Film / Sick

Sick is a 2022 Slasher Movie directed by John Hyams and written by Kevin Williamson and Katelyn Crabb. The film stars Gideon Adlon, and Bethlehem Million, and Dylan Sprayberry.

In April 2020, as the COVID-19 Pandemic steadily brings the world to a halt, college student Parker Mason (Adlon) takes her best friend Miri Woodlow (Million) to her family's lake house for the ultimate quarantine getaway experience. However, the peace of the luxurious and secluded lake house doesn't last long before Parker receives several cryptic messages, putting her and Miri on edge.

That night, the house starts getting stalked by an unexpected visitor with unknown origins and deadly intentions, throwing the girls into a fight for their survival.

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2022, and was released on January 13, 2023 by Peacock.

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This film provides examples of:

• 20 Minutes into the Past: The movie was released in 2022/2023, but takes place in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Action Girl: Parker. And additionally, Miri. Parker beats up Jason and Pamela's son by herself, and then Miri finishes him off with a knife to the neck. Parker and Miri again work together to kill Jason, and then Miri gets to burn Pamela alive after Parker pours gasoline all over her.
• Alas, Poor Villain: Parker has a moment of palpable sympathy with the killers when she realizes that they want her dead for her killing their son, and that he died alone at the hospital due to the pandemic. It evaporates when she remembers they were also willing to brutally murder Miri and DJ to get at her.
• Black Comedy: Similar to co-writer Kevin Williamson’s previous writing efforts, the film has moments of dark comedy even when the mood is almost completely dead serious, including Pamela constantly reminding Jason to wear his mask even after he nearly assaults Parker.
• Callousness Towards Emergency:
  • While Parker is struggling with the killer on the side of the road, a car comes up and allows Parker to get the upper hand and get the driver to stop. However, the woman doesn't allow her in the car until she is masked up despite the fact that the killer is mere feet away. This turns out to be a subversion, as the woman (Pamela) is actually one of the killers and wanted to drug Parker with the mask she offers her, which is chloroformed.
  • Parker and Tyler are much more chill about the impact of COVID-19 and upholding restrictions than Miri, whose father is ill. This turns out to be foreshadowing for why the killers are specifically after them both, but not (initially) Miri — they showed a similar callousness in holding an "end of the world" party.
• Caught on Tape: Parker was caught on video kissing Benji at the end of the world party. See Nice Job Breaking It, Hero for more.
• Cell Phones Are Useless: Played with: whether or not they're useful is unseen, because the first thing the killer does is steal them from the occupants. When DJ and Parker realize that both are missing, they immediately realize something is horribly wrong.
• Chekhov's Gun:
  • Early on, DJ uses a pair of deer antlers to fight off the killer. Parker finishes off Jason, one of the killers, by pushing him over the upstairs railing so that he is impaled on it.
  • Parker makes a strange drink with her blender. She uses the blender as a bludgeoning weapon to lay a vicious beatdown on the youngest killer, the son of Jason and Pamela.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Benji, the guy that Parker kissed at the party. He died of COVID-19, unbeknownst to her or anyone else.
• Chekhov's Party: The "end of the world" party where Parker kissed Benji. We see it a couple of times through cell phone footage, and it turns out it was a super spreader event and Benji died of COVID-19.
• Dead Guy Puppet: Well, Almost Dead Guy Puppet, and damn close at that. Parker approaches DJ when he starts to come through the door looking wounded, only to see that the killer had him speared on a curtain rod that was being used to manipulate him. Once the remaining duo screams, he thrusts the rod through the rest of the way, sealing DJ's fate.
• Decoy Protagonist: The movie initially follows Tyler, a young man who attended the same party as Parker who is preparing for his own quarantine. While initially seeming like he'd be a main character, he instead ends up being the opening kill.
• Disproportionate Retribution: The killers are after Parker for spreading COVID to their son Benji. When Parker points out that the other people in the cabin had nothing to do with it, the killers justify it by saying they should have been self-isolating due to the pandemic.
• Double-Meaning Title: "Sick" can mean "medically ill", and the plot is centered around events and concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, or it can mean "depraved" as in "sick and twisted", which the killings certainly are. The word is also invoked as a slang compliment within the film when Miri calls Parker's dad's cabin "sick" in awe.
