Photosensitivity Warning: One of the creatures in Sketch glows with rapidly changing colors when active and there is a quick burst of light during the climax; both of which may be triggering for photosensitive individuals.
There’s a meme going around in parental circles that’s essentially “bad parents don’t worry if they’re bad parents.” It’s a statement meant to console exhausted parents who struggle with the endless choices, responses, and reactions that parents face with their children. What is a regular Tuesday for adults is a monumental thing for the kids, especially the young ones, making the small comments and interactions just as impactful to the way they form their self-perception as the large ones. Writer/director Seth Worley (The Carrier) seems to get this as his first feature, Sketch, runs on such an understanding in the way it presents both sides of the family unit in a time of crisis … using the metaphor of a monster uprising. Now, this may sound absolutely wild and you’d be right. Worley’s Sketch taps into the adventurousness of The Monster Squad (1987) and the heart of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), blending outlandish and fantastical creatures with a profound narrative beating heart that’s absolutely not to be missed.
L-R: Bianca Belle as Amber and Tony Hale as Taylor in SKETCH. Photo courtesy of ANGEL STUDIOS.
Amber Wyatt (Bianca Belle) uses art to express herself — all the good, all the bad. After one of her pieces gets her sent to the counselor’s office, Amber is given a book to specifically use as an outlet for all of her emotions. Meanwhile, her brother Jack (Kue Lawrence) is off in the woods when he stumbles (literally) upon a pond with a strange blue liquid that seems to alter whatever touches it. When Amber notices Jack sneaking off to the woods before school one morning, she follows and, in catching him, her notebook accidentally falls in. In the moment, the worst thing Amber thought is that her drawings were destroyed … until she noticed the drawings were gone from all the pages and strange noises could be heard from the woods.
A scene from SKETCH. Photo courtesy of ANGEL STUDIOS.
After originally premiering at TIFF 2024, Worley’s Sketch was picked up Angel Studios, the distributor behind Sound of Freedom (2023), Cabrini (2024), and The Last Rodeo (2025), among others. If you’re familiar with those titles, a false presumption may form that Sketch is a faith-based or historic tale. Rather, Sketch is a family adventure, albeit for young adults and not recommended (in my view) for sensitive elementary school-aged kids, that touches on heavy subjects involving grief, emotional maturity, emotional regulation, and the importance of communication. Like any good adventure tale, the monsters themselves aren’t the point of the film, it’s what they come to represent and, most importantly here, what they force the family to confront as individuals and as a collective. Impressively, Worley accomplishes an incredible balancing act between the adventure, horror, comedy, and family moments so that nothing sacrifices itself for the sake of the other, all while keeping its foot firmly on the gas from start to finish. Where other writer/directors would also pander to one portion or the other, Worley manages to speak directly, without an ounce of condescension, as the narrative explores the pain of loss from the perspective of both child and parent. In a beautiful way, the audience is invited to sit within the hard space of life post-loss in which we realize that life goes on — both a shock to many and a difficult aspect to get over no matter how much we want things to stop, even for a moment. Additionally, rather than treat the audience simply, over-explaining via exposition or taking extensive time to set things up, Worley treats the audience with extraordinary respect, trusting them to put all the pieces together as we go. This results in a story from which there are surprises at near every turn and each one succeeds in its intended function: humor, pain, and/or attending to a quest (sometimes all at once).
L: Bianca Belle as Amber in SKETCH. Photo courtesy of ANGEL STUDIOS.
