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What do Eminem’s “Without Me,” Lady Gaga’s “LoveGame” and Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” have in common? They all have music videos directed by Joseph Kahn, who, after a seven-year hiatus, returns to cinemas with his new creature-feature comedy “Ick,” in theaters now.

Kahn updates his Y2K swagger for a 2025 audience in his narrative comeback, which acts as a VFX-fueled meditation on nostalgia, disaster films and Gen Z’s cultural dominance. Starring Brandon Routh, Malina Pauli Weissman, Mena Suvari, Harrison Cone and Taia Sophia, “Ick” follows Hank, a high school it-boy turned high school janitor. As Hank and Eastbrook’s graduating class are consumed by visions of an unfulfilling tomorrow, they largely (and hilariously) ignore an invasive alien entity known as the Ick, which threatens to destroy their futures altogether.

Days before the wide release of “Ick” on July 27, Kahn sat down with Variety to discuss his return to feature filmmaking,...

Brandon Routh is dodging a whole lot of Ick in our exclusive new clip from director Joseph Kahn’s pop punk creature feature.

Fathom Entertainment brings Ick to select theatres in New York and Los Angeles for a one-week theatrical run starting Thursday, July 24, before expanding to theaters nationwide July 27-29.

In the film, “For almost two decades, a viscous vine-like growth known colloquially as ‘The Ick’ has benignly crept into every nook and cranny of American life while the residents of small town Eastbrook remain blasé about its existence. The exceptions are former high school football star-turned-hapless science teacher Hank (Routh) and his sardonically perceptive student Grace (Weissman), who are thrown together by Grace’s mom Staci’s (Suvari) closely-guarded secret and a mutual suspicion that the Ick is about to unleash some monstrous mayhem.

Watch the new clip below, which sees Routh’s Hank, a former high school...

Detention director Joseph Kahn makes his horror-comedy return with pulpy creature feature Ick, and Fathom Entertainment has dated the film for theatrical release this summer.

Fathom will screen Ick in select theatres in New York and Los Angeles for a one-week theatrical run starting Thursday, July 24, before expanding to theaters nationwide July 27-29.

Watch the new trailer below for an idea of the creature feature madness ahead as well as an earworm soundtrack featuring All American Rejects, Paramore, and Blink 182.

Brandon Routh, Malina Weissman (Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events), and Mena Suvari star.

In the film, “For almost two decades, a viscous vine-like growth known colloquially as ‘The Ick’ has benignly crept into every nook and cranny of American life while the residents of small town Eastbrook remain blasé about its existence. The exceptions are former high school football star-turned-hapless science teacher Hank (Routh) and his sardonically perceptive...

Normally when someone says they've got the "ick" it means something negative. Today, Collider having the "ick" is anything but as it unveils an exclusive look at the trailer for Joseph Kahn's Ick, a horror comedy releasing nationwide by Fathom Entertainment on July 27-29. The film stars Brandon Routh, Malina Weissman (Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events), andMena Suvari. In Ick, a vine-like growth known as “The Ick” has crept into the lives of those who call Eastbrook home. That is, until a mutual suspicion held by science teacher Hank (Routh) and student Grace (Weissman) that the Ick is far from the harmless entity that people have been ignoring for two decades. Other cast includes Harrison Cone, Debra Wilson, Taia Sophia, Zeke Jones, and Jeffrey Fahey.

No One Got "The Ick" When Signing Onto Joseph Kahn's 'Ick'

Ick premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. At TIFF,...

Stars: Brandon Routh, Malina Weissman, Harrison Cone, Debra Wilson, Diya Rao, Taia Sophia, Zeke Donovan Jones, Jeff Fahey, Mena Suvari, Peter Wong | Written by Joseph Kahn, Dan Koontz, Samuel Laskey | Directed by Joseph Kahn

Former Superman Brandon Routh stars in this smalltown horror flick from director Joseph Kahn that fondly recalls genre classics such as The Blob (1958) and The Stuff (1985). Directed by Joseph Kahn (Detention), who co-wrote the screenplay with Dan Koontz and Samuel Laskey, Ick is an enjoyably gloopy, blackly comic alien invasion thriller, anchored by a likeable lead performance from Routh.

