This film will only work for individuals born well after 1990/95, in my opinion. This is not a judgement at all on those age groupings but I will explain why. Many of you can skip the following background on K. Williamson but I feel it's important to add in.
Kevin Williamson who wrote "Scary Movie" which became SCREAM (1996) as well as Teen Drama "Dawson's Creek" which essentially a close-clone or continuation of shows like Beverley Hills 90210 or Melrose Place which targeted teenagers and young adults who would not be as keen on your traditional weekday soap operas. This phenomenon unfolded in the early 1990's with dozen's of attempts to recreate the success of 90210, Dawson's Creek coming close (but still pales in comparison) but it is worth mentioning that Dawson's had a slightly different tone to it that would go one to create several or more clones of its own that were more like Dawson's and less like Aaron Spelling's 90210.
When Scream came out there had been a huge dry spell for good Horror films in the U. S. because of lots of backlash on anything remotely involving violence, bloodshed or brutality. You would have to look to another country like say, Italy or spanish regions, even Canada for films being published in this vain during this period. One of the few directors that continued to make Horror films during this dry spell was dearly missed Wes Craven (though you might notice even HIS films at the time had a huge amount of restraint when they probably should have been gorier. The pairing of Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson gave us Scream.
While there were some exceptions with films like Popcorn 1991 and Anguish/Anguista 1997 that managed to pull off the "self aware" aspect even they paled in comparison to Scary Movie/Scream in terms of tone and execution because Scream had some "funny" and arguably "goofy" moments but they felt organic non contrived and the characters (while slightly mature in grammar for their age) were much like the characters in A Nightmare on Elm Street. In other words, the characters acted in ways that were not 100% predictable and you felt like the decisions they made no matter how impulsive or stupid still fit what any of you or I could do in that moment coining one of the best phrases used in the film that was also cleverly used in the film's trailer: "They're all the same. Some stupid killer stalking some big-breasted girl who can't act who is always running up the stairs when she should be running out the front door." -Spoken by the main character as the trailer flash-cuts to her running up the stairs to escape Ghostface's first attack on her. Things like this were atypical for Horror at the time and elevated the film. Breakthrough performance by Drew Barrymore also made the film iconic, and this film reintroduced much of the brutality and definitely lots of blood that had somehow disappeared in the 5 or so years prior where every film showed (unremarkable) restraint. In addition to this the Scream films stopped creating "boogeymen" and reintroduced an effective and great blend of murder-mystery/hitchcock/giallo feelings where the killer reveal WAS a surprise and obviously is one of the main hallmarks of all these movies.
Let's talk about SICK (2022) After all, isn't that what this is about? It's extremely hard to like the main character at all, nor her friends that comprise a very small cast of characters who use IRL tropes from the USA's failed combined effort to combat the pandemic, killing many unnecessarily and reminding us that you cannot trust anyone else with your health and even the slightest amount of entrusting it is a risk that can or will kill you.
Even after being burnt out from the pandemic and the IRL horror it caused, the film is ineffective at creating any real suspenseful moments, any effective or interesting plot/twists, and a killer reveal that is somewhat poignant and surprising but IMO certainly not redeeming of the film. Perhaps if the the revealed Killer at the end of the film had been the protagonist this could have been much more interesting although it's been done loosely similar in films like the nasty Ebola Syndrome.
You need good casting and capable actors to pull off this style of horror because these are the kind of characters you can't help but WANT to see not-survive or get picked off, but the sequence and way in which it happens is not satisfying and much of the film becomes predictable.
I can see this appealing to fans of the (in my opinion awful) television/MTV spinoff (bastardization) of Scream the TV Show, or individuals who are born well into the 90's. I'm saying this because the use of technology and other tropes will make most people (like myself in mid-30's) feeling jaded or just completely out of touch, possibly booing this film mid or at its ending.
Thankfully for you, these films now come included with you or your family friends' cable packages, so i'm not saying don't watch it, but don't make it your main feature of the evening.
Kevin Williamson who wrote "Scary Movie" which became SCREAM (1996) as well as Teen Drama "Dawson's Creek" which essentially a close-clone or continuation of shows like Beverley Hills 90210 or Melrose Place which targeted teenagers and young adults who would not be as keen on your traditional weekday soap operas. This phenomenon unfolded in the early 1990's with dozen's of attempts to recreate the success of 90210, Dawson's Creek coming close (but still pales in comparison) but it is worth mentioning that Dawson's had a slightly different tone to it that would go one to create several or more clones of its own that were more like Dawson's and less like Aaron Spelling's 90210.
When Scream came out there had been a huge dry spell for good Horror films in the U. S. because of lots of backlash on anything remotely involving violence, bloodshed or brutality. You would have to look to another country like say, Italy or spanish regions, even Canada for films being published in this vain during this period. One of the few directors that continued to make Horror films during this dry spell was dearly missed Wes Craven (though you might notice even HIS films at the time had a huge amount of restraint when they probably should have been gorier. The pairing of Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson gave us Scream.
While there were some exceptions with films like Popcorn 1991 and Anguish/Anguista 1997 that managed to pull off the "self aware" aspect even they paled in comparison to Scary Movie/Scream in terms of tone and execution because Scream had some "funny" and arguably "goofy" moments but they felt organic non contrived and the characters (while slightly mature in grammar for their age) were much like the characters in A Nightmare on Elm Street. In other words, the characters acted in ways that were not 100% predictable and you felt like the decisions they made no matter how impulsive or stupid still fit what any of you or I could do in that moment coining one of the best phrases used in the film that was also cleverly used in the film's trailer: "They're all the same. Some stupid killer stalking some big-breasted girl who can't act who is always running up the stairs when she should be running out the front door." -Spoken by the main character as the trailer flash-cuts to her running up the stairs to escape Ghostface's first attack on her. Things like this were atypical for Horror at the time and elevated the film. Breakthrough performance by Drew Barrymore also made the film iconic, and this film reintroduced much of the brutality and definitely lots of blood that had somehow disappeared in the 5 or so years prior where every film showed (unremarkable) restraint. In addition to this the Scream films stopped creating "boogeymen" and reintroduced an effective and great blend of murder-mystery/hitchcock/giallo feelings where the killer reveal WAS a surprise and obviously is one of the main hallmarks of all these movies.
Let's talk about SICK (2022) After all, isn't that what this is about? It's extremely hard to like the main character at all, nor her friends that comprise a very small cast of characters who use IRL tropes from the USA's failed combined effort to combat the pandemic, killing many unnecessarily and reminding us that you cannot trust anyone else with your health and even the slightest amount of entrusting it is a risk that can or will kill you.
Even after being burnt out from the pandemic and the IRL horror it caused, the film is ineffective at creating any real suspenseful moments, any effective or interesting plot/twists, and a killer reveal that is somewhat poignant and surprising but IMO certainly not redeeming of the film. Perhaps if the the revealed Killer at the end of the film had been the protagonist this could have been much more interesting although it's been done loosely similar in films like the nasty Ebola Syndrome.
You need good casting and capable actors to pull off this style of horror because these are the kind of characters you can't help but WANT to see not-survive or get picked off, but the sequence and way in which it happens is not satisfying and much of the film becomes predictable.
I can see this appealing to fans of the (in my opinion awful) television/MTV spinoff (bastardization) of Scream the TV Show, or individuals who are born well into the 90's. I'm saying this because the use of technology and other tropes will make most people (like myself in mid-30's) feeling jaded or just completely out of touch, possibly booing this film mid or at its ending.
Thankfully for you, these films now come included with you or your family friends' cable packages, so i'm not saying don't watch it, but don't make it your main feature of the evening.
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