Not sick enough, but a pretty solid Slasher: “Sick” review Cinemax
In our world, three years seems like an eternity. Who remembers that just a few years ago we walked everywhere with a mask, avoided gatherings of more than five people, watched our beloved team (Liverpool) win the Premier League after 30 years in front of an empty stadium, spent the holidays on Zoom with the family and calculated the distance to the nearest dog park from the house, so as not to run into an angry inspector who would claim that we have exceeded the distance limits from the house, so we have to pay a fine and swear not to do it again for the sake of humanity. Today, COVID-19 seems to be a thing of the past, and thank goodness. Even though in the current reality of our world we face many other problems, it is worth enjoying the return to normal while it is there, at least in terms of health.
In this sense, the slasher film “Sick,” which features two young women who choose to “isolate” themselves in a remote cabin only to discover that someone is trying to murder them, brought me back to what I had already forgotten. What’s more important is that the film, to some extent, also reminded me of what I love about the horror genre.
Welcome back, Kevin Williamson
The most important name associated with the making of “Sick” is that the names behind it are certainly intriguing. If you spent your teenage years rewatching slashers with the guys in the ’90s, you owe a big thank you to Kevin Williamson for spawning some of today’s most beloved horror franchises. He wrote the first four “Scream” films and produced some of them, while in the last two films he served “only” as an executive producer. In his CV as a screenwriter, we also find “I know what you did last summer” (1997), “La Faculté” (1998) and “La Médiction” (2005). His list of projects might be longer, certainly in recent years, so the new film he’s writing may raise expectations: you know, for a “Whodunit”-style slasher film, with lots of reflexive references.
We should mention that Williamson shares the writing credit with Katelyn Crabb. But since this is her first major film project, so we know little about her or how involved she was in the storyline, we’ll focus primarily on Kevin Williamson in this review. But we will try to mention Crabbe’s name in parentheses whenever we refer to the writing of “Sick.”
We move behind the camera, where we find John Hyams. That name might not mean much to you because this is a director who, for most of his career, has mostly made action films of dubious quality, like some sequels to the “Universal Soldier” series (yes, the one that started in the 90s with Jean-Claude Van Damme). But in 2020, he directed “Alone”, which managed to surprise in many ways. Hyams took a fairly generic plot from the simple thriller-horror genre, in which a woman is pursued by a psychopath, but managed to keep viewers captivated thanks to a fast pace, decent cinematography and a successful storyline, in which the heroine, quite unusual in our regions, has little logic and common sense.
This surprise pretty much raised the bar of my expectations when I sat down to watch “Sick.” And of course, it’s always exciting to see the familiar opening of horror production company Blumhouse, responsible for many successful horror films over the past 15 years.
The real danger of quarantine: being chased by killers
“Sick” opens in a way that might remind you of some of the films we’ve mentioned here. A young man (Joel Courtney of “Super 8” and “The Kissing Booth”) goes shopping at the supermarket, receives a disturbing text message, returns home and is murdered by someone wearing a mask. We had a bit of a “Scream” vibe here, and not for the last time. This opening scene may seem “random” because most slashers must begin with a murder which will introduce us for the first time to the killer and show that it is a slasher. However, later in the film, we may discover that he is linked in some way to our heroines.
Our heroines are two friends who behave the way young women are expected to behave these days: they take a lot of photos on Instagram, upload posts to social networks and also do other things from time to time, like talking to each other. Parker (Gideon Adlon, the disappointing “The Craft: Legacy”), recently separated from her boyfriend, goes with her best friend Miri (Bethlehem Million, who fortunately only appears in the credits as Beth Million) to a remote family cabin. It’s April 2020, shortly after the start of the Covid-19 epidemic, and panic is in full swing. Segars was not yet in the United States, but the two men decided to voluntarily quarantine themselves. They wear a mask even in the car, often spray the air, clean food items and play guessing games around Anthony Fauci, one of the senior members of the White House task force for the Covid-19 crisis.
Suddenly, a mysterious character arrives in the house, knocks on the door and disappears. Those who have watched films of this type before know that it is possible that this character is not the bad guy, but someone that the characters know, comes here uninvited and, for some reason, chooses to sneak into the house instead of entering it like a normal person. But don’t worry: very soon they will also be hunted by real killers, those who have a complete package of knives, maks and accessories. These chases will take place in an isolated place (probably) and without the possibility of contacting the outside world (like that!), the film therefore sits on the border between a slasher and a “Home Invasion” film.
The truth is that during the film I found myself wondering why exactly we needed references to the pandemic here. After all, having a character fight for their life in a confined, isolated location doesn’t take too much apologizing and has been done in dozens of films. “Sick” was also made after things returned to normal, unlike films like “Host” which were made under the strict conditions of lockdowns, so references to Covid-19 may, at first glance, seem like a gimmick or, at the very least, nostalgia.
In the second half of the film, things will become more obvious with the revelation of the identity of the villains. We then find out that Kevin Williamson (well, and Crabb) has something critical to say about the pandemic. It is these moments where the film also receives aspects of dark humor, mainly thanks to one of the supporting characters. But beyond that, of course, we won’t expand.
“Sick” Movie Review Test Results: Not Sick Enough
“Sick” is like a confirmed patient of the pandemic, without significant symptoms: we have the feeling that he could have gotten a little better but also much worse. The film is quite interesting, but there are some weak points in its storyline and in the not always rational behavior of the heroines: you know, ignoring danger even when it is tangible, making strange choices meant to create tension, etc. The acting from the mostly young cast is undoubtedly satisfying, even if no character is overly memorable or has depth. The film corresponds well to the rules of the genre, but you will not find here a thousand allusions and ironic references to tangential cinema as in the “Scream” universe (really not sure that this is a disadvantage, if the last “Scream” films are to be believed).
It’s safe to say that story-wise it’s not one of Williamson’s (uh, yeah. And the other girl responsible for writing) masterpieces, but even so, it’s a higher standard than most slasher films being produced today. Hyams manages to impress with the strengths he discovered in “Alone”: mainly the good choice of fools, the optimal use of location and the effective creation of tension, partly by showing the gap between what the characters see and what is hidden from them. So it’s a name worth following in the years to come, even if in this case the “horror” part of the film could be stronger. While there are a few moments of scares or suspense here, it’s hard to argue that “Sick” manages to be “sick” at the level of horror or gore that it is. The number of kills is limited and you won’t see too many heartbreaking scenes of severed limbs or blood splattering everywhere.
In the end, we recommend giving the film a chance because it only requires you to sacrifice a little of your time or intelligence. In a world where three years pass in a flash and the pandemic is for most a bitter memory, what is 80 minutes of a good horror film?
“Sick” (2022) – All the details
Country of origin: UNITED STATES
Director: John Hyams
Cast: Gideon Adlon, Beth Million, Dylan Sprayberry, Jane Adams, Joel Courtney
Runtime: 83 minutes
Language: English
Budget: unknown
Ticketing: Released on Peacock (no theatrical release)
Motion Picture Rating (MPAA):R
IMDB rating: 6.1
Tomatometer: 86%
