I.C.U

Director: Aash Aaron (2009)
Starring: Margot Robbie, Christian Radford, James Dean
Find it: IMDB

A horror film I sought out only because I heard Margot Robbie (of recent Wolf of Wall Street glory) was in it. Not in a weird stalker way, but watching Wolf of Wall Street, I thought, 'I would like to see more of this Margot Robbie lady'. Well, maybe in a weird stalker way, but no more so than anything else I think or do. Robbie is almost front and centre in I.C.U, a serial killer thriller in which a serial killer targets the three youths who have been spying on him as he carries out his vicious crimes.

She may not have been a big name at this point, but Robbie is the sole highlight in a film full of annoying actors, even worse characters and ugly visuals. It has a startlingly unsettling atmosphere, to be sure, but in almost every other respect, I.C.U is a failure. The marketing would have you believe that this is in the same vein as the likes of Rear Window, but that's a joke. Even the Shia LaBeouf semi-remake is preferable to this. 

Like the awful Ricky Dickson (James Dean, but not the good one), the camera leers at Robbie, requiring her to be either showering, swimming, tied up or half-naked in every single scene. She does all of those things very well, but it's hardly progressive, and leaves one feeling almost dirty for watching it. That sense of voyeurism is well captured and in line with the film's themes and tone, but it doesn't make for a pleasant viewing experience.

Finishing with a ridiculous twist, I.C.U is an annoyance throughout. The director Aash Aaron pops up as the kids' angry cop dad, turning the whole affair into a sweary, stupid(er) farce. I'm glad that Robbie has gone on to bigger and better things, since it means that I won't have to watch more rubbish like this to get my fix. I.C.U? I wish I hadn't.