They are breeding.
There is a deadly disease spreading over Manhattan by cockroaches. It's called "Strickler's disease" and it is killing hundreds of chilldren. Dr. Peter Mann (Jeremy Northan), Deputy Director of the CDC, recruits entomologist Dr. Susan Tyler (Mira Sorvino), who uses genetic engineering to create a mutant breed of cockroach. She calls it the Judas breed. It releases an enzyme which accelerates the roaches' metabolism and causes them to starve to death faster than they can take in nourishment. The disease is eradicated. The Judas breed is designed to die off after one generation.
Three years later people start disappearing. Two kids find a "weird bug" in the subway. They sell it to the bug lady, Susan. Susan is intrigued with the bug and performs some tests on it. She realizes it is similar to the Judas breed. At first she believes that this is impossible. The Judas breed consisted of all female specimens and was designed to live only a few months. Susan consults with her mentor, Dr. Gates (F. Murray Abraham). He autopsies a larger specimen found in the city's sewage treatment plants. Gates finds that the creatures organs are fully formed. The Judas breed is not only alive, but has developed into a viable species that is living underneath the city. And they are adapting.
"Mimic" was released in 1997 and was directed by Guillermo del Toro. This movie was awesome. One of my favorites. Dark and frightening. Although the plot may be familiar, the bug creatures were great. And big. And of course genetically made.
For awhile director Guillermo del Toro disowned the film. He had many clashes with Bob and Harvey Weinstein. Guillermo felt that the early footage of the film wasn't scary enough. Weinstein threatened to fire del Toro and replace him with another director. Mira Sorvino threatened to quit the film if del Toro's vision wasn't respected. She received support from her then-boyfriend Quentin Tarantino, who has made several films for Miramax. The Weinsteins finally agreed to let del Toro stay on, but they oversaw the final cut of the film. Guillermo never worked with the Weinsteins again. Later he made his peace with the film after creating a Director's Cut that was closer to his vision.
Because of Harvey Weinstein's heavy-handed post-production influence the film appears on a 2017 list in "The Telegraph" entitled "Harvey Scissorhands: 6 films ruined by Harvey Weinstein."
There’s some really good talent in this movie. Mira Sorvino, Charles Dutton, Josh Brolin, F Murray Abraham. Under Guillermo del Toro's direction, everything about this movie is dark and haunting. From the dank subway tunnels to the creatures eerie, sinister scratching. It’s a creepfest that will keep you riveted. The plot may be standard by it’s unraveled with slow terror. How do you kill a six foot insect? How do you escape? Keep the lights on.