Main cast: Angela Bettis (Ida Teeter), Erin Brown (Misty Falls), Jesse Hlubik (Max Grubb), and Marcia Bennett (Lana Beasley)
Director: Lucky McKee
Lucky McKee had had only two movies out by the time Sick Girl was released, so it is a bit brassy for the Masters of Horror people to add him into the roster. Than again, May, which I hadn’t seen at the time of writing, was a cult classic as well as a critically acclaimed movie, so I suppose they imagined that he is in for bigger things. Well, this one isn’t really scary horror as much as it is a comedy with a touch of horror (there are still some scenes that can squick folks out), and it reunites Mr McKee with Angela Bettis, who was the lead actress in May, as well as Jesse Hlubik.
This one has quite the illustrious cast, as it also features the unsung scream queen Erin Brown, and it is also an unique entry in the series in that it features a lesbian couple as lead characters. This is not affirmative action, at least not quite, as what results is a disquietingly creepy premise: a monster bug impregnating a lesbian couple with no doubt monstrous offspring and brainwashing those two into enjoying the whole process.
Ida Teeter’s love life is not the most happening one, because her passion is insects. Not only is she an entomologist, she keeps a veritable zoo of creepy-crawlies in her apartment. Her last girlfriend left because of this, and Ida’s own social awkwardness makes it hard for her to go back to the dating scene. Still, things are looking up for her when she meets a beautiful if strange lady, Misty, who seems to reciprocate her feelings. She also receives a mysterious package containing what seems like a new type of insect, much to her delight.
The bug, whom she calls Mick, is not the average creepy crawly, however. It eats the disapproving landlady’s dog and later bites Misty, and the woman soon begins to show a personality change and even… physical changes. What is going on here?
This one is a disconcertingly upbeat episode despite its dark premise, and there are some moments which are clearly tribute to The Fly. What is really good here is… well, almost everything. The comedic moments are fun, especially with Ida frantically asking her BFF Max for advice on getting Misty into her bed without scaring Misty off with her beloved bugs, and Ida and Misty have some pretty sweet moments together. By the way, before you get too excited, the love scene is very mild, cutting off to black before things really get too graphic – a far cry from the straight sex scenes in some of the previous episodes, which can get pretty graphic. Oh well. Back to the rest of this episode, the pacing is solid, and despite the comedic overtones, when this one wants to get dark and messed up, it can do so, transitioning very seamlessly from comedic horror into body horror.
The only thing I don’t like is the crappiness of the special effects. The bug effects look unintentionally hilarious due to how obviously fake and cheap they look. This is not too bad, as the overall comedic tone of the episode makes it easier to view the badness of these effects as something campy, but still, it’d be nice if things look a little better in that department.
Nonetheless, all things considered, Sick Girl is definitely one of the strongest episodes in this series.
