Mimesis (2011)

To me, this movie is perfection.

Dreadfully Boring

I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

A disparate group of people including a young girl attend a lecture by a horror film-maker. Invited to a select after party, they wake up in bizarre surroundings. One of the first group - two buddies - are attacked by a zombie, and is very badly wounded. They are joined by a woman, and make it to the house where in the disjointed introduction the householder - a farmer - and his apparently disabled wife are murdered. All very confusing so far, and obviously supernatural, though it turns out these zombies are anything but. The clue to what is happening is in the film's title; mimesis refers to life imitating art, in this case a group of sickos have decided to recreate the classic 1968 horror film "Night Of The Living Dead".Clearly "Mimesis..." scores for originality, but if zombies are beyond belief, so are the logistics and leaps of faith the viewer is supposed to make here. In the original film, everybody died. Does that happen here? If you stick around to find out you won't be disappointed, but you probably won't be enthralled either.

Let's begin this movie review with a quick definition of the word "mimesis." The Free Dictionary by Farlex states that "Mimesis" means "the imitation or representation of aspects of the sensible world, especially human actions, in literature and art." Now you don't have to wait for genre legend Sid Haig to explain it to you three-quarters of the way through "Mimesis: Night of the Living Dead.""Mimesis: Night of the Living Dead" tells the story of a group of fans at a horror convention who are invited to an exclusive after-party. After passing out, each one awakens in the woods outside a farmhouse to find themselves dressed up in different clothing. They soon come to realize that they are pawns in someone's sick re-enactment of "Night of the Living Dead." This time it's not a movie. Its real-life… and people are really dying.I must say that director / writer Douglas Schulze truly has utilized an interesting concept. Many remakes could save themselves the embarrassment of being inadequate carbon copies if they would take the route "Mimesis: Night of the Living Dead" does with its namesake. Instead of making rehashed updates of iconic films, producers could make a movie about fans of the original who want to act out the events in real life. It could be applied to any horror or slasher movie.Just picture this: a franchise of films based on the idea. We could have "Mimesis 2: A Nightmare on Elm Street," "Mimesis 3: The Amityville Horror," Mimesis 4: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." The possibilities truly are endless. SyFy Channel or Chiller could even have a weekly "Mimesis" television show. Contestants have to re-live a classic horror film to win prizes and such. I know, this is a review and I'm starting to digress.Sid Haig ("The Devil's Rejects") is really the only actor in the film who's recognizable in the movie. He plays a horror director who is tired of everyone blaming violence in films for tragic events that happen in real life. I was giddy over a short cameo by Courtney Gains who played Malachai in the original "Children of the Corn." The rest of the cast are basically just victims for the audience to see disposed of in various gory manners."Mimesis: Night of the Living Dead" isn't a complete failure as entertainment. It addresses the idea of "life imitating art" that we see come up in the news all the time in a clever manner. However, I can't help but feel that "Scream" did it better back in 1996. A lack of any special features isn't going to help convince consumers that this is the horror movie of the week to spend their hard-earned money on.

It's refreshing to see a film that knows the true meaning of the word "homage" -- something done or given in acknowledgment or consideration of the worth of another -- rather than "rip off," which is something we see far too often in films, especially horror movies.Douglas Schulze's Mimesis is a clever homage to George Romero's Night of the Living Dead on one hand and a modern "thrill killer" movie on the other. After an opening scare starring Courtney Gaines, the audience is taken to a horror convention where Alphonze Betz (Sid Haig) rails against the media blaming horror movies for real life horrors. In the audience are Russell (Taylor Piedmonte) and his unlikely pal Duane (Allen Maldonado).Russell is a horror fan while Duane is more keen on meeting some of the hotties at the con including Judith (Lauren Mae Shafer), a goth girl who invites the boys to a party later that night. Thinking he'll get some, Duane convinces Russell to drive out to the spooky farmhouse where they encounter some out-of-place regular people and a number of silent, spooky dudes all made up in makeup. Before the party gets too "dick in the mashed potatoes" crazy, Russell and Duane are down for the count, waking up dressed in different clothes and hanging out in some eerily familiar settings.There's no "They're coming to get you, Barbara!" line in Mimesis but much of the rest of Night of the Living Dead is there as our protagonists find themselves cast in a living remake of the film, complete with flesh-tearing zombies.Thus, Mimesis becomes a film with disparate characters trapped in a farmhouse with a menacing presence outside but the presence isn't supernatural, it's psychotic. Additionally, the script by Schulze and Joshua Wagner is incredibly self-aware, playing with and against the plot of NOTLD along with more current films where strangers toy with innocents (Them, Inside, High Tension, etc.).

Just saw the premier showing of this last night at the McMorran Complex in Port Huron, Michigan. All (or most of) the actors and actresses were at the showing which made it all that much more interesting. I have to say that I enjoyed this movie very much, even if it were a little bit on the "campy" side. But perhaps that is because I am biased. I am also a big fan of the original Night of the Living Dead Romero Classic from the late 1960's. This movie was made on similar budget as that, albeit updated to the current price of movie making as compared to 40 or so years ago. The effects were good enough to grab most of the audiences attention as far as the reactions went, including myself! It was nearly a sold out movie theater, and I can tell you from the unemployment in this part of the world that is a rare thing in this town for sure! Let me say that it gave me a bit of the "Halloween Spirit" that I haven't had for a few years now. Dare I say it made me giddy? Anyways, I would definitely recommend this indie as a must see for the low(er) budget horror flick fan.