• Dwindling Party: One by one, the character group is whittled down.
• Dying Alone: Benji died alone in the hospital under the restrictions.
• The Family That Slays Together: The killers are compromised of father, mother and son, and are avenging the death of their youngest son.
• Final Girl: Subverted. While it looks like Miri dies and leaves Parker alone, she ends up surviving the movie alongside Parker, and both equally fill out the archetype.
  • Also played around with. Parker is a sociable and extroverted party girl who has hooked up with some guys and is a bit irresponsible when it comes to masking and COVID (to the point of unknowingly infecting a boy), which doesn't really fit the "innocent virgin" that the archetype typically requires. Parker, however, is good-natured regardless. Her friend Miri is more responsible, kindhearted, and resourceful, which does fit the archetype better. Both survive and take down the murderers together.
• Foreshadowing:
  • The killer in the beginning taunts Tyler by texting him, inviting him to a party and asking if he had a COVID test. The killers are revealed to be avenging their son Benji who died of COVID, killing Tyler for infecting Parker, who in turn infected Benji at a party.
  • Parker is somewhat blasé about the possibility of catching COVID, to which Miri counters by saying that young people have gotten the illness. Not only does it turn out that Parker herself has COVID (albeit is asymptomatic), she accidentally infected Benji, leading to the latter's death and the events of the film.
  • Parker mentions to Miri that Benji "ghosted" her after the party. As she learns later, he caught COVID and died mere days before the film begins.
  • One of the killers shouts in anguish when they see that the first killer has been (seemingly) killed. This foreshadows that the killers' relationship to one another is deeper than simply allies - they're family.
• Gender-Blender Name: Parker can be both a male and female name. Also counts as a Tomboyish Name, befitting for a Final Girl (one of them). Coincidentally, her performer Gideon Adlon is an even stronger example.
• Genre Savvy: DJ wakes up and realizes his cell phone is missing. A few seconds later, the stereo starts playing music. He immediately and correctly concludes someone else is in the house.
• Grievous Bottley Harm: Miri shatters a whiskey bottle over Pamela's head to save Parker. While it does break like Soft Glass, it still hurts her like hell.
• Hope Spot: DJ's coming through the door! He looks injured, but...Wait, what's that pole?!
• Impaled Palm: Happens to Parker as the climax to her skirmish on the raft; while attempting to rest, a knife comes up from between the boards. This renders the hand disabled for the remainder of the film, which doesn't do her any favors.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: A few characters end up being impaled — DJ and Jason in particular, the former by a metal pike and the latter by a bunch of antlers.
• Impeded Communication: The killer steals the residents' cell phones, and Jason unplugs the router when he sees it's in use, leaving Miri unsure if the message she sent made it to its destination.
• Irony: Pamela intends to cover evidence linking her family to the murders in the cabin by burning down the house, saying that "irresponsible girls start irresponsible fires". She dies when Parker pours gasoline on her, and Miri lights her up.
• Kill It with Fire: Pamela's ultimate fate.
• Kiss of Death: Parker, who is unknowingly infected with COVID, kisses a boy at a party. As a result, he comes down with COVID himself and dies, thus setting off the events of the film.
• Made of Iron:
  • Miri falls off the roof of the cabin, but is shown to have survived later, though with a broken leg.
  • The initial killer, eldest son of Jason and Pamela, is beaten up with a blender by Parker so badly that his father Jason assumes him dead, but he somehow had the energy to nearly kill Miri before she stabs him in the neck.
• Malevolent Masked Man: The killer wears a mask covering their face but leaving the eyes exposed. Which actually is because of the COVID pandemic and is more about keeping themselves safe from the virus that Parker is asymptomatically carrying.
• Man on Fire: Pamela meets her end after being ignited by Miri after attacking a gasoline-toting Parker. She completely neglects to stop, drop, and roll—running down the street until she collapses, presumably perishing soon after.
• Men Are the Expendable Gender: All of the victims are male - Tyler, DJ, Benji (though offscreen), Miri's male neighbor, Pamela and Jason's eldest son, and Jason himself - except one, Pamela. Parker and Miri both survive.
