It was English cleric Charles Caleb Colton who once said, “Imitation is the sincerest of flattery”. Truer words could not be spoken, especially when it comes to horror films.

In “Mimesis”, a group of die-hard horror fans attend a horror convention and are subsequently lured to an “exclusive party” at a remote farm.  While there, the group is drugged and upon awakening find themselves smack dab in the middle of a reenactment of one of the greatest genre films of all time: a real life version of the classic 1968 George Romero film, “Night of The Living Dead”.

As the “movie” plays on, a group of psycho villains (dressed up as the walking dead) keep the seven unwilling participants terrorized inside of the farmhouse and kill them if they try to escape.While the original black and white version of the film plays in a non-stop loop on a small television set, it quickly becomes a battle of survival as the group tries to plot their escape. Mimesis stars Allen Maldonado, Lauren Mae Shafer, Taylor Piedmonte and Jana Thompson. Directed by Douglas Schulze, the film also contains original music composed by Diego Navarro.

As a “mid-tier” horror fan myself, I especially enjoyed the fact that the film also featured genre favorites Courtney Gains (Children of the Corn) and Sid Haig (Rob Zombie’s The Devil’s Rejects, House of 1000 Corpses). Both actors have small roles in this film but none the less bring “street cred” with their performances. In fact, it’s Haig himself who actually explains to us the definition of Mimesis (“imitation, mimicry”).

The film also contains a cameo by original “Night of the Living Dead” star, Bill Hinzman bringing the elements of the past and present together nearly forty-five years after the original film.

“Mimesis” may be an odd title for a horror film, but it’s a fun ride that pays homage to a classic, and that makes it a ride worth taking.

“Mimesis” releases February 12th, 2013. Bonus features include audio commentary with Director/Co-Writer Douglas Schulze and Co-Writer Joshua Wagner.