Review - Masters of Horror: Sick Girl
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Arachnids are not among my most favorite things . . .
. . . so this episode of Masters of Horror entitled Sick Girl rated very high on the Ick Scale for me. Directed by Lucky McKee of May (one of my favorite films by the way) fame, this episode kept me wanting more through the entire progression of it’s storyline. Even the ending left me wanting more, but not in that bad unfinished sort of way. It’s just like when you are reading a great book and even though you want to get to the end to see how the story ends, you are a little sad when you do get there because it means the story is over - catch 22 really.
Having said all that, I love the fact that Lucky again called upon the extraordinary talents of Angela Bettis to play Ida Teeter - a totally quirky, lesbian, entomologist. She is all of the things this role needs her to be - quirky, passionate, full of nervous energy, and beautiful in a completely different sort of way. Misty Falls (Erin Brown) was captivating as a pixie-drawing, fully fixated love interest of Ida’s. Marcia Bennett as Lana the landlady played her homophobic, germophobic tight-assed Miss Priss role to a tee.
Really a commentary on moving too quickly into a relationship, Sick Girl went about it’s observations in a very unique sort of way. It will get you thinking twice about just jumping into a relationship with both feet without looking now and in the future.
Just as Ida Teeter is dumped yet again by another woman-friend who cannot seem to deal with her bug fetish, she meets up with Misty Falls, a strange fairy drawing woman who sits in Ida’s place of business drawing pixies all day long. This alone should have clued her in that strange things were happening.
Ida also receives an interesting new bug friend sent to her anonymously in the mail. She soon loses the aggressive little bug but is quite distracted by her new love. Turns out that Misty is not averse to the insect world as we quickly find out that she is the daughter of one of Ida’s entomological college professors. An interesting twist of events occurs which brings the two women even closer together - not the intention of the bug sender but it does lend itself nicely to a cute little ending.
I absolutely loved this episode. It comes in at #3 in this series for me. Beat out only by Incident on and off a Mountain Road and Cigarette Burns. Lucky McKee please, oh please put out more soon!
Directed by
Dario Argento (episode 1.04 "Jenifer")
John Carpenter (episode 1.08 "Cigarette Burns")
Larry Cohen (episode 1.09 "Pick Me Up")
Don Coscarelli (episode 1.01 "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road")
Joe Dante (episode 1.06 "Homecoming")
Mick Garris (episode 1.05 "Chocolate")
Stuart Gordon (episode 1.02 "H.P. Lovecraft's Dreams in the Witch-House")
Tobe Hooper (episode 1.03 "Dance of the Dead")
John Landis (episode 1.07 "Deer Woman")
William Malone (episode 1.12 "Fair Haired Child")
Lucky McKee (episode 1.11 "Sick Girl")
John McNaughton (episode 1.13 "Haeckel's Tale")
Takashi Miike (episode 1.10 "Imprint")
Writing credits
Mick Garris (creator)
Don Coscarelli (episode 1.01 "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road") teleplay &
Stephen Romano (episode 1.01 "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road") teleplay and
Joe R. Lansdale (episode 1.01 "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road") short story
Dennis Paoli (episode 1.02 "H.P. Lovecraft's Dreams in the Witch-House") teleplay &
Stuart Gordon (episode 1.02 "H.P. Lovecraft's Dreams in the Witch-House") teleplay and
H.P. Lovecraft (episode 1.02 "H.P. Lovecraft's Dreams in the Witch-House") short story
Richard Christian Matheson (episode 1.03 "Dance of the Dead") teleplay and
Richard Matheson (episode 1.03 "Dance of the Dead") short story
Steven Weber (episode 1.04 "Jenifer") teleplay and
Bruce Jones (episode 1.04 "Jenifer") short story
Mick Garris (episode 1.05 "Chocolate") teleplay and
Mick Garris (episode 1.05 "Chocolate") short story
Sam Hamm (teleplay) (episode 1.06 "Homecoming")
Max Landis (writer) (episode 1.07 "Deer Woman") &
John Landis (writer) (episode 1.07 "Deer Woman")
Drew McWeeny (writer) (episode 1.08 "John Carpenter's Cigarette Burns") &
Scott Swan (writer) (episode 1.08 "John Carpenter's Cigarette Burns")
Clive Barker story (episode "Haeckel's Tale")
Matt Greenberg writer (episode "Fair Haired Boy")
Sean Hood writer (episode "Sick Girl")
Shimako Iwai story (episode "Imprint")
David J. Schow writer (episode "Pick Me Up")
Daisuke Tengan writer (episode "Imprint")
Cast (in alphabetical order)
Angela Bettis .... Ida Teeter
Billy Drago
Carrie Fleming .... Jenifer
Chris Gauthier .... Timpson
Jesse Haddock .... Johnny
Jesse Hlubik .... Max Grubb
Warren Kole .... Walker
Laurene Landon .... Birdie
Zara Taylor .... Annie
