Sick Girl (2006)
Review by Peter Syslo

Of all of the “Masters of Horror” episodes, which I have seen, SICK GIRL (2006) is probably my favorite. This was my introduction to Lucky McKee’s style; I saw MAY afterwards and even though I thought MAY was brilliant, SICK GIRL just “stuck” with me. I think it is like when you discover a new band – whatever album you first listen to that “grabs” you and makes you a fan of the band, tends to be your favorite album (for me at least). For instance, I started getting into Metallica when “…And Justice for All” came out; to this day, it still remains my favorite Metallica album. So, SICK GIRL is my favorite Lucky McKee creation, thus far, and it is the height of the “MoH” series, I think.

SICK GIRL is directed by Lucky McKee and is written by Mick Garris, Sean Hood, and Lucky McKee. The film stars Angela Bettis, Erin Brown, and Jesse Hlubik.

The film is about an entomologist, Ida Teeter (Bettis), who receives a strange package, one day. It is an exotic insect, which she is not familiar with, and she is overjoyed about the scientific study of it. Her co-worker, Max (Hlubik), is the comic relief of the picture, as he constantly unleashes perverted yet harmless comments about Ida and her sexual orientation. While the interest in the exotic insect continues, Ida keeps noticing a girl, whom she passes in the hallway everyday. The girl’s name is Misty (Brown) and after some awkwardness, Misty and Ida go out on a date – Max of course wants to hear about every detail in the morning. Once Misty is back at Ida’s home, there are some funny moments as Ida tries to cover up the fact that she has a lot of insects as pets. However, Misty discovers them and is OK with the “weirdness” o f it all. But, things take a turn for the worse and after being intimate, Misty is accidentally bitten by the exotic insect (which escaped earlier). From this point on, Misty’s behavior becomes very erratic, Ida learns the truth about Misty and the insect, and it all ends in a truly unexpected manner.

I really enjoyed SICK GIRL; it had a twisted love story at the heart of it and the whole insect aspect was a truly original idea. In a way, the whole thing is kind of a metaphor for the way that a relationship can take strange twists and turns and can become a completely different “entity” over time. As in MAY, McKee created very eccentric, yet likeable characters who seem to embody that awkwardness, shyness, and vulnerability that everyone possesses but doesn’t want to acknowledge. It is these basic human insecurities which really make his characters three-dimensional and I think that his attention to the character development really enhances the horror aspect. You really like Ida and you want to see her happy; she is a wonderful person, but not everyone understands her. It is so tragic that she finally meets someone who accepts he r and the girl winds up turning into an insect/human hybrid. One of the things that I like about McKee’s work is that I feel he really understands one of the foundations of horror (one of the basic tenants) – the horror of losing something or someone that you care for (the horror of uncontrollable change).

Overall, the whole film was very well done – a perfect little gem. The acting was great, with Angela Bettis being my favorite – she just plays parts like these so well. Actually I thought that the other two main actors (Brown and Hlubik) did a great job, along with Bettis. I have to admit, the courtship between Bettis and Brown was simply addictive and it was an exciting, and unconventional romantic interaction. The horror aspects and the special effects were also great and they including a hint of “campiness”, which just added to the twisted nature of it all. One scene in particular was so surreal and so genius that I always remember it: Misty is relaying her dream about the insect that bit her and the film morphs into a bizarre mix of animation and “real” shots of Erin Brown (also, the music is fittingly odd). Scenes like that are why I love McKee’s films.

Cutting to the chase: SICK GIRL is a fun and perfect film which demonstrates the skill of Lucky Mckee. I think that it is the best “Masters of Horror” episode and it is definitely worth seeing. I admit that I like my horror to be on the serious side but the humor and quirkiness of this really captivated me and it became a very memorable experience. If you like MAY or if you like any other horror that is “off the beaten path” (but not at the sacrifice of the story), then you might enjoy SICK GIRL. The film really does contain something for everyone.