Sketch – Film Review

Seth Worley’s Sketch is the kind of movie that seems tailor-made for audiences who want their fantasy and horror swirled together with a generous dollop of quirky comedy. It’s a film that takes a wildly imaginative premise — a young girl’s sketchbook monsters coming to life — and treats it not only as a playground for inventive set pieces, but as a means to explore themes of grief, creativity, and family connection. With Tony Hale and D’Arcy Carden anchoring the adult cast, and an ensemble of talented young performers injecting energy and heart, Sketch emerges as one of the more refreshingly offbeat genre offerings in recent memory.

From the outset, Worley immerses us in a richly realized world that feels both familiar and slightly askew. The story’s foundation — a widowed father, his two kids, and a mysterious pond with strange powers — taps into a timeless fairy-tale sensibility, but the script layers in plenty of modern touches, from gaming references to sly jabs at school bureaucracy. The central conceit of Amber’s monsters coming to life works beautifully because it’s grounded in her personality and emotional state. She’s not drawing cute cartoon critters — her creations are unnervingly specific and often grotesque, which makes their eventual manifestation all the more vivid and unsettling.

The pond itself is a deliciously mysterious plot device, acting as both a source of wonder and a ticking time bomb. Worley smartly avoids over-explaining its origins, instead letting it function as a magical wildcard that pushes the characters into increasingly absurd and dangerous situations. This sense of unpredictability keeps the audience engaged, wondering what strange development will spring forth next.

Perhaps Sketch’s most impressive achievement is its tonal dexterity. The film is unafraid to lean into genuinely creepy moments — some of Amber’s creations, particularly the spider-like “eyeders,” have a distinctly unsettling design that might unnerve younger viewers. But Worley counterbalances this with moments of absurd humor, often through character interactions or the monsters’ oddly specific quirks.

Tony Hale brings his trademark awkward warmth to Taylor, a father doing his best to maintain normalcy while juggling grief, parenting, and the chaos unfolding around him. His comedic timing ensures the darker elements never overwhelm the story, while still letting the emotional beats land. D’Arcy Carden, as Liz, is the kind of supporting presence who steals scenes with a single raised eyebrow or sardonic remark. She’s less a traditional “comic relief” character and more the voice of grounded pragmatism amidst the chaos, which makes her moments of exasperation especially funny.

While Hale and Carden provide the film’s comedic backbone, the younger cast gives Sketch its emotional weight and adventurous spark. Bianca Belle as Amber is a standout, imbuing the character with a mix of vulnerability, stubbornness, and sly wit. She convincingly conveys the bottled-up frustration that fuels her art, making her bond with her creations both believable and thematically resonant.

Kue Lawrence, as Jack, offers a complementary energy — more impulsive and curious, with a gamer’s strategic mindset that proves invaluable in the film’s set pieces. Their sibling dynamic feels authentic, full of bickering, reluctant teamwork, and moments of unexpected tenderness. Kalon Cox as Bowman adds a fun wildcard presence, his reactions to the escalating madness often mirroring the audience’s own.

For a mid-budget fantasy horror comedy, Sketch makes remarkable use of its visual effects. The monster designs feel like something straight out of an eccentric child’s notebook — mismatched proportions, exaggerated features, and an underlying “wrongness” that makes them memorable. The “eyeders” in particular are a masterclass in taking an inherently silly idea and making it genuinely eerie.

Worley and his effects team wisely mix practical elements with CGI, grounding the more outlandish visuals in tangible textures. The result is a world where a marker-stealing doppelgänger of a child can feel just as real as the human characters. The use of color, especially in depicting the monsters and their surroundings, plays a huge role in the film’s tone — warm, vibrant hues for moments of wonder, and cooler, harsher palettes for sequences that lean into horror.

One of Sketch’s strengths lies in how its comedy arises naturally from the situations rather than feeling tacked on. A scene involving improvised monster-deterrence methods on a school bus is both tense and hilarious, while a sequence in which the kids try to “out-sketch” the monsters becomes a rapid-fire showcase of visual gags and clever problem-solving.

The dialogue has a quick, witty rhythm without tipping into quip-overload. Worley allows his actors space to play with reactions and pauses, giving comedic beats room to breathe. This prevents the film from becoming an exhausting barrage of jokes, and instead creates a steady undercurrent of levity that enhances the adventure.

Beneath the chaos of rampaging monsters and enchanted ponds lies a story about processing loss and finding new ways to connect. Jack’s secret hope of using the pond to bring back his mother is a quietly poignant throughline, lending the film a layer of emotional depth that keeps it from being mere spectacle. Similarly, Amber’s arc — learning to channel her frustrations in ways that don’t harm herself or others — gives the film an added weight.

Worley never lets these themes become heavy-handed, instead letting them emerge naturally through character decisions and moments of vulnerability. By the time the dust settles, the audience has been taken on a journey that feels both fantastical and surprisingly personal.

While Sketch is a consistently engaging ride, it’s not without a few rough edges. The pacing occasionally wobbles, particularly in the middle act where the momentum dips before the final showdown kicks in. Some secondary characters — notably certain townspeople caught in the monster chaos — verge on one-note caricature, which can slightly undercut the otherwise well-rounded tone.

Additionally, viewers looking for a deeper dive into the pond’s origins or the rules of its magic might feel slightly shortchanged. Worley keeps things intentionally vague, which works for the fairy-tale quality, but those craving more concrete answers may find the mystery a bit too open-ended.

In an era when many fantasy comedies feel either too sanitized for broad appeal or too cynical for genuine wonder, Sketch manages to walk a tricky middle path. It’s imaginative without being self-indulgent, creepy without being joyless, and funny without undermining its stakes.

The blend of heartfelt family drama, inventive monster mayhem, and sharp comedic performances makes Sketch a standout in its genre. Seth Worley’s confident direction, paired with Tony Hale’s gentle humor, D’Arcy Carden’s grounded wit, and a charismatic young cast, ensures the film will resonate with audiences looking for something both strange and sincere.