• Minimalist Cast: The first act features numerous extras, but the second and third act of the movie only feature four characters, including the killer. Six once you add in the fact that there are actually three killers.
• Moral Myopia: Jason and Pamela blame Parker for giving COVID to their son Benji at a party, though Parker points out that Benji wasn’t wearing a mask at the party, either. Jason angrily dismisses this and claims only Parker is to blame for Benji’s death.
• Motive Decay: Even Parker agrees that Jason and Pamela have a good reason to want her dead, and absolutely no reason to want Miri or DJ dead. They argue that it's because they were breaking COVID guidelines.
• Motive Rant: Jason and Pamela reveal their motives are revenge for Parker for kissing their son at an "end of the world" party and spreading COVID to him, inadvertently resulting in his death.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Parker is horrified and apologetic when she learns that she unknowingly infected Benji, which later led to his death.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: A downplayed version of "hero". DJ speculates that Parker knew his friends would record her kissing Benji for Operation: Jealousy purposes. Though she denies it (somewhat unconvincingly), this recording is what allows Benji's grieving family to track her down, kill DJ, and try to kill Parker and Miri.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Parker dishes one out with a blender to Jason and Pamela's son. It doesn't kill him, but it sure as hell came close, and Miri finished him off with a knife later.
• Once is Not Enough: A few examples, as to be expected in a slasher film. Nicely subverted once, where after Parker smashes the killer across the face she continues to beat his face into a bloody mess. This still doesn't quite finish him off, but it was a good effort.
• Outliving One's Offspring: Jason and Pamela have outlived both their sons by the end of the film, though neither survive much longer.
• Playing Possum: Miri does this after being injured. The killer is distracted by Parker before he can verify if she's dead or not.
• Psycho Knife Nut: Knives are the weapons of choice for the killers but others are used throughout the film.
• Revenge: The killers blame Parker for passing on Covid to their son at a party, later resulting in his death.
• Ripped from the Headlines:
  • The film takes place during the early days of the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020 and much of it is reflected in the plot.
  • For a specific example, the plot point about "COVID only killing old or sick people", and super-spreader college parties. There were multiple stories throughout 2020 of college students throwing parties in defiance of CDC rules and later dying of COVID.
• Self-Surgery: Miri manages to construct a splint for herself using an electric carving knife and a barstool.
• Shout-Out:
  • The "baby and the snake" urban legend is also told by Cliff in Dawson's Creek, in an episode written by Kevin Williamson.
  • Two characters are named Jason and Pamela, a clear reference to the killers from Friday the 13th. Jason Voorhees is even name-dropped by Miri.
• Slashed Throat: The fate of Tyler in the opening.
• Soft Glass: Subverted. Miri smashes a wine bottle into Pamela’s head, with her and Parker pushing Pamela through a glass door. While Pamela later rises up to attack the girls again, she is bloodied and seriously injured.
• Stalker without a Crush: The killer stalks their victims and send ominous texts to unnerve them. The fact that only Parker received these texts hints that she's the main target.
• Systematic Villain Takedown: The protagonists perform a scrappy example with the three killers. Early on, the son is beat up by Parker, and then is killed much later by Miri. After capturing Parker and bringing her back to the house, Miri and Parker kill Jason, and finally kill Pamela.
• Trust Password: Parker breaks into the nearest cabin to try to ask for help when the door isn't answered, and the neighbor meets her with a shotgun. She's panicked because she's being followed by a killer and quickly rambles off information about her past acquaintance with his daughter, proving she knows him and getting him to relax. The killer slashes his throat the second the neighbor agrees to take her to the phone.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Had Tyler not attended the party while COVID-positive, none of the film's events would've happened.
• Wham Line: "This mask…smells like…" "Chloroform?”"You're positive. You're asymptomatic."
• Wham Shot: After Parker manages to beat the killer into unconsciousness, she is taken aback when sees another masked individual entering the house — revealing there are at least two killers. Also the shot of Pamela looking at Parker when they’re in the car, revealing that she’s in on the murders, although some people might have figured that out beforehand.

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