Nerdly » Sitges 2024: ‘Ick’ Review

01st Nov2024

Sitges 2024: ‘Ick’ Review

by Matthew Turner

Stars: Brandon Routh, Malina Weissman, Harrison Cone, Debra Wilson, Diya Rao, Taia Sophia, Zeke Donovan Jones, Jeff Fahey, Mena Suvari, Peter Wong | Written by Joseph Kahn, Dan Koontz, Samuel Laskey | Directed by Joseph Kahn

Former Superman Brandon Routh stars in this smalltown horror flick from director Joseph Kahn that fondly recalls genre classics such as The Blob (1958) and The Stuff (1985). Directed by Joseph Kahn (Detention), who co-wrote the screenplay with Dan Koontz and Samuel Laskey, Ick is an enjoyably gloopy, blackly comic alien invasion thriller, anchored by a likeable lead performance from Routh.

Set in the small town of Eastbrook, Ick begins in the year 2000, where high school football star Hank Wallace (Routh) has his promising career cut short when he trips over a black plant-like substance on the field, injuring his leg. To make matters worse, his girlfriend Staci (Mena Suvari) breaks up with him soon afterwards and takes up with class loser Ted (Peter Wong).

A montage sequence quickly takes us through the next twenty years, during which Hank loses his father (Jeff Fahey) and ends up teaching at his old high school, where he begins to suspect that one of his students, Grace (Malina Wasserman) might be his own daughter. However, Hank’s is-he-isn’t-he paternity drama is forced to take a back seat, as the town of Eastbrook is slowly taken over by “the Ick”, the black substance Hank once tripped over, which has steadily grown all over town in the intervening years, ignored by everyone.

Routh is perfectly cast as Hank, not least because the actor has a built-in sense of untapped potential and needing to prove himself, as a result of his career failing to take off after Superman Returns. That energy is palpable in Hank, who sees his second chance at life and grasps it with both hands – the result is a performance that is charming and funny but also tinged with self-aware regret at what might have been.

The supporting turns are equally good, particularly Wasserman, who has an amusing stock of withering one-liners, while Harrison Cone is excellent value as her obnoxious boyfriend Dylan, who’s like the embodiment of cancel culture. Suvari is fun too, though she’s disappointingly under-used overall.

Kahn’s direction is snappy throughout, with the early scenes unfolding at almost breathtaking speed, in collaboration with Chancler Haynes’ quickfire editing. Similarly, in the later stages, Kahn has a good sense of both escalation and momentum, building to an exciting finale.

The effects work is decent enough – some of the gooier moments are a lot of fun – but it’s too obviously computer-generated in places and you can’t help wishing Kahn had opted for a more practical approach in places. On a similar note, the design of the Ick could have used a bit more work, as it doesn’t really stand out the way it should. This is admittedly deliberate in the early stages, as the whole point is that it grows unnoticed in the town, but it needs a more threatening appearance later on.

The script is frequently very funny, and there are lots of good jokes about nostalgia and popular culture in general. Having said that, the film’s main flaw is that Kahn doesn’t seem to have decided what the Ick – and being under the influence of the Ick – is meant to represent, so it feels like a lost opportunity for some much sharper satire, in the same vein as the likes of The Stuff, or the various versions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, another key influence here.

In short, Ick is is an enjoyable and engaging creature feature with strong character work and a witty script, though it’s hard not to feel that it could have been a lot better with a few more drafts.