“This Isn’t a Vacation; It’s a Quarantine.” “A Quarantine in Style.”
Being the Scream fan I am, I was immediately interested when I heard about Sick, a slasher from writer Kevin Williamson that takes place during the early days of the pandemic. Since it was a Peacock exclusive movie (at least originally), I couldn’t watch it until I got a good deal on the streamer, but I’m glad I finally got to watch it since I enjoyed it.
It’s April 2020, and the stay-at-home orders have just been in effect for a couple of weeks. College student Parker Mason (Gideon Adlon) has decided on the best place to quarantine, her family’s lakeside cabin. There are no neighbors, and the family hardly ever uses it. She goes with her best friend, Miri Woodlow (Beth Million).
Really, cabin hardly describes this place. It’s a nice, multiple bedroom place, and the two should be able to stay safe until the pandemic dies down.
Or so they think.
They’ve been there only a few hours when they realize they aren’t alone and they are in danger. Suddenly, being alone in the middle of nowhere doesn’t seem like such a good idea. Can they survive long enough to find help
As I said earlier, this is a slasher. It’s an R rated movie filled with violence and foul language. If that kind of thing isn’t for you, then don’t let anything else I say make you curious.
However, if you enjoy the genre, you’ll enjoy this timely take on it. I keep saying I’m not ready for much set during the pandemic, but then I find things like this that change my mind. I might not want a steady diet of it, but this did capture the feeling of those early days fairly well.
Of course, that was also the downfall. If this is set in April, there are a few things that weren’t quite right. It’s not that long ago, we can remember. In fact, a big one comes into play in the climax.
As with Scream, which Kevin Williamson also wrote, the movie features a human villain with a motive. I appreciate how it was set up over the course of the film. When we find out what is going on, all those pieces make sense. I did feel like the killer overreacted in their motive, but if they didn’t, we would not have had this movie, so I’ll let it slide.
Like many of the classics of the genre, we get a few hints of foreboding, but not much happens until the second half. Once it does, hold on. It’s basically one long chase from that point forward with some fantastic suspense scenes. Even if you know what is coming, you still appreciate how they build up to it. Or at least I did. Given the setting, there isn’t a huge body count, but that hardly matters with the suspense and twists we get.
There are a few funny lines and scenes, but most of them were in the trailer. Don’t let that stop you because this really is a fantastic slasher.
If you are a fan of slashers, you’ll appreciate the timeliness of Sick. It may not be a classic of the genre, but it will be a hidden gem.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for stopping by. In order to combat spam, I moderate most comments. I'll get to your comment as soon as I can.