Sick: Survive the Night

Director - Ryan M. Andrews (Desolation)
Starring - Christina Aceto (Paranormal Witness), Richard Roy Sutton (The Secret Sex Life of a Single Mom), and Robert Nolan (Silent Retreat)
Release Date - 2012
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Death is in the air"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     It has been 5 glorious days since I last reviewed a zombie/infected flick.  Most of you may not know this about me from my constant bitching about the zombie sub-genre, but I fucking love zombie flicks.  Well, I did until they were fucking everywhere.  I can honestly go to Wal-Mart, FYE, Target, and Best Buy and find at least 10 zombie flicks that was released just this month alone.  This is way too fucking many especially when they all tell the same story.  A few months back Midnight Releasing sent me a review copy of Sick: Survive the Night.  The film looked like it offered nothing new or original so I put it on my shelf and completely forgot about it until recently when I was reviewing Axe to Grind and it struck me that I had the film to review because they both star Debbie Rochon.  After checking out AtG I had to follow it up with Sick.  Thanks Midnight for sending it over for me to check out.
     The film follows a group of survivors who have been battling the undead for several years now who are completely oblivious that a scientific lab is conducting experiments to prevent those from turning that have been bitten.  They were close to a cure and decided to test it on one of themselves.  That person seemed fine but left the underground bunker to check on her parents.  While she is on her way to her home, she crosses paths with the survivors after they find their way in her parent's home.  They check each other for bite marks where they find none and try to board up the place for safety to make it through the night.  However, the young scientist changes and bites one of the men.  Knowing that he is about to die, he ties his partner up because it is his fault he is there in the home.  He cuts him up with a knife while waiting to change but he never does.  He then realizes that she was caring the cure and when she bit him she did not transfer the zombie virus into him.  Before he can tell his friend, his friend breaks free and kills him.
     When I first saw Sick, I thought it was just another zombie flick that featured a group of survivors fighting amongst themselves when they are not fighting zombies.  For the most part, this is true but the film did something that the rest of these other films did not do and that was to not bore the shit out of the viewer.  The film kept the pace going which never left a dull moment.  The acting in this one was great by the entire cast.  The film's main stars, Aceto, Sutton, and Nolan, work very well together and almost feed off one another.  Their performances make the movie and without them the film would have fell apart.  The remainder of the cast is great as well but for the most part they are just background fixtures next to these three.  The story for this one is one we have seen countless times before even with the cure angle which will put the viewer in mind of 28 Weeks Later where this is similar to the small child carrying the virus.  Though the story is not one that is original, it is still fun as hell and holds the viewer's attention very well.  Finally, the film has tons of practical effects and on screen kills.  Sadly, the on screen kills are nothing original or memorable and for the most part they are lackluster.  The practical effects are great but the zombies are hit and miss.  Some of the undead look fantastic while others look like they just painted their eyes black and threw them in front of the camera.  This ruins the undead as a whole.  Overall, Sick: Survive the Night is a worthwhile zombie film in a sea of shitty undead flicks.  The film may not be original but it sure as hell is fun.  Check it out!