Viewers of Agata Trzebuchowska’s Sick may think they know what they are in for, but they will not predict the depth of the sickness.
In Trzebuchowska’s feature directorial debut, Maks, 16, and his sister Emma, 19, are sent to the countryside to care for their ailing grandmother. Maks is struggling with his budding adolescent sexuality and Emma is self-medicating after broken dreams of a tennis career. They are isolated from other family and friends as they navigate spoon-feeding, dressing, and washing their grandmother in an unkempt house. As young adults ill-equipped to navigate their grandmother’s strange symptoms, they only have each other for comfort.
The title itself, Sick, refers to several different aspects of the film. Most obviously, grandma is sick, with peeling skin, thick bodily fluids, and deteriorating mental clarity. But the kids seem sick, too. Emma is slipping into alcohol addiction, and other self-destructive behaviors, and she would benefit from mental health intervention. Maks seems obsessed with picking his skin and prodding at his body, which suggests some unhealthy compulsions. As the film progresses, Emma and Maks engage in actions that will make the audience feel ill, as the body horror gets more disgusting, leaving viewers with a sick feeling. Every part of this film is sick at its core.
The small casts’ believable and heart-breaking performances make the characters feel realistic, which makes their actions even more shocking. Emma, Maks, and the grandmother are all going through different troubles and transformations, and the acting hammers home the emotion. Emma is mocking everything and participating in her grandmother’s care as little as she can, and Maks tries several times to confront her about it. Maks is obsessed with his body and distracted by sex, and trying to hide it from the women he shares a house with. While their grandmother should be at the forefront of their minds, as their only job is to care for her, she is lurking in the background of their stories while they are not paying attention.
The setting also influences the sick feeling of the film. Grandma’s house is old, and in ill-repair, but not because of lack of care. It looks the way a house looks when an ailing relative can no longer manage the upkeep. The walls are dirty, there’s no food in the cupboard, and the breadbox is the final resting place of a mouse, which everyone ignores and just eats around. Two irresponsible and depressed teenagers are no match for the creeping filth in the home.
Sick’s plot pivots dramatically in the third act, completely changing the dynamic of the film, and the power structure in the family. The story rapidly progresses from there, building to an ending that doesn’t flinch, but viewers might watch through their fingers. What at first seems like a standard “getting old is scary” story transforms into something unexpected. Fans of body horror, intimate family dramas, and art that pushes boundaries will find much to love in Sick. Prepare to test your limits and leave feeling ill.
Sick received its world premiere at Fantastic Fest 2026 on Friday, September 18
