...or it's eggs, or whatever she wants, that's fine by me. But it's like Swiss cheese down there. Tunnels in, tunnels out, old tracks. You go messing around, break your neck, and it's my ass on the line. Lace-up shoes. Black. Nine West. Chuy, finish your sandwich. It's good. It's chicken. Penny loafers. Eleven. Double E. Hey. He's really good at that. - Oh, yes. He imitates anything. Doesn't he go to school? He doesn't need school. He's special. What you making there? Is that a superhero? Mr. Funny Shoes. He knows everything about shoes. Hey, I'm talking to you. - No, you're talking at me You come back with the proper permits. Maybe we'll have a conversation. - Great. We'll do lunch. Yeah, I look forward to it. Uptown. What happened? Napoleon is alive and well and working for the MTA. We have to get down there. He wants a permit? I'll give him a real special one. Ah, what's that? Is that the egg thing? Give me a hand. Oh, man, that smells. I can hear the bugs inside. Come on. Cut it. She's gonna give us at least 40 bucks. What's up? I think theres a guy down there. Oh, shit. Oh, shit. It's got me. Help. Oh, God, please. Please, help me. Alex. A philosopher named Hobbes once wrote that, 'Life, by its very nature, is nasty, brutish and short.' An ant would put it more succinctly: Can I eat it or will it eat me? It's this kind of simplicity... ...that governs the phylum insecta. Hello? It's me. I got the permits. - You did? We're going down first thing tomorrow. - Okay, that's great. Listen, honey, I-I gotta go right now. I'll call you later. ...or of cellular phones, - Okay. as my distinguished colleague can tell you. So, you think your little Frankenstein has got the better of you? I was hoping you could tell me. I really need to find some answers, Walter. Dear Susan, is it answers you want from me, or is it absolution? You still think making the Judases was wrong? Three years ago, I would've called it unforgivable. But I have two grandchildren who are alive today probably because of you. It would be a tad hypocritical... ...for me to pass judgement. That's not an answer, Walter. It's not an easy question. But as to the Judases, I think it's likely some survived. Evolution has a way of keeping things alive. But they all died in the lab. Yes, Susan. But you let them out. .. into the world. The world's a much bigger lab. Funny shoes. Yeah. - Hi, Peter. It's Remy. Yeah, hi. -Is Susan there? I need to talk to her. How you doin'? - Fine. Huh? - It's really important. Yeah, sure. What are you doing? What do you got there? Where? - Right down there. In your hand. Nothing. - Oh, are we testing it? Maybe. - Mm-hmm. Are we testing it? - Uh-huh, maybe. I don't know. Could be. It's Remy. -Oh, good. Okay. So give me the phone. Come on. Come here. Give me the phone. Are we testing it? Can you hold on, Remy? - Yes. Hey. What's up? They found what? - At the water filtration plant. What's going on? - Okay, I'll be there in, in about 20 minutes. Okay. Bye. - Okay. Bye. How long you got? Patience. We'll just try again. Try again. You know, sometimes these things can be wrong. That's okay. I gotta go, okay? Bye, babe. Susan, we got the subway thing today. Yeah, I know. I-I'm just gonna have to meet you there when I'm done. Wait. When you're done from what? Uh, boots, toys, uh, beer bottles, body parts, cocaine-filled condoms, uh, little baby alligators. Shit, you wouldn't believe the stuff I'd seen. Yep. They flush 'em down. We fish 'em out. But this thing. We didn't know what this was. We were thinking about throwing it away, but then I remembered Remy. Jeremy plays bass in my band. Ah. - Anyway. So, uh Yep. I remember Remy says to me, 'If it's got more than four legs, it's not a mammal.' It's a lobster, right? My father saw me stay in bed, he'd go get the pitcher of cold water, and whoosh. I tell you, that's some alarm clock. Wow. How big did you say these bugs are? - Come on. Hurry up. You know, my shift's almost over. I need my beauty sleep. Man, if I'm blowing off my Saturday, then so are