Sick

There are some movies you know 5 minutes going into it that it's going to be worth the while. This was such a movie. The beginning was suspenseful out of the gate and had me looking away. Great action, scary, decent acting and the kind of slasher that I would gladly see a sequel of. It had me jump several times and was just generally creepy. It actually had a similar feel to Scream which I love. It had also a sense of realism that this could actually happen that I appreciated. The characters actually did semi-intelligent things as opposed to just plain stupid decisions. It didn't insult the viewers intelligence. Finally I really liked the homage to the whole period of lock down COVID. There were a few parts that actually had me laughing because of how ridiculous and paranoid the first days of lockdown were for people. They need to make more slashers like this that are truly scary from beginning to end. Keep them coming!

Plot

Due to the pandemic, Parker and her best friend decide to quarantine at the family lake house alone - or so they think.

Cast

Marc Menchaca was the only one I was familiar with though Gideon Adlon was excellent here.

Verdict

Within horror the slasher sub-genre is way down there. I'm not sure if I'm just not keen on them or if it's because I'm burnt out watching them but I'm rarely impressed. They tend to be extremely formulaic and Sick, follows the formula to the letter.

A totally predictable slasher film with an unimpressive killer and interesting but flawed motivations I walked away from Sick feeling like I'd already seen it because for all intent and purpose I in fact had.

It looks the part (Except for that house which looks like it's made of inflatable yellow buffers) and our leading lady is solid but there's nothing memorable about it. It's entirely colour by numbers and that's just plain lazy.

Rants

With the COVID setting I knew what I'd find in the one star reviews and as usual you didn't disappoint. The conspiracies, the paranoia, the use of the word propaganda by people who don't know what it means. The fact that people deny and politicize a pandemic that killed millions of people is horrifying. Can you imagine if the internet existed in the times of Polio and TB, the paranoid chaotic absurdity regarding vaccines? What a scary thought.

The Good

Gideon Adlon Interesting killer motivation

The Bad

Very predictable Instantly forgettable Bland supporting cast That house, I mean seriously what was that all about?

Director Hyams creates a few tense moments that blends with righteous thoughts and bloody entertainer.... Oddly manages a clear winner that easily survives on the grounds of pandemic catastrophy.... Short & sweet runtime ensures a pure slasher thriller with vibrant lighting in the dark ambience,camera work is a major asset in holding audience live until the end... Early scenes does have an impact on our minds on facing the reality check like shortage of toilet papers and refusing to assist some one an deadly situations on pandemic times raising a human values rare existence... Overall a unique slasher thriller that needs a attention.

I'm officially at the age where it's really hard to relate to this generation of whiny, social media addicted kids. I truly wanted all of the characters to die.

Also, even though it's very different, it's still too similar to Scream. From the opening scene, to the knife yielding, black clad killer, to the set pieces, it is very derivative of the better slasher.

The fact that it takes place during the pandemic seems very irrelevant. It feels very gimmicky, honestly.

Three people hole up in a lake house to quarantine. A guy dressed like a ninja shows up and it becomes one of those home invasion flicks, where the victims get stalked and hunted in ever more ludicrous scenarios. Something else happens that was enough to keep me intrigued and from turning it off, though.

But the bulk of the movie is that. People being attacked by masked intruder.

Sure, in the end they try to tie it all back to Covid, but ultimately, this flimsyly plotted trifle will not stand the test of time. Destined for the trash heap of horror history. 86 min is the runtime of this movie and roughly how long it will take me to forget it.

Kitty cat pig. Oink oink.

Movies like this live or die based on the decisions of the protagonists and while the ones in this film make some decent decisions, as the movie progresses they become increasingly dumb. It's a shame because there are some effective thrills and a solid premise here.

It balances the tone of satirizing Covid while also not completely disregarding the pandemic. The Covid stuff does lead to some pretty funny jokes though. It's a bit predictable as you can guess the killer's motives and it loses some momentum near the finale. For a Peacock Original, Sick is a decent jaunt into the world of pandemics and home invasions.