Sick (2023) Review: Kevin Williamson’s COVID Slasher Delivers Heart-Stopping Tension

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From "High on Films" : "Sick (2023) Review: Kevin Williamson’s COVID Slasher Delivers Heart-Stopping Tension"

The irony of a slasher film set around a lakeside cabin and being released on Friday the 13th should not be lost on horror fans. Even though Sick, the latest outing from horror icon Kevin Williamson, does not feature the murderous hockey mask-wearing son of Mrs. Voorhees, it is still an adrenaline-filled, gutsy, and brilliantly-paced flick that offers enough caustic wit and slasher thrills that fans have come to expect from Williamson.

Set amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and directed by John Hyams (the man behind the underrated Alone (2020)), Sick is another winning entry amidst the slasher revival that began in the preceding decade.

Before the film opens, the opening title cards already ground the narrative in a specific moment in time—April 3, 2020. COVID had evolved from being just an international conspiracy to spreading its tentacles all around the world. In the USA, where the film is set, most states had already imposed stay-at-home orders.

The opening scene of the film follows Tyler (Joel Courtney), an everyday college frat guy, shopping at a supermarket aisle. If one is familiar with Williamson’s slasher book, we know that the film is heading towards an opening kill scene. But preceding the carnage, the script (written jointly by Kevin Williamson and Katelyn Crabb) cleverly grounds itself amidst the paranoia prevalent during the early days of the pandemic.

Whether it be Tyler’s rush to pick up the last daily essentials at the supermarket or sneering suspiciously at a person coughing behind him at the billing queue—Williamson holds up a somewhat satirical mirror to our fears regarding an unknown virus. Just as he is shopping, Tyler receives a text message from an unknown number (a wink for the Scream fans) that asks, “Wanna party?” While Tyler is initially excited by the prospect promised in the message, his enthusiasm soon dissipates when his anonymous messenger becomes more stalker-like.

A nervous Tyler hurriedly heads back to his dorm room, where a surprise awaits him.