While Sick will likely gain attention for its pandemic-driven premise, the new thriller from Scream (1996) screenwriter Kevin Williamson is much more than just a current events-capitalizing scary movie. Lean, intense, and smart, it’s one of the better recent additions to the slasher genre while also being a rare film with something to say about the Covid crisis.

The film takes place in April 2020, during the early days of quarantines, lockdowns, and toilet paper scarcity. College students Parker (Gideon Adlon) and Miri (Bethlehem Million) head to a cabin in the woods to ride out the pandemic and stay safe; they’re joined by Parker’s sort-of boyfriend DJ (Dylan Sprayberry) – as well as a masked killer intent on wreaking their own deadly havoc. It’s a simple premise, knocked out in a tension-filled 82 minutes.

The film’s first scene slams audiences back into those terrifying early-pandemic days, as a young...