Alien invasion films seem to be having a bit of a comeback (with Spielberg even coming back to the subgenre next year), but they often follow a similar formula. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it’s often either the Independence Day or Invasion of the Body Snatchers approach. Joseph Kahn’s ICK instead gives us a Blob-like lifeform that has been around for decades, slowly permeating the everyday life of everyday people. It can get pretty brutal while still maintaining a fun lightness. You can check out Bumbray’s review of the film HERE.
Stars Brandon Routh, Mena Suvari, Malina Pauli Weissman, and director Joseph Kahn get into the fun and difficulties of making this alien invasion horror/comedy. Routh was a bit more reserved, discussing the big differences between his time in the Superhero world and the world of horror. Mena gets into the fun she had getting to portray a high schooler as well as an ignorant mom. Malina (who I made sure to praise for her wonderful performance as Violet in A Series of Unfortunate Events) makes the shoot sound like an absolute blast. Finally, Joseph gets into how they didn’t quite have a final design for the ICK during filming, with the visual FX not even finalized during its TIFF screening last year. All this and more in the embedded video above!
ICK plot: For almost two decades, a viscous vine-like growth known colloquially as “The Ick” has benignly crept into every nook and cranny of American life while the residents of small town Eastbrook remain blasé about its existence. The exceptions are former high school football star-turned-hapless science teacher Hank (Routh) and his sardonically perceptive student Grace (Weissman) who are thrown together by Grace’s mom Staci’s (Suvari) closely-guarded secret and a mutual suspicion that the Ick is about to unleash some monstrous mayhem.
ICK IS PLAYING IN SELECT THEATERS ON JULY 25TH, 2025.
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