Set in the small town of Eastbrook, Ick begins in the year 2000, where high school football star Hank Wallace (Routh) has his promising career cut short when he trips over a black plant-like substance on the field, injuring his leg. To make matters worse, his girlfriend Staci (Mena Suvari) breaks up with him soon afterwards and takes...

Hulu's Tell Me Lies follows a toxic relationship between Lucy Albright (Grace Van Patten) and Stephen DeMarco (Jackson White), and the secrets that come with it over the course of eight years. The show offers a dramatic look at the lasting impacts of adolescent relationships, and the importance of the friendships made along the way. The dramatic unraveling of the characters' lives in Tell Me Lies is executive-produced by Meaghan Oppenheimer and co-produced by Emma Roberts. Hulu's series is based upon the novel of the same name by Carola Lovering.

Tell Me Lies boasts a number of familiar faces, including Jackson White of The Middle and Grace Van Patten of Nine Perfect Strangers. Season 2 of Tell Me Lies additionally includes Thomas Doherty, who first made a name for himself in Disney's Descendants and HBO's Gossip Girl reboot. The natural chemistry between the actors coupled with the dramatic storytelling found...

Joseph Kahn's new film Ick had its midnight premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday, October 7, opening to a crowd of enthusiastic moviegoers. Brandon Routh stars as Hank, a high school science teacher whose football aspirations are ripped away following an ick-induced injury on the field. While most of the population appears unbothered by the disturbing anomaly consuming their town, Hank, and his student, Grace (Malina Weissman), worry about the ick's evolution.

The two find themselves unexpectedly bonding when the creatures rise up and pose the threat they always feared. While it has a few jump scares, Ick's comedic element is its strongest, poking fun at tropes and flipping mass panic on its head. Kahn shares that he wanted to create something for viewers who watch movies in their classic form by walking into a theater with no expectations. In addition to Routh, Malina Weissman, Mena Suvari,...

What if a bizarre sci-fi entity encroached into every nook and cranny of your town, and no one cared? Director Joseph Kahn's Ick, which premiered at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, riffs on sci-fi horror classics like The Blob and delivers us a satirical horror comedy that taps into the idea of becoming numb to living in a state of perpetual emergency. As the "Ick," a strange vine-like growth, invades a town, only science teacher Hank Wallace (Brandon Routh) and his student Grace (Malina Weissman) seem to be concerned. When their suspicions are bloodily confirmed, havoc and biting satire ensues. They are also joined by Harrison Cone, Taia Sophia, Zeke Donovan Jones, Debra Wilson, Mena Suvari and Jeff Fahey.

Brandon Routh and Mena Suvari hit the red carpet for the world premiere of their new movie Ick during the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival at Royal Alexandra Theatre on Saturday (September 7).

Other cast and crew at the big event included Zeke Jones, director Joseph Kahn, Malina Weissman, Harrison Cone, Taia Sophia, Jennifer Rade, Debra Wilson, and Jeff Fahey. More pictures in the gallery!

Ick Synopsis: Science teacher Hank’s life (Routh) changes when he reconnects with his first love Staci (Suvari) and suspects a new student is his daughter, all while facing an alien threat in their town.

Brandon and Mena recently joined the cast of another film together, a suspenseful romance called Fate The Movie. Synopsis: It takes a minute to find a special person and an entire lifetime to forget them. While healing at a rehabilitation center after a rescue mission gone wrong, a firefighter Sam Ellis (Routh) connects with Tilly,...

AGC International has acquired international sales on upcoming Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Midnight Madness world premiere Ick.

Joseph Kahn’s sci-fi creature feature stars Mena Suvari and Brandon Routh in the tale of a washed-up jock turned high school science teacher who teams up with a class of rebellious teens to overcome an invasive infectious substance.

The cast includes Malina Weissman, Harrison Cone, Taia Sophia, Zeke Donovan Jones, and Debra Wilson with Jeff Fahey. Ick premieres on September 7.

Kahn directed from an original screenplay he co-wrote with Samuel Laskey and Dan Koontz. He won the 2017 TIFF People’s Choice Award: Midnight Madness for Bodied.