An unexpected hit out of the 2025 Fantasia International Film Festival is Sweetness, which had its Canadian premiere at the festival. Written and directed by Emma Higgins (The Northwoods), the film centers on a 16-year-old girl named Rylee as a chance encounter thrusts her and her rockstar crush together. When she realizes he isn’t as sober as he claims to be, Rylee takes drastic measures to “help” him.

Sweetness seems to take inspiration from films such as The Loved Ones and Swimfan, but with a pop-punk, emo edge. Higgins begins the film by allowing the audience to get to know Rylee. She’s a teenager who is bullied at school, only has one really close friend, lost her mother in an accident, and is raised by her father who is off working as a cop most of the time. Without proper care and support, this is a recipe for disaster. The only thing that brings Rylee joy is the band Floorplan. More specifically, she’s obsessed with the band’s lead singer and songwriter, Payton. After she gets the opportunity to meet her idol, and she realizes he’s on drugs again, Rylee decides to take matters into her own hands. The film wonderfully conveys these two complex characters in a way that shows neither are truly good or truly bad. You feel for both Rylee and Payton, even when either is at their worst, because the character development perfectly shows how they got to this point. Yet it also highlights the deep struggles teenage girls go through and how bad things can get without a strong support system. Watching Rylee’s journey is fascinating, shocking, and horrifying. It forces the character and the audience to question her every action. While the ending might seem a bit far fetched for the otherwise grounded story, it’s still a thought-provoking watch dripping with tension.

It’s undeniable that the heart and soul of Sweetness is Kate Hallett (Women Talking, Brilliant Minds) as Rylee. From the moment the audience meets Rylee, Hallett ensures the character is viewed with a sympathetic eye. Even as Hallett reveals the darker side of Rylee and just how far she’s willing to go to get what she wants, there is something about her portrayal of the character that allows a certain level of understanding. Rylee definitely takes things too far, but it’s easy for the audience to see how and why it got to this point. Herman Tømmeraas (Nightmare, Ragnarok) plays Swedish rockstar, Payton. Payton is another complicated character, battling the pressures of fame, being on tour, striving for greatness, and drug addiction. Tømmeraas not only embodies the rockstar persona quite well, but he also brilliantly conveys the physical and mental toll of drug dependency. Audiences are also treated to strong performances from Aya Furukawa (The Midnight Club), Justin Chatwin (War of the Worlds), and Amanda Brugel (Becky).

With Rylee being obsessed with Payton’s music, it makes sense that Sweetness would have a fantastic soundtrack. There are a few songs performed by the fake film band, Floorplan. The music written for the band is wonderful, the cinematography used for the concert scenes puts the audience in the middle of the show, and Tømmeraas’s performance as lead singer makes it feel like we’re watching a real hit band. It makes it easier to see why Rylee loves Floorplan and Payton so much. Because the film is more understated and grounded in reality, the visual interest primarily comes from the cinematography and the lighting. It wavers from making the film appear raw and edgy to soft and dreamy, often depending on if we’re seeing the world through Rylee or Payton’s eyes.

Sweetness takes every teenage girl’s obsession with their favorite musician to a disturbing extreme, all while maintaining a sense of empathy. Higgins has created a compelling film that’s highly entertaining, but also sheds light on a number of mental health issues people struggle with every day. The characters are wonderfully complex and the performances from Hallett and Tømmeraas perfectly bring them to life. If the story isn’t enough to draw you in, the fantastic music surely will. At a time when musician horror seems to be on the rise, Sweetness takes a much more intimate approach, making it stand apart from the crowd.

OVERALL RATING: 8/10