In his sophomore outing, Sweetheart, writer-director J.D. Dillard reunites with Blumhouse to bring a fresh creature feature that’s perfect for Halloween.
The film follows Jenn (Kiersey Clemons), a young woman who has washed up on a deserted tropical island after she and her friends are shipwrecked. Upon waking up and seeing that the only other person to also wash ashore is dead, Jenn realizes that she’s completely alone on this tiny island. With no other choice, Jenn must utilize anything she can find in order to survive the elements and hope that help might come—but that’s not the only horrors she has to face. When night inevitably falls, a dangerous and terrifying creature (Andrew Crawford) comes from the ocean and hunts for food. With each night that passes, Jenn knows that the creature is only getting stronger while she is getting weaker, so she has to decide whether it’s better to try to escape the island or take the creature head-on.
The first act of Sweetheart is actually very impressive because of the mystery and ambiguity that surrounds Jenn, the creature, and the entire island. When we initially meet Jenn, we don’t find out too much about her or what exactly caused her to end up there and she doesn’t even say much. Personally, I really like this, as it allows for Clemons to give a stronger performance–which she definitely does–by focusing on showcasing Jenn’s survival skills and only showing her emotions through body language. Even the need to give Jenn a tragic backstory or any backstory at all is actually unnecessary here as you already grow a genuine care for her because of the situation she’s in and horrors she faces—especially when the creature rises to create some late-night carnage.
The island is quite interesting and almost has a presence in itself with how it mysteriously seems to pull things towards it. There’s a great line later in the film that talks about how the island seems to be able to bring anything in the ocean to it and it’s the main reason that Jenn is able to survive for so long. With the current being so strong that fish are being pulled onto the beach, it’s almost as if the island is keeping those that float to it alive in order to feed the mysterious creature.
Speaking of the creature, it’s easily one of the most mysterious things about the film. There’s a great scene with Jenn shooting a flare into the air in order to get the attention of a passing plane and the flare slowly falling into the water to show the shadow of the creature standing just offshore. It’s a perfectly creepy scene that introduces the creature in a mysterious fashion and Dillard actually does a great job building suspense around the creature without ever showing it. Not to mention, Jenn actually shows some prowess with how she uses bait and attempts to hide from the creature when it roams the island at night, so it sets up a strong battle between the two.
Where Sweetheart loses its mysterious momentum, though, is within its second act, as Jenn is suddenly not alone on the island anymore and the film decides to delve into her as a character. Frankly, getting to know Jenn wouldn’t be a bad thing if it weren’t done through generic dialogue that doesn’t flesh her out much and through disposable, unlikable characters. The others that come to the island felt like they’re just meant to up the body count and even with their personal connection to Jenn, they don’t offer much about her other than that she’s basically a black cloud over their heads and a loner. These were just negative attributes that unnecessarily just take away from Jenn’s strengths and ultimately don’t matter. Not to mention, the creature doesn’t exactly look that great in CGI and isn’t that cool until we get the full reveal.
The creature has one of the coolest and most unique designs I’ve seen in quite some time and when we see it in the water and at night, with Crawford in the suit, it looks incredible. I’m not going to spoil what it is, but it’s amazing and the sounds it emits throughout the film constantly up the creepiness as well. The final act also brings back the strong survival instincts that Jenn had in the first act and it leads to a strong moment when she writes a letter before taking on the creature. It’s a great final battle full of blood, fury, and fight that the film was definitely building towards and it does not disappoint.
Sweetheart is definitely a strong showing and reunion for Dillard and Blumhouse with a strong performance from Clemons and a creepy creature that are perfect for anyone looking for a terrifying new film to watch on Halloween.
