Sick (2022 film)

Last updated

Sick
SickFilmPoster.jpg
Official release poster
Directed by John Hyams
Written by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyYaron Levy
Edited byAndrew Drazek
Music by Nima Fakhrara
Production
companies
Distributed by Peacock
Release dates
  • September 11, 2022 (2022-09-11)(TIFF)
  • January 13, 2023 (2023-01-13)(United States)
Running time
83 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$6 million

Sick is a 2022 American slasher film directed by John Hyams and written by Kevin Williamson and Katelyn Crabb. The film stars Gideon Adlon, Beth Million, and Dylan Sprayberry. The film follows a pair of friends quarantined at a lake-house where they are then hunted by a mysterious killer.

Contents

Sick premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2022, and was released on Peacock on January 13, 2023.

Plot

In April 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, college student Tyler Murphy is attacked and killed in his dorm room by a masked assailant, after receiving anonymous text messages.

Best friends Parker Mason and Miri Woodlow decide to quarantine together at Parker's family's secluded lake house, posting about their trip on Instagram. Upon arrival, Parker begins to receive strange text messages from an unknown number, unsettling both girls. Later that evening, an unknown visitor arrives in the driveway, knocks on the door, and enters through the backdoor. They are revealed to be DJ, Parker's fling. Parker reluctantly allows him to stay the night. DJ later confronts Parker about an Instagram post which showed her kissing a boy named Benji at a party; Parker insists she is not interested in a serious relationship.

When DJ walks outside to his truck, a masked figure sneaks into the house. The intruder steals everyone's phones while they are asleep. DJ and Parker awake when loud music plays downstairs. DJ notices an intruder and instructs Parker to exit and wait in his truck. The intruder prepares to attack the sleeping Miri in her bedroom, but DJ subdues the masked intruder, allowing Miri to flee and join Parker. As DJ tries to escape, the intruder overpowers and stabs him multiple times before fatally impaling him with a metal pike. The girls attempt to drive away, but crash into a tree after discovering the tires have been slashed.

Chased by the intruder, Parker and Miri race back to the house. As they escape through the attic window, Miri gets pushed off the roof. The intruder ambushes Parker in the kitchen, but she gains the upper hand and repeatedly bludgeons his head. A second masked perpetrator arrives, distraught to find his accomplice presumably dead. Outside, Parker finds Miri alive with a shattered leg, telling her to play dead. The second intruder almost discovers Miri's act before Parker distracts them towards the lake. After crossing it, she enters the neighbor's house and pleads for assistance. The intruder enters, slitting the man's throat and continuing his rampant pursuit. Meanwhile, Miri makes her way back into the house and crafts a splint for her leg. The first intruder regains consciousness and attacks Miri, who slashes his throat, killing him.

Parker makes it to the highway and incapacitates the second intruder as a car approaches. Despite begging the woman inside for help, she refuses, insisting she cannot enter without a mask. The driver offers Parker a spare mask, which turns out to be laced with chloroform, knocking her out. The driver and the intruder take Parker back to the lake house and conduct a COVID-19 test on her. Both are revealed to be a husband and wife named Jason and Pamela, while the dead intruder is their elder son. They reveal that Benji, the boy Parker was seen kissing on Instagram, is their younger son who has since died of COVID-19. The previous COVID-19 test returns positive and the couple blame Parker for infecting Benji at the party, wishing to avenge him by killing her. They also confess to the murder of Tyler Murphy, as he was the one who infected Parker.

Miri attempts to contact the police via a laptop, but Jason notices the active Wi-Fi and destroys the router. As Jason heads outside to search for Miri, Pamela threatens Parker; Miri sneaks up behind Pamela and strikes her with a liquor bottle, before Parker shoves her through a window. Jason returns and walks up the stairs to search for the girls, who throw him over the banister onto a pair of deer antlers, killing him. Parker and Miri escape to a nearby barn, where they find a utility task vehicle. While retrieving gasoline, Parker is attacked by a still-alive Pamela. In the ensuing altercation, Pamela gets doused in gasoline, and Miri sets her on fire. Pamela runs outside engulfed in flames, eventually collapsing on the road. The police arrive as the two friends watch Pamela burn to death.

