In a New York stricken with a cockroach-transmitted child-killing disease, entomologist Mira Sorvino develops a strain of insects designed to kill off the carriers, little suspecting that they'd evolve into man-sized killers. That they begin to resemble their human enemies is the best part of an already clever horror premise, and throughout its first half, Mimic creates a tense atmosphere that feels like a cross between Aliens and Seven. The latter half, set in the less visited parts of New York's subway system, bogs down considerably, abandoning its hybrid approach and becoming content to simply clone Aliens. What could have been a smart thriller simply becomes a big, dumb movie about giant bugs, and if that's your bag, the bigger, dumber-looking Starship Troopers isn't too far in the future. Unlike Mimic, it probably won't feature an irritating, saucer-eyed, spoon-clacking autistic boy with an uncanny ability to recognize and name many different varieties of shoes.