Nostalgia is a big thing these days. What seemed like just yesterday for me was like 25 years ago now. It’s crazy right? When I mean nostalgic things in regard to the late 90s or early 2000s, I mean the music and the kind of films that came out back then. Ick, the latest teen horror comedy has a vibe of that time.The way the characters look and how the film is built is a complete time capsule of those years. It took me back. I was completely blown away by how much this movie reminded me of my mid twenties. Anybody that grew up in that era, I’m sure will agree with me. 

Hank (Brandon Routh) is a normal high school kid who’s the quarterback of the local high school, Eastlake, on the football team and he’s dating the gorgeous prom Queen Staci (Mina Suvari). He got everything he could possibly want at this age in his life. Popularity, success, and he’s smart as well. That is until he suffers an ankle injury that costs him all of it. His dreams of going to college to play football are dashed, and he loses the girlfriend he loves to a geeky math need nobody likes. Fast forward to the present day, he’s a science teacher at the high school he used to play/go to, and he’s made fun of by the adults and the kids in his community. He is about to end things before he starts to realize he has something truly worthwhile to live for.

Ick refers to a substance that showed up in this small town years before. It’s a spore-like substance that has lain dormant for many years. Routh’s character starts to notice a drastic change in this substance. It has started to expand at night. It becomes violent in nature and starts to take over the people of this small town. He tries to warn the people, including his students, specifically Grace (Malina Weismann), who he has a particular interest in. Which I won’t spoil in this review. Let’s just say that they are connected in an important way in terms of the story. Nobody listens to him until it’s too late, and the Ick tries to take over the entire town.

This film has two main things it’s inspired by and one thing about that makes it just plain cool.Those are “The Blob” from 1958 a horror film about an unknown substance that absorbs everything in its path and teen horror films of the 90s/2000s. There are many teen related horror films like I Know What You Did Last Summer. The Faculty and Final Destination that have a similar feel to them. Teens running for their lives from some kind of monstrous  threat is a major trope in Hollywood. These kinds of films bring viewers into theaters in droves. This movie is inspired by those. It does a great job of doing so as well. It hit on all the beats of those types of films.

The cool aspect that I mentioned earlier is that the story has a killer soundtrack from the era the movie takes place in. Punk rock bands like All American Rejects, Blink 182, Creed, Good Charlotte, Plain White T’s and more are all featured on the soundtrack. It was like a glorious time travel event watching this film and listening to all of these songs from these bands I listened to during those years. The director Joseph Kahn is a big fan of these bands. He purposely designed this film around these three things he loved so much. He knew there would be an audience for a movie like this. I was in hog heaven watching and laughing at the absurd nature he was going for with the story. I hit on all the nostalgic beats I was looking for.

Brandon Routh is most known for his portrayal of Superman in Brian Singer’s Superman Returns from 2006. He, like Christopher Reeve, has been typecast as this role, more or less. Similar to Reeve, though, he has done other things like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and a lot of CW superhero shows. People still mainly remember him as Superman/Clark Kent from that mediocre film. He breaks away from that stereotype, though, with his role as the ex-jock science teacher. He is once again the leading man trying to save the day. I was glad to see him back in a role I could get behind. I thought he knew what he was in and played up to that fantastically. I loved him in this.

One aspect I thought that wasn’t great about this movie is the CGI. The creature or alien spore was completely brought to screen visual effects. Or at least it seemed that way to me. Most of the time, the Ick looked threatening and realistic, but sometimes it looked very wonky. I get it visual effects aren’t cheap these days. More often than not, though, I was genuinely scared for the cast of actors in this film. Kahn did the best job he could bringing this threat to the viewers. That’s a minor quibble I had with the movie, though. In a way, it plays into the vibe the director was going for. Which, in my mind, is totally acceptable.

Ick was a fun trick down the nostalgic lane. The creepy substance at the center of the story as the antagonist was a great call back to The Blob. The teen high school story worked well opposite the monster elements. The songs from all of the punk rock bands of that era fit perfectly into this throw back film. Routh and Suvari were great to see after so many years. It’s nice that they can both do a film like this one many years after their big successes. Kahn did a great job bringing something people my age can enjoy while also giving newer film goers something they can laugh at. It’s a great mix of things for audiences of all ages. I had a blast watching this movie. Good job to all involved!

4 stars

Dan Skip Allen