‘Ick’ Is Pitch-Perfect Gateway Horror [Screamfest 2024 Review]
Horror is a genre that is often thrust upon the unsuspecting viewer over the course of late-night slumber parties or hastily screened DVD rentals. But regardless of whether you first experienced such violent delights from behind fanned fingers or toughed it out to avoid being labeled a scaredy cat, horror is a genre that grabs its audience by the throat and leads them into the night. Many of us have found ourselves drawn into this cycle again and again. However, in order to become a horror fanatic, one must first find their gateway into the genre.
Joseph Kahn’s Ick is a film that is unafraid to hold out a hand…or more specifically, a tendril and introduce teenage audiences to the goop, gore, and gags that have become trademarks of the genre. Describing the film as “the Terrifier of needle drops”, director Joseph Kahn aims to unite both millennials clinging to the memories of the naughts and its iconic pop punk soundtrack with Gen Zers who might just be looking up from their phones to see what’s happening in the movie.
The film follows Hank Wallace (Brandon Routh), a once-promising high school quarterback whose dreams of the NFL and an extravagant life with high school sweetheart Staci (Mena Suvari) are upended when he finds himself tripping over a strange fungal growth on the football field and stumbling into an adult life filled with forgotten dreams, broken hearts, and a heavy whiskey pour. As Hank’s life spirals into turmoil via dramatic montage, we watch as he tries his best to lift himself out of the mess he’s found himself in, becoming a science teacher whose existence his students only tolerate.
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While Hank encourages his students to engage with the world around them instead of hyper-fixating on social media and political correctness, he finds himself the laughing stock of the town, continually explaining away his fall from grace by claims that the strange plant growth dubbed the Ick actively derailed his life. Hank finds an unlikely ally in Grace (Malina Pauli Weissman), the daughter of his once high school sweetheart Staci and nerd-turned-real-estate-mogul Ted Kim (Peter Wong), who tries to rally her peers to care about more than just appearing woke and recognize that the ick seems to be spreading at a troubling rate. While Grace and Hank initially come at each other’s throats, Hank changes his tune when he discovers that a regretted hookup with his ex at a five-year high school reunion could mean he is actually Grace’s father.
But before Hank can get any closure, Grace’s fears about the ick prove correct as the strange growths scattered across town transform into a more aggressive, infective form. In just a few short days, the citizens of Eastbrook find themselves infected with ick, acting as zombified agents who will do anything to draw in new victims and kill anyone who stands in their way.
While the film doesn’t worry about explaining the origins of the ick, it successfully draws parallels between the COVID-19 pandemic and the sentient infection spreading through town. This comparison comes across as well-thought-out and effective, anchoring the film’s plot in a reality that the film’s intended teen audience can relate to. Ick is riddled with satire and commentary, with one of the film’s most effective scenes showing the citizens of Eastbrook pushing up against the government since they can’t imagine being inconvenienced by the ick, even if it reduces resistant victims to a pile of goo.
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The film’s humor relies on our anecdotal understanding that our fellow human beings are only willing to listen to experts when it doesn’t interrupt events like the school prom. Despite the overwhelming evidence that the ick is killing their peers, Hank and Grace are forced into a one-sided alliance, as Hank tries to play dad while the resistant Grace insists she doesn’t need his help.
As a gateway horror film, I think Ick has the potential to introduce teens to the genre without their parents feeling totally dragged along for the ride. Millennial viewers will be satisfied with the number of references to the early 2000s and a pop-punk-heavy soundtrack, while teen viewers will find themselves laughing at how the film pokes fun at some of the more ridiculous stereotypes perpetuated against their generation. The film continually lands laughs through the disconnect between the millennial perception of youth and the reality of how Gen Z teens actually are.
The film’s script proves effective, blending wit with thrills and scares to the point that its 90-minute runtime flies by. Instead of bogging itself down with too many subplots and characters, Ick always keeps the relationship between Hank and Grace at the forefront with both Brandon Routh and Malina Pauli Weissman delivering heartfelt and nuanced performances. Routh’s character arc proves particularly intriguing, as he goes from an adult who teens feel comfortable calling a loser to someone capable of protecting and providing advice to the teens despite his own shortcomings. The film’s supporting cast also manages to make the best of their limited screen time, incorporating humor and camp into their violent deaths.
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Despite being a PG-13 film, I was impressed with the quality of scares and horror incorporated into the film, with Ick somehow navigating the narrow line between PG-13 and R ratings. The film forgoes more visceral, violent deaths without abandoning the gore known in the genre by causing the ick to have a very explosive effect on its victims. While the ick itself is computer generated, I was impressed with the quality of the special effects and the overall production value of the film.
Unlike other horror films that tend to rely on the same kind of scares throughout their runtimes, Ick diversifies its kills by balancing scarier, jump-scare-heavy scenes with more humorous, campier deaths such as a man dying as the ick floods the Mercedes he refuses to abandon. You can also tell that Joseph Kahn is a lover of horror, with the film referencing classic horror films and B movies through violent homages, inspired visuals, and highly stylized cinematography.
While the film might have one too many false endings, Ick is a film that I truly think successfully caters to its intended audience without isolating established horror viewers. With wit and satire woven throughout, Ick challenges us to consider just how ridiculous our own behavior is in the face of danger, while grounding the narrative in the heartfelt story of a daughter and (maybe) daddy. Considering how well the film played during the Screamfest premiere, I don’t doubt that Ick will become a film that holds out a tendril and leads hundreds of new teen fans into the world of horror.
Summary
While ‘Ick’ has one too many false endings, it’s ultimately a perfect piece of gateway horror for genre fans both new and old.
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