Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Sickle’

Written by Scott Edwards

You continuously hear about people being wrongfully accused of crimes that they didn’t commit. Even nowadays, you hear that people are being released from prison after spending twenty years behind bars when new evidence presents itself. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are guilty people out there that deserve to be in the clink for the crimes that they committed, but for the few that just found themselves at the wrong place at the wrong time, your heart goes out to them. The best thing that someone that has been wrongfully accused can do, is to stick to their story and do not let the system tell them that they are wrong, especially when nobody else was present that can speak to the events that went down.
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Michael Hart has just been released from prison fifteen years after he was accused of killing his babysitter. Serving his time has not changed Michael, especially since he did not commit the crime. With his parents wanting nothing to do with him, his Uncle Bill is happy to bring his nephew into his home and give him a second chance. But Bill wants to know what really happened that horrific night before he can feel comfortable with Michael overall. Hearing the young man’s story about a tall figure with a skeleton face and wearing nothing but black, Bill thinks that the boy has lost it, but Michael has been saying this for years and although he does not know why the killer has not made an appearance in fifteen years since he has been locked up, he knows it is still out there.

Kim is home from school and finds out that her cousin is running a ghost hunting operation. Thinking that this is kind of cool, she goes to visit her cousin Phil to see what kind of operation he is running. Even with his full team, Phil likes the idea of having Kim tag along on their investigations to see if she will start to believe in the afterlife. Jumping at the idea, Kim follows the ghost hunting team into a high school where some strange things have been reported, but the team’s researcher Susan is trying to get them to cover something else. Hearing that Michael Hart has been released from prison, returning to his childhood home and trying to prove what happened one way or another would be better for the team and get a boost in their income.

While working at his Uncle’s garage, Michael is greeted by Mr. Crane who is offering to pay much more for services than just car repair. While Michael gets tasked with the normal home maintenance deeds, he is also going to get paid for basic conversations with the old man. Although this seems to be different, getting a well-paying job for a few hours a day is something that Michael cannot pass up. While everything seems so dandy and sweet in Michael’s life once again, while at dinner with his doctor from prison, he is approached by Susan who wants to take him out for a night on the town. Returning to his childhood home where the babysitter was cut to shreds, Michael wants to run, but when telling Mr. Crane what happened, he is convinced to return so the old man can face death once again and this time punish the monster for what was done to his life.

I really like how this story manifested into more than a revenge tale, it was a story about life. I loved the interactions between the characters, especially Phil and Susan who were always at each other’s throats about what would be best for their ghost hunting future. Watching as Michael was reintroduced into society was great as well, and when he finally got past his fear of talking to girls, he and Kim were great together. With some old school effects, you are led to believe that Michael’s old house was haunted and seeing the monster from his dreams only led to a greater payoff at the end when it was obvious that the young man was telling the truth. When there is no place to run, home may be your only option, but when that is being run by a monster, you may need to weigh your options once again. Stay Scared.

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