Jenn has washed ashore a small tropical island and it doesn’t take her long to realize she’s completely alone. She must spend her days not only surviving the elements but must also fend off the malevolent force that comes out each night.

I have to give writer-director J.D. Dillard credit for trying something new. The former Navy Seal cum filmmaker has created the Castaway/Carusoe horror movie with a fresh approach. Sweetheart begins as our heroine Jenn (Kiersey Clemons) washes up on the shore of a minuscule island in the tropics. If it were simply she against nature that would be interesting enough, but wait, there’s more. She attempts to scavenge for help, food, shelter, anything really. She soon realizes that there is a creature that attacks at night, emerging from the depths of the sea! But why doesn’t the movie work? With minimal dialogue and a resourceful heroine fighting the elements and a pretty cool monster, you would think this is a done deal.

Let’s start from the top. Jenn washes ashore after an undescribed disaster at sea. She establishes the perimeter of the island and tries to remain calm and figure out how to survive and signal for help. A situation that could be considered bad enough. That is until she discovers signs of a nocturnal visitor that seems to be pulling its prey toward the shoreline. There is evidence of previous island dwellers as well, along with the mounting mystery of where they ended up. After a few concrete discoveries, Jenn knows that she is in danger and must vacate immediately.

The singular-narrative survival movie fills the first act of the film with virtually no dialogue. Recalling Tom Hanks in Cast Away, Clemons firmly commands our attention, leading us through the stages of survival and self-sufficiency and terrifying discovery. The problem is that we learn nothing about her. Nothing. Kept at a very surface level the story skips along without a single ounce of character development aside from knowing Jenn can handle herself. The second act addition of other survivors adds little to the depth of our lead as they simply seem to show up to tell us that Jenn wasn’t the most liked person before landing on the island.

Let’s talk about the creature. Kept obscured for most of the film, it is a beautiful piece of work from WETA digital. I will give credit to the movie for actually paying off with some fun action sequences, save for a fiery finale moment, and clear look at this Winston-esque design. Our monster isn’t given much character but it looks amazing.

With all that said, Sweetheart should do moderately well when it hits theaters sometime this year. This is a PG-13 creature feature that does try to be more than just the next release from Blumhouse or an excuse to shoot in Fiji. However, the movie would have benefited greatly from a bit more depth for its lead and the chance to connect with her and have a reason to care.