Sick Girl (2007) Reviews

• The heart of darkness is in small-town rural America

  jmclennan2008-08-31

  Let's cut to the chase. The creator-provided synopsis goes, "A girl who wants to protect her little brother, f*ck her older brother and torture everyone else out in the barn." Any questions? Well, while undeniably accurate, the film isn't quite as simplistic as this would suggest. Izzy (Andrews) is left to bring up her young brother (Trepany) after her older sibling heads off to Iraq with the Marines - both parents are absent, and the reasons for this are, interestingly, never made entirely clear, though we have some evidence for Izzy's involvement. The only one who helps out is Barney (McGarr) a biker who plays Santa Claus at the local hospital, but it's soon made clear that Izzy is entirely capable of fending for herself. Especially when a proto-thug at the local school decides to pick on her kid bro. Izzy is an intriguing mix, a character somewhere between Juno and Dexter; to those she loves, she is fiercely loyal, yet anyone else had best not cross her, or the results will be horrific, in ways beyond your imagination - certainly, at least one sequence goes well beyond **our** imagination! I think it's her sheer cold-blooded approach that is the most chilling thing here, and Andrews is simply phenomenal in the role, possessing a calmness which is completely unnerving. Even when engaging in brutality of the most appalling sort, you suspect her heart-beat rarely goes above 85. She even takes time out to lecture small children on the evils of bullying, where her philosophy is, "There's nothing wrong with hurting things smaller than you - providing you also take on things bigger than you. Then size is irrelevant." Cold: very cold. If you want to peer into the abyss which is the very darkest corner of the human psyche, then this is low-budget cinema at its brilliant best. However, you should be aware that you might see things you will not easily forget.

• Makes High Tension look like Confessions Of A Shopaholic

  Tromafreak2010-01-07

  Alright, let's see. An intriguing and original story. An awesome leading lady. An absolutely chilling score. Shocking, intense, gruesome, gory, vile, and scary as all hell. Yeah, that basically covers everything. I've finally found it. The Horror masterpiece of the decade. True Horror fans, I give you Sick Girl. Izzy, for the most part, is a fairly reasonable, dare I say nice person. Izzy lives with, and takes care of her 9 year old brother, Kevin, while her older brother serves in Iraq. All we ever learn about the parents is that they're gone. You could say Izzy has a lot on her plate, having to raise a sibling, and all. Not to mention Izzy misses her older brother a little too much, if you catch my drift. A lot of people go through life, having no idea what to do with their stress. With others, it simply comes natural, whether it be sex or drugs, or what have you. But with Izzy, she just up and realized one day that life would be so much more fulfilling if she could only kidnap, torture, torture, torture, rape, castrate, and kill whoever she wanted, whenever she wanted. So, anyway, that's what Izzy's been up to. Little bro, on the other hand, Kevin's got his own problems. The local bullies have been giving the little fella a hard time. If you think Izzy is above torturing and killing small children... well, she's not, which is all that needs to be said about that. I am in my late 20's, and I can honestly say that this is the first time a Horror movie has scared me since I was a little kid. Feeling that queasy, that shocked, and that impressed, all at once was not at all what I expected from a modern Horror movie. I just can't praise this dismal, graphic masterpiece enough. Besides being horrifying, original, and gory, another word also comes to mind. Interesting. As in, it's awfully interesting to observe how vulnerable someone who is already slightly disturbed, can be. All it could take is one disappointment, or tragedy, or even a bad day, for one to suddenly cross that line from "slightly disturbed" to "ferocious killing machine", with seemingly no chance of return. It happens. Even to big sisters. Comparing this pitch-black diamond to pseudo-indy garbage like High Tension or Hostel, would be insulting. If anything, Sick Girl should only be compared to the elite, such as Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer, or Maniac. Sick Girl is a morbid little beauty, just waiting to be discovered, hopefully by someone who can appreciate real Horror when they see it. Lastly, I am totally counting on more from the refreshingly disturbing Leslie Andrews, who is ultimately what made this movie work so well. Now, that's what I call a scream queen!!

