Masters of Horror: SICK GIRL

My pechant for the macabre knows no bounds. I am a big fan of Showtime Tv's Masters of Horror series. Each one hour film is directed by a known master of the craft. The show (created by Mick Garris) has featured John Carpenter (Halloween), John McNaughton (Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer), Dario Argento (Suspiria), Joe Dante (The Howling), Brad Anderson (Session 9), Ernest Dickerson (Tales from the Crypt's Demon Night), etc.

This is a film series not to be missed. Show creator Mick Garris (The Shining, the Stand)has developed a wonderful escape from the usual and each guest director brings his own feel to the fearful with each film. Brilliant!

Lucky McKee, director of MAY, is reunited with his leading lady Angela Bettis in the Master's of Horror movie SICK GIRL. (costarring Erin Brown aka Misty Mundae) Sick Girl is the story of an unlucky in love entomologist named Ida whose life is suddenly changed by the arrival of a mysterious package.

Ida collects, studies and lives her life surrounded by bugs. She keeps a collection of them in her bedroom (which genuinely puts off anyone who sleeps with her). Ida is lonely and sad, but that all changes when she meets Misty and the package arrives.

Inside of the package is a strange, large, aggressive bug that Ida takes to immediately, and brings into her home.

With the arrival of this new bug and her love life in full swing, everything seems in order. Ida and Misty hit it off almost instantly and begin a torrid affair. The Bug escapes from its box, kills a neighbor's dog and then in an unlikely plot twist begins to feed on Misty to survive.

Misty's attitude and demeanor (as well as her physical body) begin to change and she succumbs to the bug's influences. Ida is dumbfounded even more so when she receives a letter from Brazil apologizing for sending the bug to her in the first place. The sender is Misty's homophobic father and Ida's old entomology professor.

So do they eventually live happily ever after? Well, happily ever after ain't all its cracked up to be, but after Misty murders two people, they do live.

Director Lucky McKee co wrote this babes and bugs story. It is a funny and fascinating tale. Angela Bettis and Erin Brown do have genuine chemistry on screen and because they make such a cute couple, you find yourself actually rooting for them.

The Bug might symbolize to some the male patriarchal ego intruding on the Sapphic love fest, and that is cool. Because it does basically do that, but the threesome does make for an interestingly creepy film.

The skin factor is minute which for Showtime is a plus. I don't look at Masters of Horror for soft core porn. I like to be scared. When the plot of the movie has a sexual basis, then the extra skin is necessary. McKee maintains that balance and thus tells an effective story on screen.

If you haven't seen the Masters of Horror series, go to your local video story and rent a couple of films. visit www.mastersofhorror.net for the full low down on the series.