Spoonful of Sugar (2023) spoiler free review

A cinematic LSD trip that unfortunately leads to nothing. Directed by Mercedes Bryce Morgan and written by Leah Saint Marie Spoonful of Sugar is a American horror movie released in the Fantastic Fest in September 24, 2022 and the horror streaming service Shudder on March 2, 2023.

A disturbed babysitter experiences a sexual awakening while using LSD to treat a seemingly sick child from a family with dark secrets.

Film synopsis

The cast includes Morgan Saylor as Millicent, Kat Foster as Rebecca, Myko Olivier as Jacob, Danilo Crovetti as Johnny, Keith Powell as Dr. Welsh, Laura Coover as Julia, Shon Wilson as Esther, and Christiana Montoya as Little Girl.

My opinion

The story follows Millicent and her new job as Johnny’s babysitter, a boy who doesn’t speak and has several allergies including fabrics, sugar, and animals. Millicent starts giving Johhny LSD as an experiment to treat his conditions. At the same time she gets closer to Johnny’s father Jacob and develops a tense relationship with his wife Rebecca. A family that looks normal on the outside with just a sick kid holds darker secrets that will be revealed little by little.

The film tries to be something and ends being a mess of unfinished ideas placing scene after scene without a clear meaning. The story never gets to make sense and the characters motives are never clear. The ending has a plot twist that only creates more questions in the viewer. It probably requires several watches to fully understand the story but that shouldn’t be the norm. It’s confusing and at moments boring with flat forgettable performances making all the characters more unlikeable than they already are. Spoonful of Sugar had a good concept that unfortunately wasn’t properly executed.