Sick

Grade: B

When it came to teen characters, particularly ones who have found themselves in a horror movie situation, Kevin Williamson had that market cornered in the 1990s. He created Dawson’s Creek, and for the big screen, wrote Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scream 2, The Faculty, and Teaching Mrs. Tingle. It was his name that drew me to Sick, a recently dropped Peacock Original. He co-wrote the script, along with Katelyn Crabb, who served as his assistant for Scream (2022). With Sick, Williamson shows us he’s still got it. Just a spoonful of slasher helps the teenager go down, in a most delightful way.

Movies set in the COVID era have been trickling out. Edward Norton’s character seemed to have a magic throat spray for it in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, we had Katie Holmes’s rom-com Alone Together, and now we have a good old fashioned horror comedy with Sick, set in April 2020. There is a pre-title opening scene that reminded me of the way the Scream films began. A young man looking for toilet paper in the grocery store receives a series of texts from an unknown number. I loved the sequence, and the way the anonymous taunting builds up dread. One thing leads to another, and we don’t see this young man again, if you get me.

We are then introduced to our real leading characters: Parker and Miri, friends and classmates. Schools shut down as shelter-in-place orders go into effect, so these two ladies road trip over to Parker’s dad’s lake house to quarantine together. It’s a huge, cavernous house. Lots of hallways and unused bedrooms and closets and terraces. The lake in the back is lovely and picturesque during the day, while the canoe by the dock bobs ominously at night. It’s secluded. The nearest neighbor is two miles away. Perfect for unwanted visitors to drop in.

I will reveal that there are killers (plural) involved. Their motives, which lead to their actions, seem hypocritical upon scrutiny, but that’s just part of the Williamson fun. He’s always had a way of sprinkling self-aware comedy into his slasher thrillers. And these people are persistent and resilient. They just keep on coming. It must be difficult to do all that running in those heavy dark clothes after some impromptu swimming. And their coordination abilities with each other are impeccable. The small cast does well, especially Gideon Adlon as Parker. I hope we continue to see her.

For all its conventions, and perhaps BECAUSE of them, I liked Sick. It’s easy to digest with a lean hour and 22 minute running time. It’s an amusing satire/commentary on the strong opinions we had during that hopefully once-in-a-lifetime period. It has enough of the Williamson wit, particularly in the slasher genre. And the killers at least have the decency to wear a mask.

Grade: B