The horror-lite movie Sketch is the summer’s best, weirdest family film

There’s a particular type of scene that’s familiar from any number of movies about haunted houses, haunted kids, or anything else supernaturally amiss involving a family. A concerned adult takes a peek at what a little kid has been drawing in their spare time, and instead of fun little cartoons or family portraits, they find… something else. Something disturbing, otherworldly, or darkly scribbly. Among the warning signs of demon possession or malevolent spirits in a formerly happy home, weird child drawings have to be among the top five, maybe even top three. Characters who suggest that these unnerving artworks might not be demonically inspired tend to be portrayed as in denial, and even those denials tend to downplay the artistic skill that might be involved. The touching and inventive family movie Sketch, which was quietly released into 2,000 theaters to surprising critical acclaim, addresses that trope head on, and in the process becomes a cliché-defying entry point for kid-friendly horror.