Opening this year’s ScreamFest Film Festival, we had the chance to see “Ick”, the new film from Joseph Kahn, a director with a MASSIVE career directing Music Videos, and a very distinct sense of humor.
In the past, Kahn brought films like “Detention” and “Bodied”, along with a very dark and twisted short film based on the Power Rangers franchise. This time with “Ick”, Kahn tries to bring a PG13 gateway horror Creature Feature to the TikTok generation.
Onto a brief synopsis!
For quite some time, a strange herb has been growing in the small town known as Willow Creek. Affectionately called by the locals as “The Ick”, the herb seems to sprout in just about everywhere, and for some reason, nobody in Willow Creek seems to be bothered by it, nor interested in finding out where it came from. What they care most for, is their Football team, especially its star athlete Hank.
Hank’s apparently idyllic life as the town’s Golden boy comes to an abrupt end due a weird accident in one of the most important games in his life. In just a few weeks, he loses his scholarship, his girlfriend, job opportunities and pretty much, the control of his life, falling into depression and alcohol, until he finds a new purpose, teaching science in the same high school he used to attend.
After several decades being dormant, The Ick starts to show a strange behavior and even a mind of its own, managing to infect and control some of the residents of Willow Creek as Zombies, starting a hostile takeover little by little. This will make Hank finally step up from his meaningless existence and fight to save not only his town, but also the girl that could be the daughter he never knew he had.