John Hyams delivers a timely message that our actions during the pandemic were sometimes necessary and bizarre while crafting a nerve-wrecking and hilariously great horror ride.
**Screened as part of the 58th annual Chicago International Film Festival**
I was able to catch Sick at the opening night festivities at the amazing Music Box Theatre. If you’re an avid horror fan and you’re visiting Chicago in October, you simply have to catch a horror film screened by the festival programmer Raul or one of the many films screened all month by the rabid horror fans at Music Box.
Pandemic Premise
The premise to Sick is fairly simple: two friends go off on for a weekend trip and are hunted by an unexpected stranger. The complications come from the time period: the lockdown during the pandemic has just initiated and they are attempting to isolate from the world, not realizing they are also bringing some unknown baggage with them, either through the aforementioned stranger or secrets.
In a short period of time, Hyams can portray a wide range of reactions to the way the pandemic was handled without casting judgment on those different decisions. One character is absolutely devoted to wearing their mask nearly the entire movie, another is clearly the most carefree of the entire bunch, and the spacing they keep between one another varies in importance the entire film (or goes out the window once the action kicks up). It would have been too easy to simply pick one side and cast the other as the “villain”; by offering this multitude of expressions and concerns, Hyams allows audience members to identify how they want and have a moment to laugh at the absurdity of certain things.
Hyams, with cinematographer Yaron Levy show an incredible amount of restraint in the use of jump scares. Sure, there’s definitely a few, but most of the action stays in frame or invites you to pour over the shadows to find the killer. When they finally emerge after you’ve let your guard down or assumed there’s no way they can be in the shot, the crowd inevitably loses their minds as we all tense up or shriek in excitement. While the film is available online, if you can find a screening near you or watch with your friends, I highly recommend it since this will make the experience that more enjoyable.
I also found myself comparing this film to Scream for a few reasons: the chases had a similar feel, which is amped up by their speed and parkour-like skills around the house, or the way that they try to taunt them early on with phone calls or texts inviting them out, like the way Ghostface killer did in the first Scream film. Also, the humor in this film, while not derived from a critique of the horror genre tropes, has a familiar energy due to the pandemic critiques.
Conclusion
Hyams brings out a solid balance of humor and nerve-wrecking energy to this film, making solid points about the state of the world during the pandemic, while offering us an avenue to laugh at ourselves, and be absolutely frightened while doing so.
Score: 9 out of 10
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