Ick

An icky vine-like alien growth is a nuisance that spreads throughout the world, but in time people merely shrug their shoulders and get used to it. In small-town America the "ick" is regarded suspiciously by some including Hank, a science teacher and former football player, and Grace, one of his students. Their distrust is soon validated as the ick springs violently into a new phase of its growth.

The premise of people grown accustomed, careless, and capricious to a demon in their presence, is tantalizing. A monster is seen and ignored. However, beyond this alluring theme, there is little depth to the story, dialogue, characters, acting, and scenes. It is good for some laughs but there is not a lot of thought or creativity on display at this world premiere screening at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Oh, what an absolute blast! This is genuinely some of the most fun I've had with any movie in theaters this year. I loved everything about it. Legendary music video director Joseph Kahn brings a vision to life here that harkens back to such a specific period of time. It fits right in with so many movies of the era it's emulating. Visually, it's quite incredible and I found myself in awe of what was being brought to the screen. The craft displayed here is masterful, and Kahn commits to his bold concept all the way through. It is so kinetic, imaginative, and has a powerful energy, moving seamlessly from shot to shot in a way that feels natural to the film's style. The production design is amazing. The film is honestly enchanting and just oozes charm. It wastes no time and throws you right in. So much is happening within the frame and the pace is nonstop - but as fast as this film goes, it never loses you. The aesthetic itself makes it feel like a feature length music video, and I mean that in the best way. It's defined especially by its unbelievable soundtrack, which is maybe the most impressive curation of songs I've seen in a long time. This is seriously a soundtrack that someone would only dream of having in their film. They're just INSANE needle drops, and I give major props to the team for being able to lock down all of them. I was truly blown away. We were cheering!

As Kahn mentioned in his intro to the film, he has as many creature jumpscares as he does punk rock jumpscares. The music of the All-American Rejects, Good Charlotte, Wheatus, Creed, Paramore and tons of other great bands popping up throughout the film instantly brought me back to my childhood, when my sisters were in high school and I was growing up with the songs they played. It was amazing to hear all this music in a feature film, and especially with the context of which they were used. Their place in the film feels quite motivated, as the story has a focus on the disconnect (and also similarities) between the generation of teens from the 90s/00s and those of today. Telling a modern story while using nostalgic music like this really worked to get into the headspace of Hank, played so brilliantly by Brandon Routh (who absolutely needs more starring roles today). I found him to be an excellent protagonist with a really compelling arc. I loved his transition from all-star quarterback/prom king to a broken man, stuck in one spot, whose life didn't go as planned. The opening perfectly depicts his tragic downfall, and the remainder of the film allows us to explore him as a character. He has to battle his past and the direction his life took, while also trying to move forward and own up to his newfound discovery of responsibility. The Ick itself serves as a clear allegory for the pandemic and how our society has handled it, but I think it doubles as a representation of the force that holds us back and keeps us stuck in the past. The film is all about the fact that we can't fix our mistakes, but we can move forward from them. Hank's leg is a constant reminder of this. So many are quick to embrace the problem as the solution, but it takes effort to be better and create progression in your life. I thought it was a beautifully heartfelt story to be told in a dark time of our world currently.

Also, like this month's Eddington, it makes hilarious commentary about insane people willing to get infected in the name of freedom, as well as teens using social awareness as a tool for selfish reasons. It gives us a very funny satirical look at different generations and ideologies that made me laugh, showing absurdities from all sides. I think I was smiling throughout the entire movie. It's so clever and has a heart of gold. Routh is immensely great in the film, and I dug how he played off of Malina Weissman (who heavily reminded me of Sabrina Carpenter). She was awesome here and clearly has a bright career ahead of her. I also can't stress how happy it made me to see Mena Suvari in the film, who is just a staple of so many 90s teen films. Her appearance in the opening could've been pulled straight from one of her older movies and I wouldn't have batted an eye. Such a cool meta role to include her in. Our theater also showed American Beauty and American Pie this month, making it an unofficial Mena Suvari month! This was just such a refreshing movie that blends a 2000s coming of age tone with a social satire/creature feature, soaring at every genre it taps into. It's full of endearing characters and performances, very impressive VFX work, a generationally great soundtrack, and the movie does not overstay its welcome at all. What a gem and a smart throwback film - I will definitely be rewatching this and I hope everyone gets the chance to see it this week! I wish it was getting a wider release. I desperately need to seek out Joseph Kahn's other movies and can't wait to see what else he has in store! This simply rules.

Saw this opening at Screamfest at The Mann Chinese Theatre. Super fun film with a great cast. You can tell watching it that everyone involved had a really great time making the film. It feels like a movie made by people who really love films especially those from the 90s and early 2000s. Parts reminded me of Eight Legged Freaks, the Faculty, and Lawnmower Man. It harkened back to a time when popular horror films were more about having a good time then being a deep intellectual pursuit. Not that I mind a brilliant brain bender, but it is refreshing to see a film not take itself so seriously.

The cast was brilliant. Brandon Routh was incredibly charming and funny as the lead, Mena Suvari was great as well. Malina Weissman really carried the film well with her grounded yet endearing performance. Harrison Cone was hilarious as the overly performative, virtue signaling douchebag. Two great breakout performances came from Taia Sophia and Zeke Donovan Jones. Their awkward goth romance added a ton a heart to the film. I suspect these two actors will be future fan favorites.

I swear, there is not a camera shot longer than 12 seconds in this entire movie. It is liking watching some random one and a half hour flashback montage scene, it was like the flashback opening of the film just never stopped! Kills the movie. The acting is good, the idea behind the film is okay but I think the director/writer threw too much thought into the ick metaphor and ultimately made it null and void. This should have never got a big screen release. The soundtrack is cancelled out because using tons of different songs for 20 seconds each just gets old however whoever scored the film did an excellent job, shame their talent was wasted on this mess. I definitely know Ick is not the type of film you pay money to watch.

Context: I am 60+ now, degreed and experienced in cinema, with three Generation "Z" boys. So this movie is not for me, it's for them. I only give it 6-stars because it misfits my own entertainment needs. I expect teenagers and young adults who were tweens and teens in 2000-2010 will connect with this much better.

That being said, I would describe this as being a hyper-paced satire that pretends to be about horror but is really about our modern culture, especially that which Gen-Z must suffer through.

The Ick, being a familiar but mostly ignored and unexplained creature that suddenly becomes destructive, is a METAPHOR.

It represents cultural rot, something that grows everywhere and we complacently ignore it until it becomes antagonizing, and many of us continue to try ignoring it, or minimizing it, to our demise.

Once you watch this movie with those lenses it begins to make more sense. Listen carefully to the dialog and you'll hear the indoctrination of critical theory (identity politics and oppression narratives), postmodernism (nihilism), postcolonialism (anti-settler narratives), and capitalism vs socialism debates. All of it is not to preach any of these, but to make fun of it. The Ick not one of these things or the other, it's the ignorance, the complacency, the intolerance, and the polarization of these variant invasive philosophies.

You could even frame the Ick as poststructuralism - which is best imagined as a culture-bomb - wherein all of these other ostentatious disciplines are its components.

In effect, the movie is a lot smarter than it appears, but if you are older than Gen-Z and you are not aware of its goals, then it's look completely dumb and a waste of your time. As I say, if that describes you, it wasn't made for you. It was made for the kids who grew up in our mess.

I cannot say its humor made me laugh a lot, but it delivered some chuckles - it's wit is dry and fast so you have to keep up.

I do think that the editing is very choppy though, and doesn't do it service. Had this been smoothed out a little it would have been more palatable.