Horror featuring the stalker mommy wannabe is a tough area to break into. With films like The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Hush, and Inside, Spoonful of Sugar takes all that and flips it around into a new story to love. Those who weren’t into this disliked the drug angle and found the storyline uncompelling. Spoonful of Sugar does have some story arcs that feel pretty used up.
And if I am to be completely honest, I feel like having characters take drugs to fuel a storyline is wearing thin. It feels like every movie I watch has been using this to dominate the illogical decisions of their best and worst cast. But at least she isn’t simply unhinged. She’s also high. But hey, it works.
Spoonful of Sugar feels relatively generic for almost the entire run time. The story follows a mute and isolated child in between two broken adults who in turn bring this tale to life. The couple hires Millicent to look after Johnny. Young, pretty, and every normal household’s worst nightmare. But Millicent gets along with Johnny almost immediately so it makes sense to bring her on board.
Millicent’s background comes with its source of a run of bad luck. Bounced from home to home and man to man, she’s heavily medicated to keep her from stabbing everyone she sees. On the upside, Millicent lives to be the beacon for children. She feels they are overlooked, unappreciated, and squandered. Empathy is vital, even if every second is spent waiting for her to bonk her new family’s husband.
Toxic Mommy Horror
MIllicent: They have this lucky life and they can’t even see it.
Dr. Welsh: Do you want to be them?
Millicent: No, I want to be better than them.
Quote from Shudders, Spoonful of Sugar movie 2023
In one scene shown from several viewpoints, Millicent likes to spend time at the park. She watches the children play in the playground. They look around eagerly, wanting attention, wanting someone to look and often sounding like their world is ending. As a mother, I know these moments well. They are exhausting, continual, and neverending.
Millicent goes to the rescue of one such child who tells her she is lost. Doing the girl a favor she interrupts a group of women talking nearby to point out that “obviously” one of them must have realized by now that their beloved child is missing. And when the favor is returned with anger and a flippant hand, Millicent tries to rescue the girl by absconding with her. The woman strikes her before she can get too far.
Despite her obstacles, it’s easy to see that her life’s lot is not entirely her fault. There’s a certain truth in the encapsulation of her youth and beauty. Men in this scenario are happy to bed her for any reason. So when her new employer’s husband finally drunkenly makes a pass at her, she sees an opportunity. One that will not only make her happy but provide her with the family she has always wanted.
Is Spoonful of Sugar a Good Movie?
But a story with such platitudes would not hit my radar unless there was something special added to the mix. I can safely say that there is enough for Spoonful of Sugar to offer that will make this movie one to remember. The final quarter brings the whole narrative undone and everything before it becomes mixed up into something sadistically different. I was lucky enough to clue into what was going on a little earlier than that. The introduction of pain and love is something this couple likes more than each other.
- Director
- Mercedes Bryce Morgan
- Writer
- Leah Saint Marie
The Cast of Spoonful of Sugar includes Morgan Saylor, Kat Foster, and Myko Olivier. Watch it on Shudder from March 3rd, 2023.
Spoonful of Sugar is rated
4 citrus trees in the backyard out of 5
Spoonful of Sugar 2023's Toxic Mommy Horror - Mother of Movies
Director: Mercedes Bryce Morgan
Date Created: 2023-03-25 17:24
4
Pros
- Excellent ending for the movie Spoonful of Sugar
- Casting well selected
- Creepy narrative
Cons
- Generic
