‘I tend to mistime the audience’: Director Joseph Kahn on the subtle art of not giving an Ick

Joseph Kahn on Embracing Awkwardness in Filmmaking

More than a year after its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, Joseph Kahn’s film Ick is finally being released on-demand in Canada. Known for his daring and irreverent creative style, Kahn describes Ick as a mix of horror and comedy that explores discomfort, repulsion, and the audience’s shifting boundaries of taste.

Finding Humor in Discomfort

Kahn admits that balancing comedy and disgust is a fine line:

"I tend to mistime the audience," he says, laughing. "Sometimes people don’t know if they should laugh or be quiet."

The film leans into social awkwardness and moral confusion, presenting moments that both repel and attract. For Kahn, the goal is not to make viewers comfortable but to challenge their expectations about what makes something funny or disturbing.

Navigating the ‘Ick’ Factor

The term “ick” has entered popular slang to describe the sudden feeling of disgust toward something previously accepted. Kahn plays with this cultural concept, turning it into a cinematic tool. In his view, the “ick” moment can reveal as much about the audience as it does about the story.

"Comedy and horror come from the same place — they both rely on surprise," Kahn notes. "One makes you laugh because you feel safe, the other because you realize you’re not."

The Art of Not Caring Too Much

Kahn emphasizes that creative freedom often requires letting go of fear about how audiences will respond. He sees filmmaking as a personal experiment rather than a calculated effort to please crowds.

"If I start thinking too much about the audience, the work dies," he explains. "You have to trust the discomfort."

A Filmmaker Unafraid to Polarize

Kahn has built a career on bold, unconventional projects, from music videos for major stars to provocative films that resist easy classification. With Ick, he continues this tradition, turning unease into both a subject and a weapon.

Author’s summary: Joseph Kahn’s Ick turns discomfort into an art form, blending horror and comedy while challenging viewers to confront what truly unsettles them.

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The Globe and Mail The Globe and Mail — 2025-11-28

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