The SICK are the result of an epidemic
outbreak that turns people into bloodthirsty zombies that roam and
have taken over the land. While scientists try to understand the
epidemic and how to control it, teams of survivors travel in groups
fighting to survive. When Dr. Leigh Rozetta (Christina Aceto) leaves
the safety of her underground government facility to return to the
house that she grew up in, she finds herself trapped there for the
night with two survivors fighting for their lives.
This is the set up for SICK: Survive
the Night, a slice of life zombie flick from director Ryan M.
Andrews. The SICK are very effective here. They wander and drag
themselves around until they see a live human, then they become full
of rage and run towards their prey and completely maul them as they
eat them alive. It's a nice little twist to see this mad spark in the
zombies. They don't slowly eat people as they slowly fall apart and
decompose, they ravage them with their eyes looking like demon
snakes. These aren't your father's zombies.
The look of the film is interesting.
The outside world during the day has a pale faded yellow and cold
look to it, while the interiors of the windowless government facility
is washed out in over white fluorescent lighting. It gives an
already-dead feeling to the living, who's survival and existence have
become fighting off and understanding the dead. The night scenes are
very sharp and almost appear more colorful than the washed out
daytime. This suggests a clearer focus to the lives of the living as
the SICK are more active at night and the survivors must be on the
top of their game.
The acting in the film is pretty good
on the whole. Some of the military speak and mannerisms come across
as a bit unconvincing but overall everyone puts in a solid effort.
Richard Sutton and Robert Nolan as the survivors Seph and McKay do
some nice work and have the appropriate chemistry of people who have
been around each other for a long time but don't necessarily like
each other. A standout in the film is Jennifer Polansky. She has the
tough, bad girl appearance of Gina Gershon and the attitude to back
it up. Her delivery is confident and daring and she plays the
ready-for-anything character of Claudia nicely. She by far has the
most interesting character in the film and I enjoyed every second she
was on screen. I only wish she played a bigger part. We are also
treated to a wonderfully mad little performance from Debbie Rochon in
a small role as a doctor sending out a video feed of herself as she
tries to understand the disease and communicate it to others.
Director Ryan Andrews knew to create
sympathetic characters to enhance the bleakness of this world
populated by the SICK and there are some nice little back stories
here and moments to go with them. One moment has Dr. Rozetta in her
old room as the camera pans some of her old belongings. She then
pulls out a blue dress to wear that contrasts greatly with the
current situation and seems wholly inappropriate. It's a small
touching scene that reminds us that we are all human with pasts and
memories regardless of how un-human we seem in dire circumstances.
SICK is a bleak and grim film, it doesn't reinvent the zombie wheel but it doesn't try to. The movie is smartly done and showcases some very engaging zombies while allowing for plenty of human drama to play out as the characters are
stuck inside the house together amidst the chaos and unknown of the
SICK outside. It's a solid film, and I recommend it.
No comments:
Post a Comment