What starts as an innocent fangirl fantasy quickly spirals into a tense, unflinching descent into obsession, grief, and manipulation.
With a disturbed teen girl at its center, Sweetness explores the blurred line between admiration and obsession in the age of celebrity worship.
Written and directed by Emma Higgins, Sweetness is a bold, suspenseful story debut that plays like a psychological thriller laced with sharp jabs at “stan culture.” Beneath its grungy pop-idol premise lies a dark, disturbing coming-of-age story where grief curdles into delusion and a crush becomes captivity. The film tackles themes of celebrity idolatry, unprocessed trauma, and adolescent isolation, all wrapped in a pulpy, tense narrative that refuses to offer a clear moral center. There are no heroes here, just characters slowly unraveling under the weight of their own needs.
Kate Hallett delivers a chilling yet well-crafted performance as Rylee. Struck with unprocessed grief by the death of her mother and isolated from her peers, Rylee is a teenager desperate for connection. Hallett captures the character’s transformation into a mini version of Annie from Stephen King’s Misery, with a disturbing stillness. Her wide-eyed devotion to her unwanted act of heroism and increasingly violent actions play out with unnerving calm. Kate’s performance demands the audience witness a psychological break in real time, layered with heartbreak, delusion, and blind determination. Herman Tømmeraas plays Payton, the flawed rock star idol who becomes the object of Rylee’s fixation. Tømmeraas brings a messy, believable edge to the role. He’s entitled, reckless, and manipulative, traits masked behind a charming stage persona that has captivated his fan base. As the film progresses, Payton transitions from fantasy to prisoner, but his survival instincts never fade. Tømmeraas never plays him as fully sympathetic, nor fully irredeemable, instead leaning into the complexities of a man too damaged to be a victim, yet too powerless to escape.
The cinematography from Mat Barkley mirrors Rylee’s growing detachment from reality, pulling viewers into her obsession rather than standing apart from it. This choice creates a visceral tension throughout the film, as even quiet moments carry the weight of unspoken menace. The film’s pacing moves briskly, wasting little time before diving into its core conflict. Tension builds steadily without relying on traditional jump scares, favoring psychological cringe and moral discomfort. The musical sequences, featuring Payton’s band Floorplan, provide brief moments of release that quickly morph into eerie contrasts against the film’s darker beats. Sweetness handles heavy topics such as mental health, substance abuse, and loss without romanticizing them. Instead, it presents them as the chaotic backdrop to one girl’s unraveling identity. Sweetness is not about redemption or justice. It’s about spiraling control, misplaced devotion, and the disturbing power of a fantasy fulfilled. Viewers looking for tidy conclusions or comforting resolutions will not find them here. What they will find is a story that dares to explore how far grief and delusion can stretch and how easily innocence can become obsession when fantasy is mistaken for purpose. This is not a film you will find yourself rooting for the main character, or anyone. You just sit back in discomfort and watch this wild ride unfold with an ending that does not offer consolation.
Fantasia 2025 runs from July 16th to August 3rd 2025