Jay Rohr
Sweetness promises to show the sinister side of kindness. As the trailer suggests, it’s time to revisit the glory days of emo. This dark coming-of-age look at fandom could be plenty of fertile territory in the right hands.
Those belong to Emma Higgins, a Canadian filmmaker and winner of the Juno Award for a music video by Jessie Reyez called “No One’s in the Room.” Sweetness is the writer-director’s first feature film. It premiered at SXSW a few months back, and already impressed our own Tina Kakadelis.
Like in any great trailer, the idea at play is solidly teased. Essentially, a starstruck teen named Rylee played by Kate Hallett (Women Talking) has a chance encounter with her favorite musician, the troubled troubadour Payton portrayed by Herman Tømmeraas (Ragnarok). He’s an emo-style musician giving off a certain Yungblud vibe. The serendipity of their meeting soon turns to something sinister when Payton passes out due to drugs.
Well aware of his history, Rylee decides to help her beloved star recover from this tragic relapse. What ensues gives off a mix of Misery (1990) with perhaps a touch of The Loved Ones (2009). However, it isn’t simply a tale of infatuation turning into twisted obsession wherein a young lady holds a fellow hostage. There really seems to be a sense of one lonely teen resisting the whole world trying to push her back into rationality. Misery, for instance, involved an already dangerously psychotic individual, while Sweetness elicits the impression of someone spiraling into madness.
That would allow for a relatable complexity to what transpires. Particularly given the fact the stones speeding her descent seem like typical teenage woes. Rylee appears to be a misfit drifting over the edge believing she’s in some romantic emo music video. Based on what’s discernable, regarding the plot, Sweetness has a certain thriller quality. It doesn’t hurt that the trailer shows Steven Ogg (The Walking Dead), likely Payton’s manager, trying to track down the missing musician.
I’m already curious how she gets away with having him in her home for any period of time. And I can picture one of those TikTok videos—“We listen, and we don’t judge.”—involving Rylee. It’ll be interesting to see how much of the modern teen lifestyle Higgins incorporates into this terrifying tale.
The colorful stylization of Sweetness presented in the trailer promises visual slickness. It’s always nice to see a horror movie that isn’t just dark. The cinematography suggests a certain flamboyance keeping in line with emo aesthetics, lots of shadow and vivid reds. Throughout there’re flashes of Herman Tømmeraas in terror that leave a viewer wondering what inspired his fear. Although Sweetness doesn’t appear to be a bloody gore show, that doesn’t mean it can’t be haunting in other ways. After all, the trailer offers the promise of things getting drastically out of hand. Plus, like any great trailer, it’s best to save the premium scares for the movie itself.
Sweetness hits theaters on February 13th, 2026.
