Spoonful of Sugar – Film Review

Millicent is taking a semester off from her studies to concentrate on her thesis about children with severe allergies, which makes her the perfect person to take care of little Johnny, a sickly, mute child who suffers from every allergy under the sun, from nickel to artificial fabric. His overbearing mother, Rebecca, is an accomplished author who is focused on her latest book release, while his dissatisfied father, Jacob, spends sweaty, shirtless days toiling away on a carpentry project in the backyard.

Can we all agree that naming a horror movie after a well-known song from Mary Poppins is absolutely hilarious, regardless of how anyone ultimately feels about this film? The title of this movie seems funny to me even though it has something to do with the story.

Yet, Spoonful of Sugar by Mercedes Bryce Morgan is a surprisingly good psychological horror film that places a strong emphasis on character development above a barrage of tiresome, subpar, fake-out jump scares. This film really takes viewers on a journey into the minds of this family and the person who looks after their small son, Johnny.

Early on, it becomes clear that Johnny is not your typical boy. On top of everything else, he is silent and essentially allergic to everything. The family hires young Millicent because a boy like this requires a lot of skill and patience from a carer.

On the surface, Millicent appears to be an average young woman with huge goals and a good heart, but as mysteries begin to come to light, the more we discover about her and the strange characteristics of the family. Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t really do anything new, but it is still fairly enjoyable and doesn’t go beyond its ninety-four minute limit. This will be right up your alley if you’re looking for a sick and twisted exercise in horror.

The two genuinely spooky main performances by Morgan Saylor and Danilo Crovetti add to the film’s appeal. In this film, Saylor completely transforms into Millicent, a woman who is clearly terrifying and whose motivations for being thus for a while elude us. Yet, as the movie goes on, the more we discover about Millicent and her dreadful habits.

As Johnny, Crovetti, who is also fairly powerful, is assigned a challenging role. Even though he doesn’t actually speak in the movie, he still had to sell a “creepy kid” performance using only his eyes, body language, and facial expressions, among other things. He handled everything and made it seem quite simple.

Sadly, there are some moments in the movie where it does resemble a Lifetime Original. The dialogue in this film is utterly dreadful, and there are far too many romance sequences, which are guaranteed to make you roll your eyes. Overall, though, this was a very surprising film that I like quite a bit.

Spoonful of Sugar may not reinvent the wheel of horror, but it’s nevertheless a decently enjoyable film with a strong lead performance from Morgan Saylor.