Ick

High school science teacher Hank must save his hometown from a mushrooming, aggressive alien goo. In his latest assault on the senses Ick, music video wizard Joseph Kahn delivers a pop culture-infused horror-comedy with heart, charm, intelligence – and more than a few gross-out moments.

Now a science teacher, Hank (Brandon Routh, Superman Returns, 2006) used to have it all: a football career in the making and the head cheerleader Staci as his girlfriend. At least until his knee injury ended both his dreams and his relationship. The cause for his fall: a black goo called ick which has been mushrooming in the town for years with no one paying any attention – and which now, suddenly, has started turning people into zombie-like creatures. Hank needs to get his shit together for his (maybe-)daughter Grace, and to save the day…

Ick marks Joseph Kahn’s return to his own high school-set horror comedy Detention (2011). And, as with the director’s sophomore effort, Ick is an audio-visual assault on the senses. What sets it apart from similar pop culture-infused endeavours of the meta-meta kind, is not only its sheer inventiveness, but also Kahn’s command over genre tropes and archetypes. In between gross-out moments we find a family drama and an underdog spirit delivering witty commentary with the right dose of political incorrectness. You’re in for a ride, but one with heart, charm and intelligence!

– Stefan Borsos

Ick screens at Pathé de Kuip (Sunday 2 February, 16.10).
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Tickets Pathé de Kuip