Beginning with a title screen informing the viewer that the year is 2020 and that to date there have been X amount of people infected and X amount of people have died from Covid; we are introduced to friends Parker (Gideon Adlon) and Bethlehem (Miri Woodlow). They have decided to quarantine from College at Parker’s parents’ lake house together and after the (at the time) de riguer questions of “did you do a RAT test?” and “do you have any symptoms” formalities, they set off in Parker’s jeep.

It’s clear from the outset that whilst Beth takes this very seriously and is scared of getting sick, Parker is mostly thinking about a fun lake vacation with her friend.

Once they arrive there are the usual young-adult hijinks and fun before they realise that they may not be so alone, and that perhaps being isolated is not such a great idea after all.

Set in 2020 during the height of the Covid pandemic and the rules and changes that occurred at the time, this neat little slasher couldn’t be more topical. Placing it firmly in a world that’s so freshly familiar to us is smart, and works in a way the majority of pandemic set films have not. Honestly, the way its weaved throughout the whole film and is, in the end, integral to the plot, is ingenious.

The acting is well above board with a few familiar faces in Marc Menchaca and Jane Adams (you might not know their names, but you likely know their faces), and in relative newcomers Aldon and Million, both strong and more than capable of carrying this movie and convincing in all aspects of their relationship and their abilities/pain.

The violent scenes are believable and the effects work well too, not to mention the tight and merciless direction by John Hyams (of the criminally underrated ‘Alone’); and there’s some nice, elevated cinematography from Yaron Levy that makes the most of the idyllic setting.

The most praise however should go to Kevin Williamson who co-wrote this clever script with Katelyn Crabb. It was at about the ten-minute mark that I started to get lovely OG Scream vibes and so it’s not surprising that the man behind that script also wrote this one. If you enjoyed Scream, I strongly encourage you to check out Sick, I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

Slashers are a great subgenre of horror and are a favourite of many fans, but they seem to be the one that seems to churn out the more rubbish, so when you find a gem in the pile its worth shouting about.

So I’m shouting.

Run, don’t walk, to see this one – it’s fresh, taut, funny, thrilling and entertaining as hell!

8.5/10