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- How Does Sick End?
- What Is The Plot Of Sick?
- What Did Critics Say About Sick?
The horror movie Sick has strong performances and tells a relatable story about the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sick is also a great example of a modern slasher movie and has a smart twist at the end. Starring Gideon Adlon, who also appeared in the 2018 comedy Blockers and the 2020 remake The Craft: Legacy, Sick asks what would have happened if two friends were stalked by a killer while quarantining in a lakeside home.
Just like other Kevin Williamson horror movies, Sick has as many emotional and humorous moments as scary ones. Sick reminds audiences of those tough days in the spring of 2020 and also offers a fresh take on the slasher.
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How Does Sick End?
The ending of Sick includes an intelligent scene that is up there with some of the best movie plot twists. Sick is about best friends Miri Woodlow (Beth Millon) and Parker Mason (Gideon Adlon) who decide to spend April 2020 at Parker’s lake house. The movie immediately makes it clear that while Miri takes the COVID-19 pandemic seriously and is worried about what will happen, Parker has a wilder, more reckless personality and doesn’t seem as concerned. Shortly after they arrive at the house, a masked killer begins stalking and trying to kill them.
Parker manages to escape from the house and after running into the road, she sees a car pull up. While she assumes that she can trust the driver, they turn out to be working with the killer who she has just run away from. Parker puts on a mask that has chloroform on it, passes out, and wakes up in the house.
While there are some forgettable killers in slasher movies, the killers in Sick don’t fall into that category. Parker realizes that Benji’s (Logan Murphy) parents Pamela (Jane Adams) and Jason (Marc Menchaca) are the killers who have been going after her and her friend. They blame her for Benji’s death since he passed away after contracting COVID-19. Since there are photos on social media of Benji and Parker kissing, it’s clear that she passed the virus onto him. This scene is not only well-written and well-acted but also includes a second major reveal: Parker got COVID from Tyler, who Jason and Pamela murdered in the movie’s opening scene.
Miri and Parker prove themselves to be intelligent horror movie final girls and kill Benji’s parents. In the final scene, they are outside of the lake house as the police approach. It’s clear that they will have to share their story and explain what has just happened, but for now, they are stunned into silence by the fact that they have survived a terrifying ordeal.
Before this memorable moment, Miri grabs a bottle and hurts Pamela. Pamela survives Parker throwing her out one of the home’s windows and tries to hurt Parker, who is holding gasoline and hoping to escape in a car that is on the property. Parker throws gasoline on Pamela and Miri lights her on fire, which kills her. Miri and Parker also kill Jason by tossing him over the stairs so he ends up on deer antlers.
What Is The Plot Of Sick?
Sick includes plenty of fast-paced action while delving into the close friendship between the two main characters, who are both strong-willed and confident characters. Parker and Miri are also visited by DJ Cole (Dylan Sprayberry), whom Parker has been in an on-again, off-again relationship with. As the killers get even closer to them, the three fight for their survival and prove themselves to be smart horror movie characters.
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Writers And Director |
Writers: Kevin Williamson and Katelyn Crabb Director: John Hyams |
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Cast |
Dylan Sprayberry, Beth Million, Gideon Adlon |
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Release Date |
January 13 2023 |
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RT Critic Score |
87% |
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RT Audience Score |
74% |
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Metacritic Score |
62 |
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Where To Watch |
Peacock |
Sick also has a memorable opening scene that feels familiar to fans of the beloved Scream movies, which makes sense since Kevin Williamson wrote Scream, Scream 2, and Scream 4 and has been involved with the franchise behind the scenes. Scream is one of the most important horror franchises and Sick feels just as intelligent. In the first scene, which feels familiar as it weaves in many elements of the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tyler (Joel Courtney) stocks up on supplies at a store while wearing a mask and trying to keep his distance from others. He gets a few creepy text messages from the killer, goes home, and is murdered in his apartment.
Sick was released on Peacock, not in the theater, but the action still feels memorable and exciting. In an interview with Moviemaker Magazine, Kevin Williamson shared his thoughts on Blumhouse’s decision not to put the movie in theaters:
“But it’s a small movie, and it feels like a very intimate, small film, there’s not a big cast. It’s not a big spectacle. It’s a very insular chase sequence. The movie’s one big chase scene between a killer and these two young women.”
What Did Critics Say About Sick?
Several critics wrote mostly positive reviews of the horror movie Sick. Simon Abrams of Rogerebert.com gave the movie three stars and called it “thrilling” and also praised the direction by John Hyams. Adrian Horton of The Guardian also gave the film three stars, calling it “brisk” and “well-structured.” Not every review was positive, however. David Fear wrote for Rolling Stone that the movie is an “otherwise stock take on the ol’ teens-and-terror-at-a-lake-house chestnut.”
It’s possible to argue that the fact that this Kevin Williamson horror movie is called Sick is another reason why the movie was well-received. It’s a smart title that just works. Similarly, Kevin Williamson’s underrated TV series Stalker has a one-word title that feels perfect.
In an interview with Syfy.com, Williamson explained that TV producer Bryan Fuller came up with the name of the movie:
“I asked, ‘What should I name the movie?’ And he went, ‘SICK.’ I went, ‘What?!’ He goes, ‘SICK.’ He didn’t even think twice … I took that back to the studio and they went, ‘No, we can’t name the movie SICK.’ And then I told [director] John Hyams and John goes, ‘I like that title.’ And so, we finally got our way because none of the other titles worked as well. Bryan Fuller named the movie, I have to give credit to him.”
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