A recurring image in supernatural family movies, particularly those involving haunted houses or children, involves a concerned adult discovering unsettling drawings created by a child. Instead of innocent cartoons or family pictures, they find disturbing, otherworldly, or darkly scribbled images. In stories where demons or sinister spirits plague a once-happy home, strange children’s drawings are frequently a top indicator of trouble. Characters who dismiss these unsettling artworks as not demonically influenced are often portrayed as being in denial, even minimizing any artistic talent involved. The surprisingly critically acclaimed family movie, *Sketch*, released in 2,000 theaters, refreshingly challenges this trope, offering a unique take on kid-friendly horror.
<div class="body-img landscape mobile-optimized">
<div class="responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item" style="padding-bottom:50.704225352113%" data-img-url="https://static1.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/insidious-drawing.jpg" data-modal-id="single-image-modal" data-modal-container-id="single-image-modal-container" data-img-caption=""Image: Sony Pictures""> <source media="(min-width: 1024px)" data- />
<source media="(min-width: 768px)" data- />
<source media="(min-width: 481px)" data- />
<source media="(min-width: 0px)" data- />
<img width="2130" height="1080" loading="lazy" decoding="async" alt="A child's dark and scribbly drawing of a masked or demon-like figure from the movie Insidious" data-img-url="https://static1.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/insidious-drawing.jpg" src="https://static1.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/insidious-drawing.jpg" style="display:block;height:auto;max-width:100%;"/>
</picture>
<figcaption class="body-img-caption">Image: Sony Pictures</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
</div>It’s important to note that *Sketch* isn’t a straight horror film. Instead, it examines children’s fascination with horror imagery and suggests it’s a healthy coping mechanism rather than a sign of demonic influence. The story follows Amber (Bianca Belle) and Jack (Kue Lawrence), two elementary school siblings grieving their mother’s death. Their father, Taylor (Tony Hale), avoids the topic of his deceased wife, removing family photos and working with his sister, Liz (D’Arcy Carden), a realtor, to sell their home. Amber, a talented artist, begins creating dark and monstrous drawings after her mother’s passing, sometimes depicting violent scenarios. When these drawings cause concern at school, a counselor encourages Amber to continue, stating that they provide a beneficial way to express her emotions and anger. The counselor feels it’s better for her to release her frustrations on paper rather than physically confronting Bowman (Kalon Cox), a classmate she dislikes.
The boundaries between fantasy and reality become blurred when Jack discovers a pond with the power to heal injuries, repair broken objects, and even bring Amber’s drawings to life. When Amber’s sketchbook accidentally falls into the pond, the town becomes overrun with monsters from her imagination. These creatures are not simply misunderstood but range from mildly mischievous to genuinely dangerous. Amber, Jack, and Bowman must collaborate to stop them. It’s easy to anticipate that, during their adventure, they (and especially Taylor) will understand the risks of suppressing grief and the power of artistic expression.
While the themes are familiar, some of the movie’s comedic moments rely on overused jokes. (For example, several times, a character makes a humorous statement, and another character responds by repeating it with surprise.) Nevertheless, writer-director Seth Worley revitalizes the predictable plot with visual effects that cleverly reinvent the horror-movie child-drawing trope. Amber’s imaginative art isn’t a foreshadowing of more realistic dangers lurking in the shadows. Instead, Worley and his team create their monsters by faithfully recreating the typical ominous drawings seen in horror films. The talented effects artists successfully achieve this on a modest budget. The creatures don’t need to appear “real,” but the scuttling spiders with eyeball heads and the hulking orange monster with a massive gaping mouth are convincingly realized for a small-scale adventure with limited, yet effective, locations.
<div class="body-img landscape ">
<div class="responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item" style="padding-bottom:56.338028169014%" data-img-url="https://static1.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/sketch-2.jpg" data-modal-id="single-image-modal" data-modal-container-id="single-image-modal-container" data-img-caption=""Image: Angel Studios""> <source media="(min-width: 1024px)" data- />
<source media="(min-width: 768px)" data- />
<source media="(min-width: 481px)" data- />
<source media="(min-width: 0px)" data- />
<img width="1917" height="1080" loading="lazy" decoding="async" alt="Tony Hale and D'Arcy Carden are covered in eerie colorful ink as they counter an offscreen monster created from a child's drawing in a scene from Sketch." data-img-url="https://static1.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/sketch-2.jpg" src="https://static1.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/sketch-2.jpg" style="display:block;height:auto;max-width:100%;"/>
</picture>
<figcaption class="body-img-caption">Image: Angel Studios</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
</div>The effects are effective enough to make *Sketch* a suitable entry point into the horror genre for younger audiences. It also features a thinly veiled exploration of grief, mirroring many recent “elevated” horror films for adults. *Sketch*’s blend of age-appropriate scares, successful humor (Kalen Cox is particularly amusing as Bowman), and sincere performances helps it distinguish itself among family films released this summer, especially compared to underwhelming live-action remakes and uninspired animated projects. This is all the more surprising, considering that this imaginative horror-fantasy originates from Angel Studios.
The company is perhaps most famous for distributing *Sound of Freedom*, a surprising box office success of 2023. That film was an action thriller targeted at those with newfound intense interest in sex trafficking. However, Angel Studios doesn’t limit itself to vehicles for Jim Cavaziel’s action hero persona. They distribute various low-budget, faith-based films, many starring Neal McDonough. Earlier this year, Angel achieved their second-largest hit ever with The King of Kings, an animated rendition of Charles Dickens’ *The Life of Our Lord*, a book that was written for his family, published posthumously and against his wishes. While the life of Jesus isn’t exactly heavily protected intellectual property, it’s still a strange direction to take well-known material. The movie itself features cheap-looking animation and was not even the best family film released that month.
Angel Studios didn’t originally produce *Sketch*; they acquired it as a completed independent film for distribution. Still, the film represents a significant improvement for the company, which popularized a “pay it forward” approach to ticket sales, essentially a pyramid scheme encouraging viewers to purchase extra tickets for others after watching the movie. There is no indication of propaganda, religious or otherwise, in *Sketch*, which makes its underperformance compared to other, less accomplished Angel Studios projects unfortunate.
Furthermore, *Sketch* shares thematic similarities with another family film released earlier this year. Amber uses her artistic talent to save the day, and not all of her creations are destroyed. This signals that the movie isn’t solely about her obliterating her work. In its celebration of problem-solving through creativity, *Sketch* mirrors the enthusiasm found in *A Minecraft Movie*. Characters in *Sketch* even specifically mention the game. While the Minecraft movie was clearly enjoyable for its intended audience, Worley’s willingness to explore creativity as a means of processing anger, grief, and confusion makes *Sketch* an excellent follow-up for slightly older children. Simultaneously, like many of this year’s major horror films for adults, it provides a break from the constant stream of family-film sequels.