Sick (2023)

Score: 4 / 5

Who knew Peacock would suddenly start making original slasher movies? Not me, though between They/Them and now Sick, it's a fabulous place to be. Timely in thematic content and disturbing in execution, these two films should have been released in cinemas both because of the important stories they tell and because of the important artists involved who make these films so special. This latest one was written by none other than Kevin Williamson, who here isn't working at the top of his game but nevertheless proves his willingness to dive into current events with aplomb and a gleeful nastiness.

It opens with onscreen text, cruelly reminding us of April 2020, a month we'd surely all like to forget as lockdown measurements were being implemented and already stretching longer than initial estimates. We're brought back to that setting immediately, as we are introduced to college kid Tyler as he picks up groceries in a mostly wiped-out store, everyone wearing masks and standing "safe" distances apart. Tyler doesn't like wearing his mask, but he thankfully does, and the world already seems descending into chaos; someone sneezes in line and everyone turns to look suspiciously at her, and a man verbally accosts Tyler for removing his mask while outside. While navigating all this, Tyler's phone starts blowing up from an unknown texter, who toys with him and seems to be stalking him. The opening sequence is delicious, both in placing us firmly in the setting -- which changes swiftly from the fluorescent scarcity of the store to the warm interior of Tyler's surprisingly spacious apartment -- and in its slow turning of the screws, ratcheting up the tension not unlike in the opening sequence of the first Scream. Before too long, Tyler is attacked by a balaclava-wearing intruder with a large knife, who indeed kills him in spectacular bloody fashion. It's not original material, but director John Hyams and his team (including cinematographer Yaron Levy and editor Andrew Drazek) have it polished to an extraordinarily beautiful product. Their collective use of suspenseful long takes, disorienting cuts in action, and tight close-ups make this film stand out from what has become usual slasher shlock. 

Then we see the title card, and the main story gets going. Two young college women are leaving campus to quarantine together at a secluded lake house. Mansion, rather, as Parker (Gideon Adlon) clearly comes from fabulous wealth, and her best friend Miri (Beth Million) is only too happy to join, despite a few barbs about health and safety and, of course, a few sociopolitical comments. Parker is a bit entitled, and views quarantine as a vacation; Miri takes it much more seriously, though she doesn't seem too put out to enjoy the simple relaxing pleasures of sun tanning, romantic fires, and even getting high after the sun sets. That night Parker's oblivious partner DJ (Dylan Sprayberry) shows up without warning after Parker has been receiving anonymous and vaguely threatening texts.

Finally the mayhem starts when a masked (ha ha) figure enters the house. It's all less home-invasion horror than it is pyscho-killer horror, especially when we learn there is a second masked killer. Saying "killer" implies a high body count, and that's not really the case here so much as singularly brutal murderous intent on full display. These killers are not unlike Ghostface in their body-slamming berserker-style stunts as they run full-force into furniture and people in their quest to kill. Sure, the film has a few logistical plot holes, but you don't go to slashers expecting a lack of contrivance. Hyams and his team prove themselves capable, beyond the prestige of Williamson's name and his (in the wrong hands) somewhat dubious material here, of crafting a dynamic, thrilling, and surprisingly sleek scary movie with its share of earned laughs. The viewing experience of Sick is relentless and absorbing, the kind of movie that really does put you on edge if you tune into its offbeat frequency. By its finale, I found it emotionally challenging and deviously clever, even if its contrivances aren't quite finished yet.