Scream’s writer brings us a fun new slasher with Peacock’s Sick
By Carla Davis
Sick just made its debut on the Peacock streaming service, a bit of a surprising move since it was written by Kevin Williamson, who basically brought slashers back to life in 1996 with the iconic Scream.
After watching Sick, I am honestly shocked it wasn’t released in theatres, rather than directly to streaming. Yeah, it’s that good.
If you watched the trailer for Sick, you know that the plotline ties in with the COVID pandemic. The only other horror film I can think of that did that as well was Host, which was actually filmed during the initial “stay at home” stage of the pandemic.
Sick takes a nostalgic look back at the early COVID panic stage.
While Sick was filmed more recently than that, it is set during that same time period, and we get a few laughs during moments that more or less take us back to the initial panic and confusion.
In the opening scene, a young man is at the grocery store (where everyone is wearing masks, even when outdoors), and stares at the empty shelves in the toilet paper aisle. Then he and another shopper scramble to grab the last box of tissues.
Later, we see our two main characters using anti-bacterial wipes to scrub down their groceries before putting them away. Remember those days? That trend ended fairly early into the pandemic, but it was definitely a thing!
The scandal of college students partying despite the COVID panic becomes a big plot point of Sick, as best friends Parker and Miri go away to quarantine at Parker’s family’s lake house. Of course, it’s secluded, because that makes a great place for a masked intruder to try to murder the girls.
Gideon Adlon is great as Parker, who we can tell doesn’t really want to take any of the COVID rules seriously. But her friend Miri (also very well played, by Beth Million) takes it seriously enough for both of them, so it’s a nice contrast.
When Parker’s ex DJ shows up unannounced, we get some typical young adult drama, but the suspense amps up soon after, and doesn’t let up until the very end of the film.
Sick is well cast, and the story is entertaining, with lots of great kills and gore along the way. It’s a fun watch, and it’s nice to see Williamson back on the slasher scene again.
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What did you think of the film Sick on Peacock? Give us your mini-review in the comments section.