Sick Girl

There is a certain unease to the supplements on the 'Sick Girl' DVD. Director Lucky McKee is strangely reserved in divulging the details of his life and career, as are the collaborators interviewed for the 'Working with a Master' featurette. It's not hard to see why; as many others (even "Masters of Horror" creator Mick Garris) have pointed out, McKee is a director with only one (publicly released) horror film to his name. Granted, that film is the stunning, oddly sad sleeper "May" (which even Roger Ebert awarded 4 stars), which contained a star-making performance from Angela Bettis (who truly lends professionalism and skill to an oft-derided genre). One should also keep in mind that McKee was added to the "Masters" roster when George Romero dropped out, and it is therefore not a matter of privilege, but necessity, that produced his entry, which plays runner-up only to John Landis' excellent 'Deer Woman.' As in "May," the director shows his knack for putting the veiled motives of human behavior and the complexities of relationships out in the open. 'Sick Girl' follows lonely lesbian scientist Ida (Angela Bettis) who is enamored of the mysterious Misty (Erin Brown, aka Misty Mundae, of "Duck!"), whom she becomes involved; Ida is in love with bugs, and when Misty is bitten by an 'aggressive' new addition, she gradually begins to lose her sanity. While the climax makes full use of the KNB FX budget, the episode is more engaging in the eccentric relationship these two women share, making the viewer truly care as things become increasingly weird. Save for a silly final scene, this is easily one of the best MOH episodes I've seen thus far.

6.5 out of 10

This episode of Masters of Horror revolves around a killer insect that isn't your run of the mill bug; large spider legs, slim tentacles and a face like something that would audition for a Cronenberg movie.

Bug fanatic of service is Ida Teeter, a single white female living in an apartment packed with bug displays and shirping noises. One day she receives a package (with our little friend) and accidentally lets the content break loose.

The body count begins; the building's dog gets hunted by the killer insect; don't ya just love this? In the meanwhile Ida falls in love with Misty, a girl who spends her time drawing sketches at Ida's work. It doesn't take long before our sketch artist, Misty, gets invited to Ida's apartment and ends up getting bit by the killer bug. Pus, transformations, infections make Ida slowly realise what's happening to her newly acquainted girlfriend!

This episode features very likable characters and some very creepy special fx; The bug isn't CGI which makes it look more convincing and menacing.

The only downside to this episode is that -like "Accident on and off..."- it becomes a parody of itself near the end. That aside, you're in for some under the skin scares and some gruesome splatter gore!

***1/2 out of *****

"Sick Girl" is a 60 minute episode of the Showtime series "Masters of Horror" and like "May" was also directed by Lucky Mckee. "Sick Girl" is a bizarrely funny romantic comedy surrounded by bugs and small doses of horror that make it really fun.

Starring Angela Bettis, as Ida Teeter, an entomologist who is looking for a woman who's not disgusted by her obsession with the creepy crawly things she keeps all over her apartment. As a character Ida seems to have been transported from the 1940s. She has the period hairdo and talks in a sort of way that is hard to describe. Erin Brown AKA Misty Mundae plays Ida's love interest Misty Falls, yeah sounds kind of confusing. Misty spends her time drawing fairies and pixies in the lobby of where Ida works. Ida works up the courage to ask Misty out and their whirlwind romance begins.

The episode opens with a guy capturing a big exotic bug and mailing it to Ida, who is excited about the mysterious and very aggressive specimen. This bug eventually does escape and makes a home for itself inside Ida's pillow. Talk about your bedbugs. Misty is bitten by the nasty thing that starts a gradual transformation in her. The whole episode is B-movie-ish and campy but is also fun and horrific. Like in "May" Ida is a lonely soul who surrounds her self with surrogate friends in the bugs. She is anxious and nervous of what people think of her, afraid of rejection. She finally finds a kindred spirit in Misty, who accept her for who she is, but Ida's bug obsession comes back to literally and fugitively bite her back.

Their relationship is put to the test as the bug starts to take over Misty and culminates in a pretty insane ending. Ida and Misty do end up together but under some pretty strange circumstances. "Sick Girl" is available as a stand alone DVD packed with special features and is pretty cheap.

