Sick

This took me by surprise. I'm sure that there have been others, but this is the first film that I've seen that is wrapped around the Covid pandemic. It's really nothing more than a slasher movie reminiscent of the Scream series, which I don't particularly care for, but it's very efficient, very tense and for what it is, it's the real deal with an unusual motive for various bloodlettings, though not as many as usual for this kind of thing which works well. Some of the things here were predictable, but it's never too stupid which surprised me. The opening is very strong with Joel Courtney who I remember from the very good Super 8 from a few years back. The entire cast does okay, but a special mention of Jane Adams is needed and she is having great fun in this role.

Parker and her best friend take off to her family's secluded second home to quarantine during the rise of the COVID 19 pandemic, but a stalker has followed them there, and a Nightmare scenario begins.

The trailer really interested me, I'm intrigued by people's views and actions in regards to the pandemic, and I love a good slasher movie, the result was a competent and quite exciting mix.

Really interesting to consider who's side you're on, I won't give Nothing away, but by the end, you may well question if you're on Parker's side of not.

It's not heavy on the politics, they don't push a narrative either way, Covid plays a part, but it's just the backdrop for the situation.

Competently acted and visually pretty good, there are definitely a few thrills and spills along the way, it certainly opens with an audience grabbing scene.

This was pretty good.

7/10.

This movie is low key brilliant. Saw this to "celebrate" Friday the 13th.

First of all, the title itself. Once you watch, you'll know what I mean. Secondly, it's the perfect time for this to release.

Given what happened with the pandemic and all, it was a genius movie on their end to make this up. They took advantage of what was going on in society and mixed it in with a Scream like atmosphere. Simple yet brilliant.

Some of the scenes in this were downright hilarious. It's very, very subtle, but if you're paying attention, you will laugh for sure (or at least roll your eyes).

I didn't expect the film to have the twist that it had. You wouldn't expect that at all, kudos yet again for taking advantage of the pandemic.

I would have liked more death scenes, but given how the story played out, wouldn't make much sense to have more. The few death scenes that they had were pretty interesting.

This is a solid watch, I would recommend it.

This gets a LennyReviewz Score of: 7/10.

Movies like this live or die based on the decisions of the protagonists and while the ones in this film make some decent decisions, as the movie progresses they become increasingly dumb. It's a shame because there are some effective thrills and a solid premise here.

It balances the tone of satirizing Covid while also not completely disregarding the pandemic. The Covid stuff does lead to some pretty funny jokes though. It's a bit predictable as you can guess the killer's motives and it loses some momentum near the finale. For a Peacock Original, Sick is a decent jaunt into the world of pandemics and home invasions.

Set during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, college students and friends Parker Mason (Gideon Adlon) and Miri Woodlow (Bethlehem Million) head out to Miri's parents lakeside house to ride out quarantine. The two have the unexpected visit from Parker's boyfriend DJ Cole (Dylan Sprayberry) who came hoping to get some perspective on their relationship only to find Parker has no interest in being exclusive but allows him to stay until morning. However the three soon discover they're not alone as a masked killer begins terrorizing them with their secluded hideaway now isolating them from help.

Sick is the latest film from Scream writer and creator Kevin Williamson and director John Hyams. Williamson's inspiration for Sick came about during the pandemic where noticing the isolation and effects thereof thought it could be put to good use for a horror film. Alongside Williamson, the movie is also the screenwriting debut of co-writer Katelyn Crabb who had worked as an assistant to Williamson on the 2022 Scream. Now debuting on Peacock, I'm happy to say that Sick is a solidly entertaining time with bloody fun and Williamson's trademark sense of humor.

The movie does a good job of setting itself up with an opening kill sequence featuring Joel Courtney's Tyler that establishes the early days of Covid going through a grocery store and despite plenty of people in the store it's a very isolating experience as Tyler walks through the aisles inundating with vaguely sinister text messages on his phone. While there've been plenty of Covid films only a few have really stuck out as legitimately good such as KIMI or Glass Onion while others such as Songbird or The Bubble were not, I'm happy to say that Sick is closer to the level of the former than the latter. Once the movie gets started it doesn't let up and John Hyams does a good job of putting the script to film with some intensely directed attack scenes using a handheld camera and during the lurking scenes Hyams doesn't use ANY orchestral stings or jump scares and instead opts for creeping dread to build fear and tension. In many ways I was reminded of that Mike Flanagan film Hush from a few years ago that much like Sick was a minimalist slasher film in an isolated countryside. I don't think Sick is quite on par with Hush as I wasn't all that hooked with the characters initially and thought the opening with them partying in the house dragged a little bit, but once the action kicked in I did feel like I got to know them a bit more and I was invested in the outcome.

Sick is fun, humorous, and quick slasher entertainment that will be a welcome viewing for fans of the genre. While some of the character setup drags a little bit, at 77 minutes not including credits Hyams and Williamson create an effective and efficient piece of horror entertainment and I hope to see them collaborate on another project together.