Sketch Review
- Matt Hill
- Nov 22
- 2 min read
Runtime: 1h 32m Genre: Fantasy/Horror Release Date: 24th October 2025
PLOT: To help deal with her grief, Amber (Bianca Belle) draws dark and monstrous creatures in her sketchbook. But when it falls into a magical lake, the creatures begin to leap off the page and into the real world.
Thoughts
Sketch is a simple film on the surface. A young girl's notebook full of monster drawings falls into a magic lake, and soon her drawings come to life and begin to wreak havoc. But Sketch is so much more than that. It's a clever tale about grief and loss wrapped up in an entertaining fantasy adventure that's bound to be a hit for older kids and adults alike.
The story of Sketch follows Amber (Bianca Belle), her brother Jack (Kue Lawrence) and their father Taylor (Tony Hale) as they try to cope with the passing of their mother. Jack wants to fix everything, Amber is doodling dark thoughts and monsters to cope with her feelings, whilst Taylor is trying to ignore the loss. The movie establishes everything rather quickly, and soon Amber's notebook of monstrosities has fallen into a magic lake, unleashing her creatively dark monster doodles on the neighbourhood and home.
It's not often that you see a family film dive into those themes, but it's something that Sketch chooses to champion, in turn, elevating this fantasy romp into something special. Despite its central theme, Sketch is consistently charming, blending its fantastical creatures with jokes and macabre humour. With one prime example being Amber coining the phrase 'Morphans' after she and Jake discuss if they're now orphans at the dinner table with their dad.
The creature designs are a nice blend of twisted childhood creativity, delivering a variety of scares from foreboding figures comprised of bright chalk and glitter chasing down school buses to menacing hordes of eyeders (eyeballs with spider legs), fixated on stealing someone's possessions. There's a nice array of drawn-to-life creatures to enjoy throughout Sketch's short runtime, but each manages to deliver light-hearted scares, laughs or the more imposing threat from the deadlier creations. It never veers into horror and keeps a nice balance of '80s kids movie threat and adventure.
In a Nutshell
Sketch is a delightful fantasy adventure. It blends great creature designs, humour and a serious subject into an accessible tale that'll entertain both kids and adults. It's a visually striking adventure you owe it to yourself to see.
4/5
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