Sketch Review: Family-Friendly Horror Film Takes On a Bizarre Concept
Title: Sketch
Director: Seth Worley
Release Date: September 7, 2024 (TIFF), August 6, 2025 (United States)
In this era, indie movie studios are starting to push their limits, especially releasing kid-friendly movies after a series of adult movies with complex matter. A24 released both Marcel the Shell with Shoes On and The Legend of Ochi, Briarcliff Entertainment released Sneaks as their first animated movie, and now Angel Studios is releasing animated movies, starting with The King of Kings. Well, Angel is known for faith-based films, but sometimes they will buy a random kids' film to distribute in theaters and then on streaming apps. Today's movie is called Sketch, the comedy-horror film that uses the motif of drawing. Now, how was Angel Studios able to have this movie? After its premiere at TIFF the previous year, they bought distribution rights thanks to positive screenings. When it was released in theaters this August, it gained moderate success of $8.5 million worldwide opposed to a budget of $3 million. Critics and audiences reacted positively to its heartfelt story, colorful visuals, and deep themes. For making a bizarre concept and mixing it into an emotional journey, Sketch is a cute horror movie that can dip its pain into pencil and crayon.
Summary
"Fantastical creatures come to life when a young girl's sketchbook falls into a strange pond. As the town starts to unravel, she and her brother try to track down the unpredictable, chaotic and real monsters before they cause permanent damage. Racing against time to find them, their father must navigate a community in crisis to reunite his family and stop the disaster they never meant to unleash." - Google
Reasons
The good art skills of Sketch are the heartwarming story, inventive visuals, and deep message. Although this was a 50% fit for Angel Studios' lineup, its concept was something that was both unique and kid-friendly, and it is a better take than Harold and the Purple Crayon did with the drawings-come-to-life concept. The story uses these drawings to develop the characters like real people who are going through so much in life. It is a fantasy, a horror, and a comedy at the same time, but it never goes on a seesaw on which one it actually wants to be, and this genre blend is a good batter. Another standout from this movie is the visuals. Given that this is a movie about drawings, the rapid color and chicken-scratch lines are a creative touch. Each of the monsters symbolizes Amber's feelings, which is a relatable thing. Because this is from Angel Studios, the message is that touching. Similar to IF, it tells us that imagination is healing. It also tells us to process grief using a coping skill like drawing.
Other good art skills from Sketch are the exciting jumpscares, the lovable characters, and the quick pacing. Technically, this is a horror film for kids, so it should scare the audience a little bit. It actually tends to be thrilling for anyone of any age. All of them are more of "boo!" than "AHHHH!", so it makes the film stay in the kid-friendly bill. On the other side of the drawings, the characters are really sympathetic. Amber is the grieving and creative lead, Jack is the brother sidekick, Taylor is the struggling father, Liz is the supportive sister of the father, and Bowman is the comic relief who helps the siblings. They feel like real people who come together to witness the magical unknown. For the final touch, the pacing can balance the plot. At a runtime of 1 hour and 32 minutes, it doesn't overstay its welcome. Why? It is a simple film that kids can easily pick up.
Because of those good qualities, Sketch is an amazing film, but the only nitpicks from it are the predictability and the stretch towards adult references. The predictability is not as much as Elio, which was our previous movie. However, it can be a little easy to guess what happens next, especially when Jack predicted the outcome after Amber's notebook fell into the pond. In addition, we agree that more kids' films should be watchable for adults, but it tends to rely on a bit of swearing as an attempt to be family-friendly. Sure, you can hate me for being harsh, but "hell" should be said twice, and "dumb-ss" should be swapped for something else that's kid-friendly.
Conclusion
Sketch is a cute, family-friendly horror film that offers something new to the table. Even if this was something that its company released just for once, it was a heartwarming story about grief doodled with CGI chicken scratches. Personally, I am not an Angel Studios person, but I do like this film. Considering that I loved IF, then it turns out that I loved Sketch, albeit kind of not as much as that movie. Whether you are faith-friendly or not, try seeing this one to see if it exceeds your expectations.
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