One IMDb reviewer said that Sick Boy starts out well enough but then falls apart and that is very accurate. I don't mind low budget, though usually the problem is not with the budget but the lack of expertise behind the camera, either the script or the direction. Often times it will be one person who writes and directs and produces the low budget script and this is one of those. The issue with Sick Boy is not the production value but rather the fact that a 20 minute short story is stretched over a feature length film. So you begin to see all the flaws with the movie. The two lead performers seem okay at first but then as the movie progresses they seem to get worse and worse and more and more amateur until you don't really care and you just wanted it to be over. The concept of the film is intriguing and it is a great spin on the typical zombie flick if that's where they were going with it. The settings and special effects are minimal but some of the scenes that create tension are really well done. But you can only create tension for a brief amount of time. When you try to stretch that same tension over an hour and a half it falters.
Skye McCole Bartusiak plays the lead in the film. She is not an amateur and in fact has been acting in all kinds of projects for years. I flip flopped back and forth on her because sometimes I thought she was actually doing really well and then the next moment she felt over dramatic, and really campy in her portrayal. The constant scenes of her trying to "pass time" only makes the film drag even more. Similarly Marc Donato who plays her fiancé has had a lot of experience but he usually delivers his lines in this film very monotone and without any real charisma on screen. The two of them together are decent and even have good chemistry but the script holds them both back. Debbie Rochon probably gives the best performance in the film, although quite brief as the mother of the "sick boy." Her performance is intriguing and appropriately creepy.
Director and writer Tim Cunningham has worked in visual effects for years in some very successful films. I imagine he finally decided he could do this better and ventured out on his own. Again I re-iterate, decent story but should be a twilight zone episode not a full length feature film because it drags and drags until the final climax which is pretty well done and certainly all of the special effects go into that closing scene but its too late and you're very nearly bored by the time this happens. Unfortunately, this one is skippable completely. It will probably read well and I could even see a trailer drawing people in but you will be disappointed with the outcome. 4/10
Skye McCole Bartusiak plays the lead in the film. She is not an amateur and in fact has been acting in all kinds of projects for years. I flip flopped back and forth on her because sometimes I thought she was actually doing really well and then the next moment she felt over dramatic, and really campy in her portrayal. The constant scenes of her trying to "pass time" only makes the film drag even more. Similarly Marc Donato who plays her fiancé has had a lot of experience but he usually delivers his lines in this film very monotone and without any real charisma on screen. The two of them together are decent and even have good chemistry but the script holds them both back. Debbie Rochon probably gives the best performance in the film, although quite brief as the mother of the "sick boy." Her performance is intriguing and appropriately creepy.
Director and writer Tim Cunningham has worked in visual effects for years in some very successful films. I imagine he finally decided he could do this better and ventured out on his own. Again I re-iterate, decent story but should be a twilight zone episode not a full length feature film because it drags and drags until the final climax which is pretty well done and certainly all of the special effects go into that closing scene but its too late and you're very nearly bored by the time this happens. Unfortunately, this one is skippable completely. It will probably read well and I could even see a trailer drawing people in but you will be disappointed with the outcome. 4/10