SICK BOY

Sick Boy (18)

Director: Tim T Cunningham
Screenplay: Tim T Cunningham
Starring: Skye McCole Bartusiak, Marc Donato

It's time to play​

It seems to be the season for psycho kids in horror at the moment, what with “Come out & Play” being released the very same week on region 2 / UK DVD. This is a very different kettle of rotting fish though. Firstly I will say something  in praise of “101 Films”, who provide superlative packaging for their UK DVDs that they distribute, and make them stand out on the shelf / websites. They did a similar bang-up job for “The Goat man Murders” as well. Although, I would still like to raise the question, to anyone that gives a crap, what the hell is the point of the cardboard sleeves that cover the majority of DVD/Blu-Ray releases these days? Does anyone know? It just mirrors the art, and it certainly doesn’t provide padding or collectability or anything. Just think of the trees dudes! Bugs the hell out of me! (Ed: Get on with the review man!!). What? Oh, right….

“Sick Boy” is the tender story of a boy who is born with a deficient immune system and must spend his life in a sterile environment  … oh, wait … sorry … That’s “The Boy in the Plastic Bubble” with John Travolta. (Ed: Give me strength!!)

“Sick Boy” is a creepy horror tale that follows the trials and tribulations of Lucy (Skye McCole Bartusiak from “24”). Lucy is a slightly naïve and ditzy young woman, who has spent a large amount of money and time following several “dream jobs”, only to find that she doesn’t like them, and ends up quitting them fairly quickly. The film opens with her fainting at the sight of teeth being removed, whilst working as a dental nurse. Lucy is a short time away from marrying her fiancé Chris (Marc Donato), but he is (understandably) getting a bit peeved with her junking jobs and constantly saying “sorry”. She wants to be a writer, but never gets beyond the first line of a story.  Whilst commiserating with a female friend, she is pointed towards a babysitting position in an affluent area of the city. Figuring she has nothing to lose, and stoked by the money offered, she goes to the house for an interview. She meets Dr Helen Gordan (a lovely understated performance by the iconic scream-queen Debbie Rochon), who decides to take her on. However, there are stipulations that she is unprepared for. Lucy is presented with several Gremlins-type rules.

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Number 1): Always carry a baby monitor to listen to her charge. Number 2) always lock the front door. Number 3) NEVER. EVER. Go downstairs! You see, Dr Gordan’s son (Jeremy) is ill with an unknown ailment and shouldn’t be disturbed. Although taken aback, Lucy settles into the routine and (initially) obeys the rules. But then she hears strange noises from Jeremy’s locked room. She sees evidence that Jeremy has only been this way for a short while. And … is that someone else in the house hiding?

This really is an unexpected little treat! Although obviously short on budget, and keeping the locations minimal, there is much here that clicks and feels right for a modern horror movie. The best thing about the film is hard to explain without being spoiler-prone. Suffice to say that about two-thirds of the way through, you’ll suddenly realise what kind of film you’re watching, but it creeps up on you and is nicely handled.

The leading performances are genuinely endearing, with Donato and Bartusiak making a particularly believable snarky couple. The film also takes time to establish the characters with (non-sexual) conversations in the bedroom, and compelling motives for the actions that they take. Yes, the decisions they make are very poor and stupid, but the reasons they have for doing them are (for a change) justified.

The film slowly builds to the creepy stuff, and is in fact built into 4 acts (Lucy/1st Night/2nd Night/3rd Night). And although there is a lot of mood-building, there are a couple of effective scare scenes before the bloody climax. The best of these being a marvellous “jump” sequence involving a small gap at the foot of Jeremy’s door. I also liked the “make-up” and look that is used at several points during the film (I’m determined NOT to give away the nature of the beast!).
There is also a very nice 70’s vibe to the whole film (apart from the lame rap music Lucy listens to), with a synthy soundtrack and even the credits look like they were from an “Exorcist” homage movie. In fact, it would make a nice double bill with Ti West’s “House of the Devil”.

On a pedantic note: Full marks for actually showing somebody using “Google” onscreen, instead of “Bing” or a lame made-up search engine! Hey! It’s the small details that matter!

There are some down-sides. Dr Gordan has the loudest “private” conversation ever recorded (for plot purposes obviously). Lucy is a little bit too concerned with a minor plot McGuffin, when blood is flowing around her. And her obsession with crappy rap music is a little eye-rolling.

Thumbs up for the director Tim T.Cunningham with only his second feature length film, and is primarily known for being a visual effects producer. He handles the cast and concept with aplomb, and obviously knows his Horror onions (Mmmmm… Horror Onions…..). I would love to see further genre work from him

Give “Sick Boy” a shot (Hah!) and you won’t be disappointed.

DVD Extras:
A slightly sickly single trailer.

This is a smart and inventive twist on a very familiar subject in the genre. Nice performances, realistic scenarios, and original  make-up effects contribute to a low-key, but surprisingly entertaining horror film. Give the boy a chance…