Sick Girl

In many cases a movie title can be misleading or wildly inaccurate, creating an expectation that just isn't true. That is definitely not the case with Sick Girl; before the opening credits have finished rolling, the girl in question has punched out and urinated on a nun, shot up a schoolbus, and cut someone's throat.

I think it's safe to say this isn't a film for everyone.

Low-budget and shot on video, it'd be easy to write Sick Girl off as a cheap gore flick that's pandering to a niche market. In fact, it IS a cheap film that will only appeal to a niche market, but it's not a bad film. It's got a decent storyline and (given the budget) some decent performances. Leslie Andrews (who plays the title character, the psychotic Izzy) is downright chilling at times.

The story revolves around Izzy and her family; with their parents dead, older brother Rusty (Chris King) and Izzy are left to care for their younger brother Kevin (Charlie Trepany). It becomes clear very quickly that Izzy thinks she's filling the role of mother and that Rusty should be filling the role of father. Rusty is clearly uncomfortable with the situation and gets out of town by joining the Marines.

If the opening scene I mentioned didn't put you off, you may still be surprised at just how nasty the film (and Izzy) gets. If she feels threatened, or worse yet feels that her little brother is threatened, there's not much she won't do to resolve the matter. Dismemberment? Torture? Hitting a kid in the face with a shovel? All of these things and much worse await both the viewer and the people who get on Izzy's bad side.

While the gore and extreme situations may attract most of the viewers who will watch the film, the story and characterization are strong points in the movie's favor. Izzy is rarely randomly sadistic; she has reasons for the things she does, although they may be terrible and well beyond an eye for an eye kind of mentality.

Sick Girl isn't going to appeal to very many people given the low budget and sickening content. That's a shame, because underneath these issues there's a worthwhile story. It's a sad story, a sick story, but nonetheless it's a compelling tale, and it's one of those films that I was still thinking about the next day.

If you think you can deal with the issues I've mentioned. If you've got an iron stomach when it comes to films and don't require a happy ending, give this one a look. If the actions described in my opening paragraph offend you, stay far, far away.