Cast

Production

In May 2021, it was announced that Miramax greenlit the film with Kevin Williamson and Katelyn Crabb attached to write, along with John Hyams to direct, and Gideon Adlon to star. [1] Principal photography was completed in mid-2021 in and around Weber County, Utah. [2]

Release

Sick premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2022. [3] The film was released on Peacock on January 13, 2023. [4]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 87% of 62 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7/10.The website's consensus reads: "Smart, self-aware, and all too timely, this slasher co-written by Kevin Williamson is Sick in all the best ways." [5] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 62 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [6]

Simon Abrams of RogerEbert.com gave the film 3/4 stars, calling it "an exceptional new slasher pic" and writing, "Sick is exactly what it looks like, and a lot of mean-spirited fun at that." [7] The Guardian's Adrian Horton gave it 3/5 stars, calling it "competent mid-level horror whose Covid container is tight enough to make the film's 2020-ness feel fitting rather than dated." [8] Peter Debruge of Variety said the film "not only factors in our still-evolving COVID-era rules but also serves as an amusing time capsule for the collective fear that has seized us these past three years." [9] Noel Murray of the Los Angeles Times called it "a slickly formulaic mid-budget horror movie, well-crafted by the screenwriters and directed with style and energy by the skilled John Hyams." [10]

David Fear of Rolling Stone was more critical of the film, writing, "if you're willing to sit through an otherwise stock take on the ol' teens-and-terror-at-a-lake-house chestnut in the name of Covidsploitation curiosity, have at it." [11] TheWrap 's William Bibbiani called the film "a rote morality play with familiar set pieces and decent performances — performances which could have been great if the film had given the characters more, you know, character." [12]

Related Research Articles

<i>Scream</i> (1996 film) American slasher film

Scream is a 1996 American slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. It stars David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Matthew Lillard, Rose McGowan, Skeet Ulrich, and Drew Barrymore. Set in the fictional town of Woodsboro, California, Scream's plot follows high school student Sidney Prescott (Campbell) and her friends, who, on the anniversary of her mother's murder, become the targets of a costumed serial killer known as Ghostface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slasher film</span> Film subgenre that involves a killer murdering people using blades

A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer or a group of killers stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic term for any horror film involving murder, film analysts cite an established set of characteristics which set slasher films apart from other horror subgenres, such as monster movies, splatter films, supernatural and psychological horror films.

<i>Friday the 13th</i> (1980 film) Film by Sean S. Cunningham

Friday the 13th is a 1980 American independent slasher film produced and directed by Sean S. Cunningham, written by Victor Miller, and starring Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, Laurie Bartram, Mark Nelson, Jeannine Taylor, Robbi Morgan, and Kevin Bacon. The plot follows a group of teenage camp counselors who are murdered one by one by an unknown killer while they are attempting to reopen an abandoned summer camp with a tragic past.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Williamson (screenwriter)</span> American screenwriter, director, and producer (born 1965)

Kevin Meade Williamson is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. He is known for developing and writing the screenplay for the slasher film Scream (1996)—which launched the Scream franchise—along with those for Scream 2 (1997) and Scream 4 (2011). He is also known for creating the WB teen drama series Dawson's Creek (1998–2003), the CW supernatural drama series The Vampire Diaries (2009–2017), the Fox crime thriller series The Following (2013–2015) and the CBS All Access thriller series Tell Me a Story (2018–2020).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pamela Adlon</span> American actress (born 1966)

Pamela Fiona Adlon is an American actress, writer, producer, and director. She is known for voicing Bobby Hill in the animated comedy series King of the Hill (1997–2010), for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award. She also voiced Baloo in Jungle Cubs (1996–1998), the title role in the Pajama Sam video game series (1996–2001), Lucky in 101 Dalmatians: The Series (1997–1998), Margaret "Moose" Pearson in Pepper Ann (1997–2000), Ashley Spinelli in Recess (1997–2001), Otto Osworth in Time Squad (2001–2003), and Brigette Murphy in Milo Murphy's Law (2016–2019), among numerous others.

