Sick Girl

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!

Much like Landis' Deer Woman, Lucky McKee goes for laughs over straight horror. Sick Girls stars Angela Bettis as Ida Teeter, a shy, lesbian entomologist. She doesn't do so well relationship wise as her apartment filled with bugs is quite off-putting. That is, until she meets Misty Falls (Erin Brown) her new lover who doesn't get creeped out by the bugs. Unfortunately she gets bitten by a bug sent to Ida, a very mysterious bug that changes people's personalities for the worst.

McKee is actually a lot like John Landis, mixing gory horror with hilarious comedy. This works on a lot of levels, the acting is great (I love Bettis, she is an excellent actress), the humour is actually funny, the gore sickening and the monsters big and ugly. This episode is highly recommended.

4/5.

I was actually very surprised upon initially hearing that Lucky McKee had been given a spot to make an episode for the Masters of Horror. I had seen May a long time ago and remembered not being very impressed with it (though a recent viewing of it made me appreciate it more) and wasn't expecting somebody with so little accomplished in the horror genre to have an episode so soon in the show. And in all honesty I wasn't really impressed with the trailer for it either but of course I had every intention to watch every episode no matter how much I thought it would be lacking.

Boy was my initial judgment wrong. Lucky McKee's Sick Girl is by far one of the most entertaining and memorable episodes to the first season. I would have to say that it easily makes my top 3 favorite episodes of the first batch. It is in every way a drama and comedy as it is a horror film. What Lucky does best in this episode is not only tell a horrific story about a bug monster terrorizing an apartment complex, but he surrounds it with a unique love story centralizing on a very fascinating main character. Angela Bettis is perfectly cast (yet again, see May) as the lonely, detached scientist looking for love. Her little gestures and personality traits are just as interesting to watch as the great scares at the end. And once the conclusion mounts its an emotional ride as its hard not to feel deep compassion and concern for the central characters.

And as unconventional and bizarre as the ending may seem its perfectly fitting and in many ways sort of happy. I loved Sick Girl and hope Lucky is invited back to do another episode. Initial criticism's aside, my first thoughts prior to viewing this film were pleasantly proved wrong. Bravo McKee.

This is the tale of two rather off color people finding each other and staying together under very unusual and perverse conditions. I wouldn't label this as strictly a horror short...it borders more on black comedy and quietly pays tribute to the B-movies before it's time. The main thing it has going for it is that the two main characters (played by the fabulous Angela Bettis Misty Mundae) are extremely endearing and fun to watch go through the twisted hand fate dealt them. This is a very intimate, often hilarious and soulful film with a few solid creepy segments and an absurd storyline. Bottom line, it's enjoyable, quirky as hell and definitely worth watching.

Lucky McKee's "Masters of Horror" offering is a splendidly dark comic tale about an eccentric and frustrated lesbian, played brilliantly by Angela Bettis, who falls for a younger, shy, artistic girl (genre favourite Erin Brown, aka Misty Mundae).

Bettis' character is fascinated with all things creepy crawly. Her rented apartment is an insect paradise, containing all manner of bugs. This bug theme is played out to the extreme in "Sick Girl" with humorous and dramatic results.

Like all the "Masters of Horror" series, this episode has great production values and delivers far more than you'd expect from an hour of television.

Highly recommended.