This 2024 film by Seth Worley, was inspired by his short film, "Dark Colors". This is a surprisingly entertaining film. It seems to be by it's marketing to young moviegoers, but it has a darker set up. Advertised as a comedy fantasy, it's more of a black comedy arched more to horror.
The premise is about a family in mourning, a father and two children. One child, "Amber" who is a reclusive and very artistic youth, who gets bullied. Her anger is driven out onto paper as sketches. This is where the film is oddly for young viewers, images of imagined violence with monsters and their special abilities.
The other child, discovered a "magical" magic pond near their home. It has special water, and does wondrous as well as horrible things. Then Amber's angered sketching begins to take form.
I feel what makes this film a tad terrifying, is the sound effects. This film may drag with its story, but the visual effects are superb along with monster creations.
As far as the cast Tom Hale plays the widow parent, "Taylor Wyatt" and along with the strong lead by young actor, Bianca Belle as "Amber". The director calls it a mix of "Jurassic Park" and "Inside Out" but it feels more like "Goonies" meet "It: Chapter One" kids!
Lastly, the film's overall effects are pretty mesmerizing as a youth led cast steer the sequences, giving off more serious tense scenes (look out for the school bus segment).
As silly and infantile "Amber's" monsters appear, Worley's orchestrated scenes (not depending on gore effects or jump scares) really evolve them into menacing entities . Its soundtrack and sound effects, help to deliver some terrifying seconds with the monsters. In some ways echoes Joe Dante's 80s segment with cartoon-like monsters from "Twilight Zone, The Movie".
