"Frankenstein" meets "Alien," by way of "Outbreak" in "Mimic," a science-fiction thriller that's, unfortunately, not as scary, funny or smart as it could have or should have been.

That's not to say that it's unwatchable, though. In fact, "The Relic" and other downright awful sci-fi/horror films we've been subjected to lately make it look like a masterpiece. But coming from Mexican writer/director Guillermo Del Toro ("Cronos"), it's definitely a letdown.

Outside the inventive special effects and designs, as well as good performances by the leads and some of the supporting actors, there's something just a little too familiar here. You might say the film makes the unpardonable sin of "mimicking" some more memorable genre films, in particular, "Alien" and its first sequel.

Miro Sorvino stars as Susan Tyler, a scientist who creates a new breed of insect to eliminate New York's population of cockroaches — which have been responsible for the spread of Strickler's disease, a near-fatal ailment afflicting the city's children.

The experiment — which creates the "Judas breed," a combination between termites and manta rays — succeeds, at least for now. Three years later, the experimental bugs (which were supposed to have a limited lifespan) turn up in the city's subway system.

Along with her husband, Peter Mann (Jeremy Northam), his assistant (Josh Brolin) and Leonard (Charles Dutton), a New York Transit Authority officer who knows the subway underground like the back of his hand, she finds that the "Judas breed" has continued to metamorphosize.

During those three years, the man-size insects have learned to "mimic" humans, curling up into a shape, by covering themselves with a carapace, that looks nearly human. And in the subway's lowest reaches, this now-predatory breed is beginning to spread.

There's an interesting, if cliched, philosophical question under all the horror and sci-fi trappings — about tampering with nature — but it only receives a cursory discussion between Sorvino's character and that of F. Murray Abraham, playing her mentor.

And speaking of Abraham, his bad dye job would be the oddest thing in this very odd movie — if not for the character of Chuy (Alexander Goodwin), an autistic child who learns to mimic the insects' sound with a pair of

spoons (!).

As mentioned, Sorvino is fine, as is Northam and Dutton, who gives things some needed comic relief. But the at-times ludicrous premise is played too straight, and Del Toro's inspirations are far too obvious (astute sci-fi fans will probably groan at the "Aliens" styled ending).

Fortunately, the effects, designed by Rob Bottin, are effectively creepy, and Del Toro sustains the tension throughout the action sequences (the scene in which Northam fools one of the insects is a real nail-biter).

"Mimic" is rated R for violence (though much of the gruesome action is heard and not seen), profanity, some gory shots of victims and insect goo and a couple of vulgar references.