The first COVID slasher film is flawed. But 'Sick' effectively ushers in a new horror genre

“Sick” barrels into a new film genre with gusto, if not brilliance: the COVID slasher.

There will probably be a lot of films that use the COVID-19 pandemic as a plot generator. We often turn to art to process real-life horror, since at the end we can walk out of the theater or turn of the TV. It’s a form of catharsis.

And the pandemic continues to be nothing if not a real-life horror story. Credit screenwriter Kevin Williamson, who wrote the original “Scream” and spawned a self-aware spate of sequels and knock-offs, and co-writer Katelyn Crabb for coming up with some inspired COVID elements in “Sick,” which is directed with breakneck energy by John Hyams.

But dock them some points for misfiring big on some others, particularly the last act.

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The film, which streams on Peacock on Jan. 13, begins with an homage of Williamson’s famous “Scream” opens. Only this time instead of menacing phone calls, a young man shopping in a grocery store in early April of 2020 is getting increasingly worrisome texts.

It’s a great start, recalling the fight for the last box of tissues, the empty toilet-paper shelves, the spacing between customers waiting in the check-out line, wiping down groceries with disinfectant wipes. When one of those customers coughs, the entire store looks at her in horror. The whole scene gets the fear and confusion just right.

Once the initial killing is dispensed with, we meet Parker (Gideon Adlon) and Miri (Bethlehem Million), two college students who plan to sit out COVID at Parker’s father’s isolated cabin in the woods.

Parker’s not as committed to things like masking as much as Miri is, but they are committed to letting everyone on social media know they’re going to be quarantining in style.

And with fun — they take a shot every time someone says “Fauci” on CNN.

“We’re too young to get sick,” Parker says.

Hey, it wasn’t the dumbest reason people got infected.

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Parker’s father’s cabin turns out to be a cabin in the sense that it looks like it’s made of logs. But it’s more of a mansion, with the nearest house a couple of miles away. What could possibly go wrong?

Besides beaten-in faces, compound fractures, slashed throats, impalings and garden variety-stabbings — you know, the usual.

It turns out, of course, that Parker and Miri are not alone. It turns out that way a couple of times, in fact.

First it’s DJ (Dylan Sprayberry), Parker’s well-meaning if nitwittish on-again, off-again boyfriend. But it soon becomes abundantly, vividly, stomach-clenchingly clear that there is a more-menacing presence in attendance, as well.

With only three people serving as potential victims, there’s not much time to fool around with niceties like character development and subplots. Basically “Sick” quickly becomes a fight for life, and Parker and Miri prove particularly adept at coming up with unique ways to try to survive.

Quick healers, too, I’ll give them that.

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'Sick' bears the imprint of 'Scream' screenwriter Kevin Williamson, for better and worse

The story could have bogged down here — we’ve seen young women run from knife-wielding maniacs plenty of times (see: “Scream,” above). But Hyams relentlessly paces the chases and fight scenes. At least two characters are stabbed through the hand. (Is this a reference to stigmata, some kind of religious aspect to humanity falling ill with a Biblical plague? Nah. I think the filmmakers just thought it looked kind of cool.)

Alas, where the COVID references feel genuine at the beginning of the film, and by the end they feel forced.

Also, the logic of who the killer turns out to be has never been a strong suit in the “Scream” movies, so perhaps it’s not surprising that the same is true here. The draw of those movies is the knowing awareness of the genre, and there’s some of that here, too, as with the “Shining”-like drive to the cabin.

If “Sick” isn’t a great COVID-inspired horror film, at least it’s a start.

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'Sick' 3 stars

Great ★★★★★ Good ★★★★

Fair ★★★ Bad ★★ Bomb ★

Director: John Hyams.

Cast: Gideon Adlon, Bethlehem Million, Dylan Sprayberry.

Rating: R for strong violence, terror, language throughout and some drug use.

How to watch: Streaming on Peacock on Jan. 13.

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Twitter: @goodyk.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Sick' movie review: This COVID slasher film could have been sharper