• Film Quality Aside, a Visual Slaughter

  gavin69422009-07-31

  Writer-director-producer Eben McGarr opens us up to the world of Izzy, where parents are dead, one brother is in the military and the other is just starting to grow up. What lengths would you go to in order to protect your family? This film has been floating around film festivals and conventions for a while now... and I've had an interest, particularly after hearing about the cameo from Andy Signore ("The Janitor"). Now thanks to Synapse, we all have the chance to see it on DVD (though, for me, it helps to review films as a job). The biggest criticism I can give of this film is the dreadful mixing on the sound. Much of the dialogue is too quiet and the sound effects and score are too loud. So, you end up not hearing what everyone says and getting blasted by the music. It's more than just a little frustrating. The plot is a bit convoluted at times, the CG is awful, and the acting is cheesy, but these negatives are forgivable. What has gotten this film so much attention is the sheer nastiness in the violence. Kids forced to kill kids, sodomy, rape, dismemberment, suicide... not all of it is as gory as you might want, but much of it is more graphic and gory than you'd expect. I don't want to give away how extreme it gets, but let's just say if you want gore and violence, it gets more and more intense as the film goes along, and you will not be let down. Get a copy of this from Synapse. Order it today. Do not hesitate. You could rent it, but seriously I think this might be one you want to keep on your shelf for just the right occasion.

• Sick and twisted, and I absolutely loved it...

  Indyrod2009-09-26

  Oh boy, where to start with this one. This is absolutely one of the best and sickest movies I have seen for awhile, for a low-budget movie. It's about a rural family that the children, the oldest boy, youngest boy, and in the middle is Izzy, the sister that goes completely berserk after her oldest brother joins the military, are living since their Parents died. Izzy is a short gal, that was schooled by her brother in some martial arts, and turns into a killing machine. First off is a school bus, full of students and nuns, and Izzy kills them all and pisses on a Nun. Then she kidnaps a couple of boys that have been bullying her brother, by forcing the main bully to kill the other two. That boy and a couple end up tied up in the families barn, and that's where the movie goes to a different level of torture and one particular scene that completely blew me away for being so decadent and extremely shocking. "Sick Girl" is so over the top, with some of the most sadistic scenes I have ever seen, and delivers them with no remorse and in graphic detail. I have to admit, I was expecting this movie to be a cheapo, that was predictable but something I might like. It was way way beyond that, and for an old gorehound like me, I couldn't believe the extreme direction the movie takes. It sets up also for a sequel, that they absolutely have to make. Izzy is such an insane killing machine, that one movie is not enuff for this character. I kept looking for the teaser trailer scene of her blowing away a movie audience because they were annoying her, but that scene is not in the movie. It is however in the Special Features, and could be in a sequel very easily. I absolutely loved this extreme and graphic thriller, it shocked the hell out of me. There is plenty there for gorehounds too, I think the gorehound fans will like it, but far more that gore, the movie is just down right nasty. Nothing is held back, Izzy is a homicidal maniac, and I could not recommend this tasty little movie any higher. This is a must-see for anybody that has the same demented taste in movies as me.

• The Muffintop Massacre

  ElijahCSkuggs2011-10-15

  Oh, Sick Girl. How sick you are. Ya got your kicks peeing on nuns, lopping off weiners, and kissing your brother. You actually sound like a pretty cool chick, it's such a shame you're monotone and you have a dumpy butt. 2007's Sick Girl, created by all around blowhard Eben Whatshisname, focuses on the small-town life of a girl named Izzy, who is forced to become head of her household when her brother ships off to the Marines. Things sour from there on out, and Izzy's already shaky disposition crumbles into a pile of constant premenstrual insanity. No one's safe anymore; not her flamboyant younger brother, nor their bike-riding bear of a neighbor. The blood flows, children die, and rats are fed and returned to the gay guy who did porn after being in Fright Night. You know the guy. I'd like to say Sick Girl is a good time, but then again, I'd like to say I enjoy popping pimples along the under-carriage of my fanny. A little juicy, kinda painful, and totally unnecessary. This movie fails for a few reasons, namely its weak script and dodgy direction. If you enjoy drawn-out scenes of inept dialogue and really pointless scenes of gore, including a controversial moment where a severed member is forced onto a make-shift dildo, the less discriminating horror-hound may actually enjoy this sh!t show. So throw on a wife-beater or two, break out the Christmas lights, and don't say I didn't warn ya. Sick Girl sucks.