If you’ve seen any of the marketing for Sketch or noticed in the images alongside this review, the creatures of Amber’s notebook are a mix of childlike wonder and horror. In construction, these creations are similar to that of author William Joyce’s The Mischievians, creatures with wild design and a purpose either silly, sneaky, or terrifying (depending on what Amber infused within them). The credits include a number of names, some with the surname Worley, suggesting that each of the creations weren’t just conceived from Seth’s mind, but from his own family. The one featured in the trailer and on the poster is Dave, a sleep creature who crushes those who wake him from his slumber. When on the page, Dave is a mix of crayon, glitter, sharpie, a sticker and a googgley eye — harmless and lovely, a silly creation from a time before Amber’s pain needed excising. When transposed into the real world, Dave becomes a mix of traditional and 2D animation with some CG and practical effects to help cross from the imagination into the real. Hilariously constructed with its right eye slightly floppy as if the glue from the sticker is coming undone, it’s still disquieting even as its loud roar is accompanied by a shower of glitter. Later, creatures draw by black Sharpie® have harsh, thick lines and move like the monsters from the Quiet Place series while also possessing a slight visible vibration as if they themselves are out of sync with the world they exist within. The point, if you will, is that great care from a team of technicians worked to make the absurd and strange tangible and real, manifesting Amber’s internal conflict into something that could be excised in the real world. While their construction is child-like, their tendency toward instilling uneasiness is primary offset by the cleverness with which they can be dispatched. Again, this speaks to the film’s perspective and how it doesn’t talk down to the characters or audience, using their awareness of what built the creatures as a tool for their preservation and protection, often leading to action sequences that quickly shift tone from tense apprehension to joyous laughter.
L-R: D’Arcy Carden as Liz and Tony Hale as Taylor in SKETCH. Photo courtesy of ANGEL STUDIOS.
Credit to the cast of actors, both young and experienced, for making this the kind of film I’d want to share with my own kids, should they be able to handle it. Child actors don’t always produce the most honest of reactions, yet Belle (McCrorey Rd.; NCIS) and Lawrence (The School Duel) present fully-formed characters rather than the shadows of them. More than that, we believe in their relationship as siblings, which is the most important element as it’s what serves as the catalyst and the cure. Likewise, for his role as class bully/irritant, Kalon Cox (Preschool in L.A.) makes Bowman Lynch someone who we manage to simultaneously root for and against in near every situation Bowman finds himself. Part of this is because of Cox’s performance which makes his wise-ass behavior charming, but mostly it’s due to the way that Belle shapes our perception of him through her own stalwart portrayal of Amber. For their parts as the adults in Sketch, Tony Hale (Chuck; Toy Story 4) as father Taylor and D’Arcy Carden (The Good Place) as Aunt Liz are equal parts devastating and heartwarming. Hale has played villains (The Joker in Batman Ninja) and the support player (Mr. Worth in Love, Simon) and, here, he brings a loving energy that belies a deep heartbreak. Carden’s Liz is frequently the comic relief for Taylor, though her purpose is more refined than that, serving as a mirror from which Taylor is forced to examine himself and what he’s doing. These performances, working in harmony, convey all the beautiful heartbreak that comes from building a family, losing a significant piece, and figuring out a way to carry on without it.
L-R: Bianca Belle as Amber, Kue Lawrence as Jack, and Kalon Cox as Bowman in SKETCH. Photo courtesy of ANGEL STUDIOS.
Admittedly, Sketch taps into my own worst fear as a father of two. Not the drawings come to life bit (although my kids’ respective creativity would produce some horrifying creations), but what it is that serves as the true catalyst for this story, the parts that play out before the film begins. Because of this, I spent the majority of the film in tears, grateful for any ounce of laughter. My children are similar to Jack and Amber, each creative, loving, devoted siblings (each other’s ride-or-die) with specific creative outlets (the oldest loving Minecraft; the youngest loving to build and disassemble). It’s the element of loss and its portrayal, the ways in which the family do communicate, but not about what matters, that creates the friction from which the metaphor is born. At the same time, Sketch also brings to bear what matters most in times of crisis and how those around you, those who love you and you love, can be the raft that keeps all afloat. It just requires acknowledging our limitations, being open to express ourselves, and recognizing that not having the answers alone only means that they can be found together. Wrapped up in a goofy, scary, heartwarming, and hilarious package, Sketch is an artistic representation of what can be when we remember that we’re all in this together.
In select theaters August 6th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Angel Studios Sketch webpage.
Final Score: 4.5 out of 5.
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Categories: Films To Watch, In Theaters, Recommendation, Reviews
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