<i>Friday the 13th Part 2</i> 1981 film by Steve Miner

Friday the 13th Part 2 is a 1981 American slasher film produced and directed by Steve Miner in his directorial debut, and written by Ron Kurz. It is the sequel to Friday the 13th (1980), and the second installment in the franchise. Adrienne King, Betsy Palmer, and Walt Gorney reprise their respective roles from the first film as Alice Hardy, Pamela Voorhees, and Crazy Ralph. Amy Steel and John Furey also star. Taking place five years after the first film, Part 2 follows a similar premise, with an unknown stalker killing a group of camp counselors at a training camp near Crystal Lake. The film marks the debut of Jason Voorhees as the series' main antagonist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig Robinson (actor)</span> American actor, comedian, and musician (born 1971)

Craig Phillip Robinson is an American actor, comedian, and musician. The accolades he has received include nominations for five Screen Actors Guild Awards, an Independent Spirit Award, and a Daytime Emmy Award.

Scream is an American murder mystery and slasher franchise that includes six films, a television series, merchandise, and games. The first four films were directed by Wes Craven. The series was created by Kevin Williamson, who wrote the first two films and the fourth, and will return to direct the seventh film. Ehren Kruger wrote the third. The fifth and sixth installments were directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, with Guy Busick and James Vanderbilt serving as writers and Williamson returning as executive producer. Dimension Films produced the first four films. Spyglass Media Group took over the rights from the fifth film on with Paramount Pictures distributing. The film series has grossed over US$910 million at the global box office.

<i>The Strangers</i> (2008 film) 2008 film by Bryan Bertino

The Strangers is a 2008 American psychological horror film written and directed by Bryan Bertino. The film follows a couple whose stay at a vacation home is disrupted by three masked intruders who infiltrate the home one night. It is the first installment in The Strangers film series. The screenplay was inspired by two real-life events: the multiple-homicide Manson family Tate murders and a series of break-ins that occurred in Bertino's neighborhood as a child. Some journalists noted similarities between the film and the Keddie cabin murders that occurred in Keddie, California, in 1981, though Bertino did not cite this as a reference.

<i>Inside</i> (2007 film) 2007 French horror film directed by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo

Inside is a 2007 French horror film directed by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo in their directorial debut, written by Bustillo, and starring Béatrice Dalle and Alysson Paradis. The plot focuses on a mourning widow on the verge of giving birth, when she is attacked in her home by a mysterious intruder on Christmas Eve.

<i>Scream</i> (2022 film) American slasher film

Scream is a 2022 American slasher film directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, and written by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick. It is a sequel to Scream 4 (2011), the fifth installment in the Scream film series, and the first in the series not directed by Wes Craven, who died in 2015 and to whom the film is dedicated. It is also the first film in the franchise not to be produced by Dimension Films due to it becoming defunct in 2019, and the first film to be distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film stars Melissa Barrera, Kyle Gallner, Mason Gooding, Mikey Madison, Dylan Minnette, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, Jasmin Savoy Brown, and Sonia Ammar, with Marley Shelton, Skeet Ulrich, Roger L. Jackson, Heather Matarazzo, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, and Neve Campbell reprising their roles from previous installments. The plot takes place twenty-five years after the original Woodsboro murders from Scream (1996), when yet another Ghostface appears and begins targeting a group of teenagers who are each somehow linked to the original killings.

John Hyams is an American screenwriter, director and cinematographer, best known for his involvement in the Universal Soldier series, for which he has directed two installments. Hyams is the son of director Peter Hyams.

Ginny (<i>Friday the 13th</i>) Fictional character

Ginny Field is a fictional character in the Friday the 13th series. She first appears in Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) as a child psychology student working as a camp counselor assistant trainer, in which she was portrayed by Amy Steel. Writer Ron Kurtz conceptualized the character, while director Steve Miner intended to utilize Ginny to carry further installments as the main protagonist. Ginny has subsequently seen representation in other media such as novels and fan labor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gideon Adlon</span> American actress

Gideon Adlon is an American actress. Her films include Blockers (2018), The Mustang (2019), The Craft: Legacy (2020), and Sick (2022). On television, she is known for her roles in the Netflix series The Society (2019) and the NBC series The Thing About Pam (2022). In 2024 she had a role in the movie Miller's Girl.

<i>The Society</i> (TV series) 2019 American mystery teen drama web television series

The Society is an American mystery teen drama television series created by Christopher Keyser, that was released via streaming on Netflix on May 10, 2019. It stars Kathryn Newton, Gideon Adlon, Sean Berdy, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Jacques Colimon, Olivia DeJonge, Alex Fitzalan, Kristine Froseth, Jose Julian, Alexander MacNicoll, Toby Wallace and Rachel Keller. Although it was initially renewed for a second season, it was ultimately canceled after one season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

<i>Halloween Kills</i> 2021 film by David Gordon Green

Halloween Kills is a 2021 American slasher film directed by David Gordon Green, and co-written by Green, Danny McBride, and Scott Teems. It is the sequel to Halloween (2018) and the twelfth installment in the Halloween franchise. The film stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Thomas Mann, and Anthony Michael Hall. The film begins on the same night where the previous film ended with James Jude Courtney reprising his role as Michael Myers whose presence has become apparent to the residents of Haddonfield.

