{"id":19052,"date":"2025-08-05T20:13:48","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T04:13:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/?p=19052"},"modified":"2025-08-20T12:01:59","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T20:01:59","slug":"sketch-angel-studios-tony-hale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/2025\/08\/sketch-angel-studios-tony-hale\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Sketch’: Angel’s Family Horror-Comedy Draws Laughs & Scares"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"In<\/a><\/p>\n

Like other films distributed by Angel Studios, Sketch<\/em>, hitting theaters on Aug. 6, is aimed at the family and values audience, but this time, not exactly the faith audience. However, it passed muster with the dues-paying 1.4M members of the Angel Guild, so it\u2019s already been tested on a good slice of the studio\u2019s core constituency.<\/p>\n

Written, directed, and edited by first-time feature-filmmaker Seth Worley \u2014 who has a long history in short films, commercials and explainer videos \u2014 Sketch<\/em> has lots of humor and real heart but also tackles some serious themes \u2026 along with delivering some real scares.<\/p>\n

UPDATE 8\/13<\/strong>: Sketch<\/em> is winning with critics and online audience reaction but not really scaring up big numbers at the box office, with a modest $5.2M<\/a> so far (arguably against a budget reportedly below that).<\/p>\n

A headline from Collider<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Despite 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, Angel Studios\u2019 Latest Family Film Delivers Barely-Passable Domestic Box Office Debut<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

UPDATE 8\/20:<\/strong> Angel Studios released a statement<\/a> addressing the concerns of some parents that Sketch wasn\u2019t appropriate for younger children, so the distributor is instituting an Angel Guild Age Recommendation rating, which the Angel Guild members put at age 10 and up..<\/p>\n

At Angel, we know that today\u2019s PG rating can mean wildly different things depending on the film. For many families, PG is interpreted as \u201cbasically G\u201d\u2014but\u00a0SKETCH<\/b>\u00a0isn\u2019t a G-rated experience<\/b>, and it\u2019s not trying to be.<\/em><\/p>\n

Think of\u00a0SKETCH\u00a0as landing\u00a0somewhere between PG and PG-13<\/b>. The movie has a mix of thrilling moments, light peril, a few sharp words, and some pretty intense (but very colorful) monster scenes. This is a movie designed to thrill, make you laugh, and pull at your heart\u2014but it\u2019s not made for toddlers.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Angel Guild Recommended Age is a new kind of age guidance, based on feedback from real families, not committees. You deserve more than a vague rating. You deserve real context.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

What\u2019s\u00a0Sketch<\/em>\u00a0About?<\/h3>\n

Here\u2019s how Angel Studios describes it:<\/p>\n

When a young girl\u2019s sketchbook falls into a strange pond, her drawings come to life \u2014 unpredictable, chaotic, and dangerously real. As the town unravels, she and her brother must track down the creatures before they leave permanent damage. Their father, racing to find them through the fallout, must navigate a town in crisis to reunite his family and stop the disaster they never meant to unleash.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Newcomer Bianca Belle stars as the girl, Amber, who\u2019s coping with the death of her mother. Tony Hale (Arrested Development<\/em>,\u00a0Veep<\/em>), who\u2019s also a producer, plays her widower father, Taylor; Kue Lawrence plays Jack, her brother; and D\u2019Arcy Carden (The Good Place<\/em>) plays her Aunt Liz (who\u2019s trying to sell the family home, only to have Taylor sabotage her efforts).<\/p>\n

And Kalon Cox makes an impression as Amber\u2019s school frenemy, Bowman.<\/p>\n

Take a look:<\/p>\n