We’re living in an era of pop star horror, whether examining their downward spiral in Smile 2 or using their concerts as an elaborate trap for a serial killer in Trap. Now, filmmaker Emma Higgins is adding her voice to the chorus with her feature film debut Sweetness, which had its world premiere at the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival. With Sweetness, Higgins creates an Annie Wilkes for the modern era in a horrifying vision of parasocial relationships and the dangerous (and deadly) ways they can end.
Rylee Hill (Kate Hallett) is a 16-year-old girl going through it. She’s lost her mom and her dad Ron (Justin Chatwin) is a cop who works too much. Plus, he has a new girlfriend (Amanda Brugel) that Rylee can’t stand. Rylee’s only respites are her best friend Sidney (Aya Furukawa) and the music of Floorplan, a pop-alternative band led by the devilishly handsome Payton Adler (Herman Tømmeraas).
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After attending a Floorplan concert, Rylee has a chance encounter with Payton after he accidentally hits her with his car while texting his dealer. As an apology, he offers to drive Rylee home—a literal dream come true, like something out of a piece of fan fiction. But as the drive continues, Rylee realizes something’s wrong with Payton and he’s too high to function. After a few trash can victims and a minor scene in the middle of a suburban street, Rylee gets Payton into her house to let him sleep it off.
But from there, things only get worse. Rylee decides that she’s the one who can help Payton get sober while handcuffed to her bed under what’s essentially a shrine to the singer. And yet, her good intentions spiral out of control as Rylee refuses to loosen her grip on her prisoner. She’s more than a girl with a crush—she’s a girl with a dangerous obsession. Higgins takes the audience on a shocking and violent journey through one girl’s desperate attempts to feel some sort of love.
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While Rylee is obviously humanity taken to the extreme, Higgins crafts a character not too far off from reality. As a young teen with an iPod full of pop-punk music and a love of making collages of cute boys, I lived the life of a fan girl. I know what it’s like to find a band that seems to understand how you feel as you smudge on more black eyeliner and add another few jelly bracelets to the already massive stack. And Rylee speaks to both the reality of that experience and the dangerous extremity that fans can take, especially in an overwhelmingly digital world. Imagine if Annie Wilkes had access to Facebook groups and Reddit. That’s Rylee.
Plus, Hallett’s performance is perfectly tragic, embuing Rylee with empathy even in the face of her increasingly irrational decisions. You cheer for her with each horrendous mistake and just want her to come out on top. She’s an absolute mess and you still want to give her a hug. What I’m saying is: Sweetness is for the girls.
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Thanks to a background in music, particularly filming and creating music videos for artists like Mother Mother and Teagan & Sara, Higgins uses her intimate familiarity with the industry to craft Payton Adler into a believably trashy star. She even worked with composers Blitz//Berlin to write and arrange these original songs, which Tømmeraas actually sung himself. While it may not be a higher-budget genre film like Smile 2 or Trap, Higgins is still able to craft a similarly lived-in world with the effort and care put into crafting and shaping the film’s pop star.
The film’s only stumbling block is a pace so fast that you don’t really get to know its central characters, particularly Rylee. For most of the film, we know that she’s grieving her mom is a bit of an outcast. But we don’t get much else until later in the film, which feels a bit rushed. Rylee is not shallow necessarily, but I wanted more about what was going on in the teen’s head, rather than moving out to characters like Steven Ogg’s John, Payton’s bodyguard. While it’s always a pleasure to see Ogg on screen, his character feels like an afterthought. Unfortunately, if you removed him altogether, it would barely impact the story, which is a shame for an actor like Ogg! But the film would have benefited from a tighter focus on Rylee and what unfolds in her impeccably designed bedroom.
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Speaking of that bedroom, the production design, set decoration, and makeup (led by Electa Porado, Mark Kowalsky, and Vanessa Tyra Smith, respectively) further elevate the film’s world-building. From Payton’s tattoos (shout out to that tramp stamp) to Rylee’s wide-legged pants and perfect eyeliner, there’s incredible attention to detail to make Sweetness all the more emotionally impactful. Plus, some of the set design–as seen in a blue-carpeted bathroom—leans into the bizarre undertones that run throughout the film.
Watching Sweetness is a blast to the emo girl past. Higgins nails the obsessed fan with skill, crafting a character reminiscent of Annie Wilkes, but a bit more empathetic in her actions. This is a worthy addition to the pop star horror trend, especially with its focus on the perspective of the violent fan and her well-intentioned but deeply misguided attempts to prove her teenage puppy dog love. Rylee is a new horror icon and I wouldn’t mind seeing what she gets up to next.
Summary
This is a worthy addition to the pop star horror trend, especially with its focus on the perspective of the violent fan and her well-intentioned but deeply misguided attempts to prove her teenage puppy dog love. Rylee is a new horror icon and I wouldn’t mind seeing what she gets up to next.
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