Mimics is, at a glance, a well-shot and competently assembled feature. Kristoffer Polaha‘s direction is certainly assured, with a visual polish that suggests a filmmaker firmly in control of the technical side of things. He also wrote the screenplay, a Faustian tale centred on a ventriloquist’s dummy named Fergus.
Marketed as a horror rom-com, Mimics never quite decides what it wants to be. It isn’t funny enough to work as a comedy, let alone a romantic one, and the central relationship suffers as a result. The two leads share little chemistry, leaving the film without the emotional spark it so clearly needs. With neither warmth nor friction between them, the romantic beats feel more obligatory than organic.
Nor does the film commit fully to horror. It gestures toward darkness but pulls its punches when it needs to lean into them, particularly during the final third. The result is largely toothless: there’s little sense of real peril and almost no sustained dread. Tension, too, is largely absent, leaving the audience feeling oddly safe. For a film that flirts with unsettling ideas, it never goes hard enough to make them stick.
Polaha, as Sam, is serviceable but miscast. He’s a competent actor, but here he lacks the charm and charisma needed to sell Sam’s everyman rags-to-riches arc. It’s most obvious in the stand-up scenes, which are meant to showcase Sam’s (supernatural) talent and appeal but instead land flat and unconvincing. If we can’t buy Sam’s ability to win over a room, it’s hard to care about either his rise or his fall. Fergus is another missed opportunity. In another version of this film, he might have been a scene-stealer – uncanny, memorable, maybe even iconic. Instead, he blends into the long line of creepy dummies that came before, lacking any truly distinctive presence. Without a unique visual or personality hook, Fergus never rises above being a familiar prop, and the film loses what could have been its most potent source of unease.
Ultimately, Mimics feels caught between genres and ambitions. It’s handsomely made and clearly the product of genuine effort, but it never quite finds its voice. By holding back from fully committing to either its comedic side or its horror potential, it ends up stranded in a tonal middle ground—competent, occasionally intriguing, but rarely compelling.
VERDICT:
Mimics opens in U.S. cinemas on February 13, 2026
