Soho Horror Film Fest 2025 Coverate
Sugar Rot review.
Not fit for everyone’s tastes.
Festival movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Sugar Rot
Directed by Becca Kozak
Written by Becca Kozak
Starring Chloe MacLeod
Sugar Rot Review
While all the movies at Soho Horror Film Fest are accompanied by at least one, often two, short films before screening…no feature could have proven more difficult to attach similarly themed tones to. Sugar Rot is a pretty wild ride. Reminiscent of old school Troma films. As such, the fine people who curate the festival plucked two weird shorts and threw them in front of it. You weren’t going to find a perfect match this time around.
The first short was called Evil Pizza. You can probably guess what it is about from the title. There isn’t much more to it than that. A fairly funny button exists at the end of the piece…but it felt like it missed the punchline. Very short and totally fine. The next short, Love Will Tear Us Apart!, takes its title literally. A couple having a picnic on a sunny day begins to offer parts of themselves to “fix” issues that arise in the other’s body. It’s weird and that’s what it was going for. While neither short can match the feel of Sugar Rot…they proved to be fine choices to bat leadoff.
Admittedly, my Troma comparison for Sugar Rot is a little lazy. I’m basically using it as a coverall for low-budget movies that feel sleazy and unpredictable. Which are two great things for a movie to be, by the way. If you had told me that Sugar Rot was shot in the 90s as part of that production company’s catalog…I wouldn’t have flinched at the idea. If you’ve seen Troma movies that should give you a decent idea what to expect here. Namely, the unexpected. Sugar Rot is a story where nothing feels off-limits. That isn’t easy to achieve, and it is to writer/director Becca Kozak’s credit. You won’t forget that you’ve seen it. That’s for sure.
The story centers on the aptly named Candy (Chloë MacLeod). She works jobs both as a stripper who can’t get the good shifts and at an ice cream parlor where she hates her life. When she is raped by the ice cream delivery man…she begins to go through a lot of…changed. For one…she’s pregnant. Much to the chagrin of her boss Barbie (Michela Ross), who is trying to get pregnant herself. Her husband is a plastic surgeon who, incidentally, is cheating on her with Candy. Candy’s boyfriend Sid (Drew Forster) seems blissfully unaware of any of these things until very far into the picture.
As you can probably tell from that paragraph…Sugar Rot is a sleazy movie. Sex is disposable. None of the characters are particularly likeable. Candy barely has a reaction to her assault…aside from wanting an abortion no one will help her with. It’s hard to like Candy when she’s cheating and treating everyone like crap around her…but MacLeod is a likeable enough lead that you end up caring for her when you really need to.
I’ve buried the lead on what makes Sugar Rot weird and different. After the assault, Candy’s body begins to change in more ways than just pregnancy. Basically, she’s turning into ice cream. She gorges herself on sugary sweets to ease her aches…and her body begins to taste really…sweet. To the point where the people around her start looking at her like food. Taking a lick or a bite whenever they can. It’s exactly as strange as it sounds. And it makes for a memorable viewing experience.
All that being said, there is one aspect of Sugar Rot that does feel like it’s empty calories. The resolution of the story is perfectly fine for what it is…but it isn’t without issues. Namely, you watch a lot of bad things happen in Sugar Rot…and there isn’t even an attempt to avenge or turn the tables on any of it. It’s just a rotten world full of rotten people with a lead character rotting through and through. Perfectly acceptable as a narrative choice in this case…but it doesn’t make for the most satisfying treat. Which is, of course, part of the point. But viewers should prepare themselves for an emotionally unsatisfying snack.
Scare Value
Sugar Rot isn’t for everyone. It’s not for most people. That’s probably its best attribute. It pulls no punches in delivering the story that it wants to…exactly the way it wants it. Those uncomfortable with movies about rape, abortion and women turning into ice cream should probably steer clear. I didn’t know that last one existed until watching Sugar Rot. Part of me wonders whether it should. The other part is happy that it does. That’s the mark of a story that succeeded at its intent.
