SICK GIRL

Ida is a homosexual entomologist who cannot establish a lasting relationship with a partner due to her passion for insects. In fact, her house is populated by numerous species of small animals and her collection often causes disgust in her partners. One day, Ida meets Misty, an introverted girl who spends her days drawing fairies in the lobby of the building where Ida works. The two fall in love and Misty moves in with Ida, since she also adores insects. Meanwhile, Ida receives a mysterious package from Brazil containing a strange insect that apparently does not belong to any cataloged race. The insect, which immediately proves very aggressive, manages to escape from its terrarium and bites Misty. From that moment on, the girl begins to undergo a disturbing... both character and physical mutation! "Masters of Horror" is a unique project born from the mind of Mick Garris, a director known in the horror field especially for the adaptations of Stephen King's novels. Garris thought of bringing together the most representative directors of horror cinema in a project destined for cable TV Showtime and home video, the result is "Masters of Horror", a series of 13 half-hour films of 60 minutes each, each directed by a great name in genre cinema; each episode has a budget of 1.8 million dollars, the location set in the Canadian city of Vancouver and total creative freedom was granted to each director. The names involved in the project are: Don Coscarelli, Tobe Hooper, Dario Argento, Lucky McKee, Stuart Gordon, Joe Dante, John McNaughton, Larry Cohen, Takashi Miike, John Carpenter, William Malone, John Landis and Mick Garris himself. In reality, "Creatura Maligna" fits somewhat awkwardly into a TV series that makes horror its watchword. In fact, for almost 50 minutes, the short film signed by Lucky McKee is a comedy, at times sentimental, populated by strange but sympathetic protagonists; then, in the last minutes, one can witness a sharp turn that veers decisively towards the most genuine horror, with splatter elements and monster movie. This eccentric and unbalanced mixture could seem counterproductive for a project entitled "Masters of Horror", considering that the same author of the film could not yet be defined as a "master" at the time, since he had only one film to his credit ("May"). Yet, despite the cards on the table not seeming to be able to win, in front of the vision of "Creatura maligna" one cannot but remain totally satisfied, so much so that one can affirm that McKee's work is inserted among the most successful episodes of the first season of "Masters of Horror". A large part of the success of "Creatura maligna" is due to the actors and especially to the protagonist Angela Bettis, an actress particularly linked to dark or suffering characters of the horror universe. From Carrie White in the remake of "Carrie - Lo sguardo di Satana" to May of the eponymous film, passing through problematic girls in "La mossa del diavolo" and "Ragazze interrotte", Bettis offers here her best performance, a sweet entomologist with a visible affective deficiency and a character too docile and submissive. A girl victim of her passions and the prejudices of those who see her as a "deviant" because of her sexual tastes, but always extremely positive in facing life and the obstacles that arise. On the other hand, we have Misty, an introverted and mysterious girl, played by an equally talented Erin Brown, an actress with a long list of fantasy-erotic films under the pseudonym Misty Mundae. The face covered by a long mane of brown hair, the gaze lost in the void of someone who is daydreaming, a passion for fairies, Misty is presented to us as an eternal teenager, an innocent who will find herself facing the horror of mutation. A mutation that first involves the character, transforming a fragile soul into an emancipated and uninhibited girl; then a physical change, announced by a putrid wound that cannot heal and closed by a complete metamorphosis that cites the legendary Seth Brundle of the cronenberghian "The Fly", but also the old b-movies with mutant creatures. The light and carefree tone of comedy that hovers over much of the film gives "Creatura maligna" that right dose of originality that distinguishes it from the other episodes of "Masters of Horror", without subtracting from the main theme of the TV series, adequately rendered by the excellent makeup effects of Berger, Nicotero and their team. Irresistibly grotesque ending! It certainly deserves half a pumpkin more.