you. Yeah. It looks like somebody requested you for overtime. Come on. Hurry up. Let's find these things. We've got a long way to go. All right. Watch your step there. We've got burrows going down seven stories here. No shit? - Oh, yeah. It's five stories down, partner. You fall, I don't wanna come back and pick you up. Okay, it's all yours. Go ahead. It's 48 hours anyway. I can't wait that long. It's 48 hours. Now listen, you got something to write with? Yes, yes. I write it. - You gotta write this down. Come on. Here's the case number. It's two-seven Wait a sec. Two, seven. Yes, two-seven Eight-three. - Eight-three. All right. You got that? - What does this mean, case number? It means I deal with you in 48 hours, okay? Mr. Funny Shoes. Chuy. Hi, Doc. Susan sent you some homework. Chuy? Chuy? Chuy? Chuy? Chuy? People actually do live down here? Yeah, man. The mole people. This section was pretty popular all the way to Fulton Street. Tweeked-out crackheads, dopeheads, shitheads, mental cases. Then suddenly, poof. All gone. Rumors got started. Someone found a couple of stiffs. Yeah, they make up some crap about a killer. Overcoat Slim, Long John. Now, down here is the land of talk. The wildest version goes the farthest. Hold it right here. You got it? I see What's this? Look. The organs are...perfectly formed. They were functional. I'm guessing here, and, of course, they don't have a, uh, a complete specimen, but What do you think it is? This thing...is not just some random mutation. It's a highly evolved soldier caste, formidable killer. It couldn't have developed in a vacuum. It's part of a colony. This way, this way. Should have stayed at the office. How much longer do we have to go? - Keep looking around. It's the size of your palm. Aw, man. Take a whiff. God, it smells like acid. - No. It's ammonia. Hey, guys. Huh? There's some weird shit here. What kind of weird shit? Lots of it. God. Man. Go ahead and ask him. Ask. What the You seen anything like this before? Why're you asking me if I've ever seen some shit like this before? Do I look like I've seen some shit like this before? Hell, no, I ain't never seen no shit like this before. Who the fuck would wanna climb up these walls and hang one of these? Must've been a big elephant-ass motherfucker. I don't know who the fuck The Delancey Street station will be closing in five minutes. Please find alternate routes to your destination. Carlito? Yeah? Oh, come on, Peter. Hurry up. Um, do you have the time? Sir, the time? Oh. You know, my father always wanted me to become a dentist. I said, 'No way. I'm not gonna spend my life looking into people's open mouths. What could be worse than that, right? Oh, man, I've never been this deep. This is the old Armory Station. Hey, they built it around the turn of the century. It's been closed for decades. Yeah, I guess we covered everything. - Hey, look. You got your shit. I'm happy for you. Let's get the hell outta here, huh? Hey, Josh, I want a full team in here by 6:00 tonight. All right. Oh, shit. What the fuck? - No, don't. Look what the fuck you did, man. You see the size of that thing? Peter, are you all right? It's okay, Josh. It's okay. I think I'm okay. Get the hell off me. - Yeah, I think he's okay too. How am I gonna get you back up? I don't know. See a way up? No. - Shit. There is no way up. Oh, man, that's gonna work. - Do you know a better way up? Hey, show that to the station manager. Tell him Leonard said he's gonna have his bubble-... ...butt if he dont have someone down here in ten Wait a second. I can't find my way back alone. Look, look, look. Just go back the same way we came. Wait, wait. All right. - Take the first tunnel to the left. Then go to the fourth, right? Then right, right, left, right? Left, fourth Peter, can I just stay here and help you guys back up? Toss the glow-sticks down and just go, Josh, please. Just keep headin' up. You're gonna get there. Hurry. - All right, all right. I got it. Help me. Help. Please, help. Help. Please. Help. Piece of shit. This is really