I was actually very surprised upon initially hearing that Lucky McKee had been given a spot to make an episode for the Masters of Horror. I had seen May a long time ago and remembered not being very impressed with it (though a recent viewing of it made me appreciate it more) and wasn't expecting somebody with so little accomplished in the horror genre to have an episode so soon in the show. And in all honesty I wasn't really impressed with the trailer for it either but of course I had every intention to watch every episode no matter how much I thought it would be lacking.
Boy was my initial judgment wrong. Lucky McKee's Sick Girl is by far one of the most entertaining and memorable episodes to the first season. I would have to say that it easily makes my top 3 favorite episodes of the first batch. It is in every way a drama and comedy as it is a horror film. What Lucky does best in this episode is not only tell a horrific story about a bug monster terrorizing an apartment complex, but he surrounds it with a unique love story centralizing on a very fascinating main character. Angela Bettis is perfectly cast (yet again, see May) as the lonely, detached scientist looking for love. Her little gestures and personality traits are just as interesting to watch as the great scares at the end. And once the conclusion mounts its an emotional ride as its hard not to feel deep compassion and concern for the central characters.
And as unconventional and bizarre as the ending may seem its perfectly fitting and in many ways sort of happy. I loved Sick Girl and hope Lucky is invited back to do another episode. Initial criticism's aside, my first thoughts prior to viewing this film were pleasantly proved wrong. Bravo McKee.