Review: Sick Is A Pulse-Pounding Thriller That Will Have People Talking About That Third Act
SICK (2022)
Kevin Williamson returns with another finally-crafted thriller that benefits from solid acting and expert direction, though suffers from a divisive third act plot turn.
When Parker (Gideon Adlon) and Miri (Bethlehem Million) head to a lake house to escape the early days of a crazed pandemic-ridden world, it turns out they may not exactly be alone. Williamson (Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer) is a writer who understands how to deliver suspense and tension, something Sick is ripe with from beginning to end. The story floors the gas pedal right from the start and never once lets up in a short, yet effective runtime. Adlon and Million are instantly likable with fun demeanors interrupted by the events of the world around them, something that most viewers will empathize with. Seeing them with their masks, sanitizing groceries, keeping a distance… the memories flood back from the onset of COVID-19 and set an uneasy foundation that Williamson then has a lot of fun with script-wise. Once the terror begins, director John Hyams brilliantly choreographs the scares and peppers in a number of heart-pounding chase scenes, maximizing each moment in the best ways possible.
Where Sick goes off the rails is in the “why” of it all, the reveals of the third act that explain what is really going on. While there is a certain cleverness to it that some may enjoy, others may find it all too simple, too insane even for the times that we’ve been living in. While the suspense doesn’t let up (and my favorite line of the year so far is delivered regarding masks), the proverbial air is let out of the tire, the strengths of the film compromised by motives that needed a little more meat. Still, Sick manages to overcome the Peacock curse of poor straight-to-streaming films with a fun outing, well-made outing that will keep you on the edge of your seat and showcase some gnarly kills… it just could have been that much better. At the end of the day, it leaves me wanting more projects from Kevin Williamson injected directly into my veins.
Sick is now streaming on Peacock.
Rating: 4/5