weird. We should've seen some track bunnies by now. What are they? - Track bunnies. Rats. They're usually around. They big? - You damn right. Could you just knock it off, please? Knock it off. Hey, I sing when I'm nervous. - Yeah. Turn these lights back on. What? - You said the cables are still alive. Oh, man. - Maybe we can rewire them. There you go again. What? - How are you gonna rewire all of this? You need a whole crew down here to do that. What is your problem, man? Do you need a memo every time you take a shit? - Oh, don't go there. You better be careful how you speak to people. Josh? He wouldn't be comin' from there. Manny, what the hell are you doin' here? Hurry. The lady needs help. Hey, honey, we're coming. Oh, Jesus, please hurry. Please. Come on. Oh, no. It's coming. What the fuck is that? Come on. Get her, man. Get her. What the fuck is that? What the fuck - Go. Look there. There. There. The car. The car. Close the door. Close the fuckin' door. What the fuck was that? Come on. Here. Here, here, here. - Just wait a minute. Fuck it. You wait a minute. I wanna make sure. - It's not dead. Yeah, well, it's gonna be. Very soon, lady. There it is. Drag it out. There it is. - Drag it out. You better tell me... ...what the hell's goin' on around here. Oh, man. Okay, Leonard. Okay. It's gonna be fine. You'll be fine. Okay. You just stay calm. Okay, there we go. Everything's gonna be okay. Ah, Christ. Josh will be here soon. He'll bring us some help. You're dreamin', man. If your boy was comin' back, he'd have been here by now. They got his ass, man. They ate his ass, man. We don't know that. And if you think there's not another one of those things out there, what has been puttin' that shit all over the walls? Listen, Leonard. If you keep on screaming like that, we're gonna meet the rest of its family. Manny? Manny, be careful. It-It's dead. - No, no, no. I emptied two clips into that thing and it kept comin'. Wait, wait a second. Help me turn it over. Peter, these are lungs. What the hell is she talkin' about? Biology 101. You know, insects don't have lungs. That's what limits their size. - The secretions are the same. Oh, God When I increased the Judas's metabolism, I must have sped up its breeding cycle. I mean, we're talking tens, hundreds of thousands of generations. I mean, who knows how many mutations. - Listen, l I just don't fuckin' get this. How could the How could the Judas evolve into this? Think generations, not years, okay? It took only 40,000 generations for apes to turn into humans. - So? We changed its DNA, Peter. I mean, we don't know what we did. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Hold on. If that thing has been around, how come How come nobody's ever seen it? I think we have. Sometimes an insect will evolve to mimic its predator. A fly can look like a spider. A caterpillar can look like a snake. The Judas evolved to mimic its predator. Us. Nobody up there knows about this? Nobody would. Not until it's too late. These things can imitate us. They can infiltrate us and breed a legion before anyone would even notice. How How could you do this? How How could you do this? You-You take something and you-you make it like a man. A man who's not a man, he's a - Manny. He's a thing. - Manny. That steals my child. Manny, you tell her, cause she don't give a goddamn. - Hey, hey, hey. Your kid's gone. - Hey, shut up. My leg's chewed up all over. - Shut up, will ya? Shut the fuck up. And they're both talkin about insects with lungs. - Shut up. Oh, shit. They're everywhere. Manny, get over here. It's the blood. The smell of the blood is driving them crazy. - Oh, shit. We have to cover the scent. Manny, give me your razor. Give me your razor. Here. Take it. Rub it on the windows. Anywhere where there's cracks. - Wha Just do it. - What? Oh. What the Ah. What is it? Scent glands. Insects use them to identify themselves. Here. Rub it all over yourself. They won't attack you if they think you're one of them. Manny. It worked. Do you mind if Go ahead. Manny, give