Sick Girl is the tenth episode of Masters of Horror and is directed by Lucky McKee (a director I have zero familiarity with) and written by Sean Hood. This is one of the most bizarre stories the series has told this far. It follows Ida Teeter (Angela Bettis) who studies bugs. She struggles to maintain a relationship due to her strange fascination with bugs, and one day gets a big praying mantis looking bug that- Oh My God, I feel like I'm going insane even describing it.

And, I'm not going to lie. I kind of love the first half of this short. It's not scary at all, but it is ridiculously funny to me. Angela Bettis is giving this bizarrely mannered performance that is just so weird and charming, and Ida is a very endearing character. The first scene we see her in, she's talking about how her girlfriend dumped her because she's too obsessed with bugs. Like...WHAT? The acting is not very good per se, but it is very "Masters of Horror" I have noticed that with rare exception, the performances in these films have been very over the top, and you either accept it as the style or you don't. Jesse Hlubik as Max Grubb has really charming chemistry with Bettis, and their scenes do have this super likable energy. Same thing with Erin Brown as Misty, the romance is rushed, but I buy it cause it's just so sweet and bizarre. There's a romantic montage of them eating bugs together, how can I not just giggle.

My favorite performance is Chandra Berg as Betty or "The Ladybug" because she's really not good (she's a little kid), but damn is she committed to whatever it is she's doing. She also reminds me of what I was like as a kid, so I'm partial.

This reminded me a lot of the movie "Idle Hands" because it doesn't really work as a horror movie, because of how broad everything is played, but it is pretty charming. It's not without its faults though, there's this annoying mid 2000s, MTV music video filter over the Bug POV shots that are really irritating to my eyes, and with the tone it's going for, there's a rate of diminishing returns. Sometimes the intentional hokeyness can lose its charm.

And the overall problem I'm noticing with this series is that the show is called "Masters of Horror", but more than half of these films have fallen into broad comedy and satire. I'm a fan of horror comedy, too, but it takes a deft hand to execute it really well. This isn't quite Eli Roth levels of annoying, but it gets there. Especially when close to the end, we get this super dramatic turn with the landlady and it's like, where did this come from? It's also slow as hell, we hit the halfway point and so little has actually happened that I found myself skipping ahead a few seconds just to feel something. That's not a good sign.

So, on the whole, I did enjoy just how weird this film was, but it kind of falls just short of the mark of being great.

Being a fan of the "Masters Of Horror" series, I was quite curious to see this 10th episode of the first season, Lucky Mc Kee's "Sick Girl" starring Angela Bettis, the star of McKee's 2002 film "May". "Sick Girl" is not quite a typical MoH episode, as it could best be described as a very black comedy with a fair amount of creepiness and a twisted sense of humor.

Ida Teeter (Angela Bettis), a lesbian etymologist, is a shy person who is desperately looking for a companion as her romances usually end quickly due to her obsession with her beloved insects. Shortly after she is sent a mysterious Brazilian bug by mail, Ida's luck changes, when she meets Misty (Erin Brown), a peculiar but lovable and beautiful young woman...

"Sick Girl" is quite different to any of the other MoH episodes I've seen (nearly all). This is a quite unique and bizarre little black comedy with a weird sense of humor and two great leading performances. Angela Bettis is excellent as Ida, and so is Erin Brown (aka. Misty Mundae, star of a vast number of softcore erotica and B-movie horror flicks). These two ladies fit perfectly in their roles and make this black horror comedy very lovable in many aspects. "Sick Girl" is generally highly entertaining, my only regret is that this clever episode lacks the suspense of may of the other episodes. This is highly amusing and, due to the two young ladies in the lead even heart-warming at times, and there is no doubt that it has a lot of wit and originality, but I personally missed the Horror.

Over all, however, this may not be one of the episodes that are going to give you the creeps, but it is nevertheless highly entertaining, witty, greatly acted and quite original. MoH fans should not miss this one. Recommended!