<i>Halloween Ends</i> 2022 film by David Gordon Green

Halloween Ends is a 2022 American slasher film directed by David Gordon Green, and co-written by Green, Danny McBride, Paul Brad Logan, and Chris Bernier. It is the sequel to Halloween Kills (2021), the thirteenth installment in the Halloween franchise, and the final film in the trilogy of sequels that started with the 2018 film, which directly follows the 1978 film. The film stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Andi Matichak, Rohan Campbell, Will Patton, Kyle Richards, and James Jude Courtney. The plot follows the outcast Corey Cunningham who falls in love with Laurie Strode's granddaughter while a series of events, including crossing paths with Michael Myers, drives him to become a serial killer.

Odessa Zion Segall Adlon, also known as Odessa A'zion, is an American actress. On television, she is known for her roles in the CBS series Fam (2019) and the Netflix series Grand Army (2020). Her films include Hellraiser (2022), The Inhabitant (2022), Sitting in Bars with Cake (2023), and Fresh Kills (2024).

<i>Stream</i> (film) 2024 film by Michael Leavy

Stream is a 2024 American slasher film co-produced, co-written, edited and directed by Michael Leavy, and starring Jeffrey Combs, Charles Edwin Powell, Tim Reid, Dee Wallace, Wesley Holloway, Sydney Malakeh, Jason Leavy, David Howard Thornton, Liana Pirraglia, Mark Haynes, Daniel Roebuck, Mark Holton, Felissa Rose, Danielle Harris, and Tony Todd in one of his final works before he died. It tells the story of a family vacationing at a small hotel as its apparent owner unleashes four masked killers on them while live-streaming the activities.

<i>They/Them</i> (film) 2022 American film by John Logan

They/Them is a 2022 American slasher film written and directed by John Logan, in his feature directorial debut, and produced by Jason Blum through his Blumhouse Productions banner. It stars Theo Germaine, Carrie Preston, Anna Chlumsky, Austin Crute, Quei Tann, Anna Lore, Cooper Koch, Monique Kim, Darwin del Fabro, Hayley Griffith, Boone Platt, Mark Ashworth, and Kevin Bacon, and follows a group of LGBTQ teens and a masked killer at a conversion camp.

References

  1. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 13, 2021). "Kevin Williamson Pandemic Thriller Starring Gideon Adlon In The Works At Miramax". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  2. ↑ Martin, Christina (June 10, 2021). "Seven New Productions Approved to Film in Utah". Utah Film Commission . Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  3. ↑ Fleming, Ryan (September 15, 2022). "'Sick's Kevin Williamson, John Hyams, Gideon Adlon, Bethlehem Million On Subverting The Slasher Genre With "Emotional Horror" – Toronto Studio". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  4. ↑ Grobar, Matt (January 6, 2023). "'Sick' Trailer, First Look: Pandemic-Themed Horror-Thriller Co-Written And Produced For Peacock By 'Scream's Kevin Williamson". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Sick (2022)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Sick Reviews". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  7. ↑ Abrams, Simon (January 13, 2023). "Sick movie review & film summary (2023)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  8. ↑ Horton, Adrian (January 12, 2023). "Sick review – Scream creator's Covid-era slasher is efficiently nasty". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  9. ↑ Debruge, Peter (January 13, 2023). "'Sick' Review: Kevin Williamson Rewrites Slasher Survival Rules for the Pandemic Era". Variety. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  10. ↑ Murray, Noel (January 20, 2023). "Review: COVID-19 gets the horror treatment in "Sick"; "Kids vs. Aliens" is sweetly scruffy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  11. ↑ Fear, David (January 13, 2023). "'Sick': 'Scream' in the Time of Covid". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  12. ↑ Bibbiani, William (January 12, 2023). "Sick Review: Peacock's Pandemic-Set Slasher Movie Can't Hack It". TheWrap. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.