me your lighter. Look. This is where we are. Now, these tunnels may lead to the surface. Yes. - If we can get... ...this car moving, we might be able to make it. What What do you mean, might? I mean, probably. But even if they do, th-this thing's been down here rotting for half a century. How do you know it'll move? - Listen to me. Listen. This car is a CR-17from Coney Island. Believe me, it was made to last. Now, Manny, there's a track relay switch in this room here. You switch the tracks. That'll get us going. - Yes, I'll try. I'll try. - Do. There's a fuse box down the tracks. If I can rewire it, I can juice up the whole system. Leonard, man. Look at yourself, l - I'll do it. Hey, if you talk me through it, I'll go out there. All you've gotta do is No, no, no, no. I'll go. I'll go. Why? I know much more about whats out there than you do. You're right. You understand the creature, and, uh, Leonard knows the subway, so... ...so this is the way its gotta be. Whatever happens, it's Manny and me. - Why? You two have gotta stay on this car. You gotta get back up. You gotta undo this. So, I'll go. We'll go. Yes. I have to put this on you now. They mimic us. We mimic them. Ah, Peter, Peter. Peter, look. You'll find two wires... ...one green, the other blue. Okay. Man, this-this shit can't be sanitary. Take it off. No, man. Leave it on. Leave it on. Don't touch it. Try not to sweat. They sense chemical changes. Oh, okay. Okay, I'll-Ill try not to sweat. Chuy. Susan, he's in. He just needs to find the switch. Good. Green. Blue. Green, blue. Green, blue. Shit. Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Chuy. Chuy. Chuy, it's me. Come on, Manny. What's takin' you so long? Do these subway tracks lead to the regular train tunnels... ...at Grand Central and Penn Station? Yeah, yeah. Well, they'll use them to migrate out of the city. After that, they'll set up colonies anywhere they can. Now, every specimen weve seen has been female... ...because a male would be a lighter color and it would have no wings. And if they are holding true to the Judas's spawning pattern, the nest will have only one fertile male. Now, if we could catch that male and kill him, then the females wont be able to breed... ...and the whole generation could die out. Where the hell is the male? Chuy. Chuy. Chuy, come here. Come here. Come here. Friends. Come here, please. Oh, goddamn it. He must be in trouble. He must be in trouble. - Shh, shh. Wait. Listen. Oh, Jesus. - I'm goin' out there. You stay here. Listen. If the car starts, I'll meet you at the end of the platform. Chuy? Oh, my God. Oh, Manny. Chuy. Yes. Yes. CR-17 from Coney Island. Goddamn it. Oh, shit. Goddamn it. Goddamn. Shit. Leonard. Get away. Go away. I'm bleeding. Found a way out, on a dumbwaiter. - Go away. Peter, I'm bleeding. Go away. I can't stop it. I can't stop it. They'll be here soon- Where's my wife? Go away. - Where's Susan? Where's Susan? - She went to get Manny. Susan. Shh. They haven't seen us yet. Don't move. Peter, go. Oh, my God. Leonard? Come on, Chuy. - Hurry. All right, come on in. That's all right. That's a good boy. No, no, it's all right. Shh. Stop. Stop it. It's okay. It's okay. All right, Peter. Come on. Get in. Get in, Peter. Come on. Chuy, shh. Stop it. Stop it. Shh. Get in, get in, get in. Peter, what are you doing? - I gotta stop them here. Oh, no. Peter, don't do this. Peter. No. No. Oh, Jesus. Don't. No. Chuy. Chuy. Stop it. Stop it. Train. Oh. We're here. Help. Watch it. Go on. Go on. Get out. Hurry. Go. Fuck you. Look out. Chuy? Chuy? Chuy? Chuy? Oh, God. It's the male. No. You will not hurt him. No. Turn around. Turn around. Come on. Come on. Come on. Police and emergency crews continue to work... ...in the aftermath of tonight's explosions on the Lower East Side. Hustle up. Team leader. We swept the area twice. It's burned. Nothing could have survived down there. What about one of us? I'm sorry, Susan. I really am. Shiny wire. Mountain boots. Ten. Brown. |
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