Ick

You can probably count on one hand the number of directors who are known for being adept at expertly balancing comedy with horror, but when I think of an alien plant-like vine mixed with the genre combo, the name James Gunn comes to mind. What if a plant like Groot (minus the face and overall cuteness) came to Earth, lay dormant for years, and then suddenly started attacking people at night and turning them into plant-zombies? That gets to the heart of the horror portion of filmmaker Joseph Kahn’s Ick, co-written by Dan Koontz and Samuel Laskey.

The human part of the movie stars Brandon Routh of Superman fame in a delightful turn as Hank, a former high school star quarterback. Now, he’s a science teacher at the same school, suddenly realizing that his sarcastic student named Grace (Malina Pauli Weissman) may just be his daughter. The film opens with an energetic sequence featuring Routh as his young, popular self in the early 2000s, with the All-American Rejects blaring as he’s making out in the back seat of a car on a hilltop overlooking the city with the hot cheerleader named Staci (Mena Suvari).

It’s a blast to see these actors who rose to fame in that time period, 20 years ago, looking and acting young, as if they’re Luke Perry trying to act like a teenager in 90210. The good times don’t last forever, though, because during a football game, the ick causes Hank to trip and have a gruesome leg injury that ends his playing career. There goes money and fame, and Staci running off with nerdy classmate Ted Kim (Peter Wong).

“…turning them into plant-zombies.”

Fast forward to modern days, when Hank is a drunk burnout and the ick starts to come and play at night. When Hank tries to warn everyone about the impending alien doom, they just laugh at him, thinking it’s the alcohol talking. Hank has the realization that the time he was together with Staci lines up with when Grace was born, so he puts his all into trying to rescue her. The only problem is that Grace doesn’t want to be saved, and her douchebag, comically liberal boyfriend Dylan (Harrison Cone) thinks that the teacher has the hots for his girl.

Routh, Weissman, and Suvari all rock throughout Ick, giving off attitude and then going subtle when needed. It just goes to show that they deserve meatier roles than they’ve been given in the last few years. Weissman has the screen presence to make a name for herself, too.

The film gives me b-movie fun vibes and features a rocking soundtrack of early 2000s pop punk and alternative, such as Wheatus, Creed, Blink-182, Good Charlotte, and much more. Joseph Kahn, like many directors, has a history of music video directing. Some pretentious critics may count these aforementioned facts against him, but I love it. We’re heading into the era of early 2000s nostalgia, just like the 80s and 90s before it (it always comes in waves twenty years later), and I say lean into it.

I mentioned Gunn earlier because the film is fast-paced and throws jokes up against the wall to see which ones stick, much like an indie version of his style, and I enjoyed it. Ick doesn’t get too deep other than Hank realizing how family can give him a purpose in life; it’s more of an exciting romp with some action/horror mixed in. It’s akin to the music of the 2000s, just have a good time and save the meditations on life for The Beatles.