Little Bites

"Little Bites" has a unique premise, which flows from a very literal application of the metaphor of addiction being a monster which eats away at you, little-by-little, till one day there is nothing left. Given the almost non-existent budget, the Spider One (the younger Cummings brother, i.e. Not Rob Zombie) / Kirsty Fox writer / director couple, augmented by the much improved cinematography of Andy Patch, did astonishingly well. The set (basically a very cool gothic house) creature - and bite effects, 70's setting, and claustrophobic camera work, created a tense and oppressive atmosphere, which worked very well. Horror screen queens, Crampton and Langenkamp excelled in minor roles, and Sklaroff did the cool measured patronising voice. Fox really gave the performance her all, and her character at times worked brilliantly. However, the script needed a lot of work. Some interactions were written very unnaturally, and the failure to move past the basic metaphor and to run said metaphor is almost criminal. The duality between the visual events and the mental cause thereof needed decent capitalisation and the continuous spoon-feeding of the metaphor, just made a way too long 104 minute film, feel even longer. A mixed bag film, but because of the originality of the idea and the decent visual execution, despite the micro budget, "Little Bites" gets a 6/10.

I was rather excited for Little Bites because the premise sounded unique enough, and there were some familiar faces attached to it. It tells the story of a young widow desperately trying to protect her daughter from something evil, to put it vaguely. Krsy Fox, as the mother, does a solid job and largely carries the movie on her back, as her character demands a lot from her.

There are only a limited number of characters, and the acting ranges from pretty good to rather poor at times. From the overall quality of the film, it's clear that the budget was limited and that Spider One and the rest of the team worked with what they had. While I appreciated the use of practical effects, it was obvious that the antagonistic force was just an actor in makeup. The film is very dark and poorly lit, which not only contributes to the cheap-looking effects but also does the movie no favors.

The narrative unfolds at a snail's pace, and the movie feels too long, making for a rather boring viewing experience. It felt like a short film stretched to over 100 minutes, with slow pacing and barely any questions answered. In the end, it was rather unsatisfying, and therefore, I can't recommend watching it. However, if the premise sounds interesting to you, you might want to check it out and form your own opinion.

This is a movie that caught my attention when the trailer was being shown at the Gateway Film Center. There were things with sound designs and got me to look up. The first was seeing that this featured the likes of Heather Langenkamp and Barbara Crampton, who are actors I'm a fan of. I also saw that this was written/directed by Spider One. I've seen his previous film, Allegoria, which was decent. I also know him as the lead singer of Powerman 5000 and the brother to Rob Zombie. This one seemed interesting with the information I knew, so I decided to catch it at the theater.

Synopsis: in a desperate attempt to protect her ten-year-old daughter, a young widow allows a nightmarish monster to slowly eat her alive.

This young widow from the synopsis is Mindy (Krsy Fox). She is in bed and she hears a bell, summoning her. We see that she's exhausted but cannot ignore this. What is calling to her is the monster. Later we learn its name is Agyar (Jon Sklaroff). It looks old and creepy, needing to feed. It prefers her arm. She tries to get it to use a leg, but she doesn't have clout and gives in to its demand.

What we learn from here is that this beast feeds regularly. Mindy is covered in scars as it bites her. To protect her daughter, she sent her to stay with her mother. The daughter is Alice (Elizabeth Phoenix Caro) while the grandmother is played by Bonnie Aarons. We hear her mostly over the phone, scolding her daughter and demanding that she step up to care for her child. This isn't the only person who is hard on her. Sonya Whitfield (Crampton) is a worker with Child Protective Services who is looking into the treatment of Alice. It is required that the child be back the following Tuesday.

Mindy is tired and she is in pain. Her mother accuses her of being hooked on drugs and doesn't believe her when she's told otherwise. Mindy does meet Ellenor (Langenkamp), who inspires her. They might also have more in common than our lead character might realize. Mindy has to decide, allow this creature to continue to feed on her or fight back for the sake of her as well as her daughter.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that there are good things here. I prefer this one to Spider One's other film, the anthology - Allegoria, which I didn't dislike as much as others. I do see growth here as a filmmaker which is a positive. I'd continue to watch his works as there are good things here. This isn't an issue free movie. I did need to say that as well.

Let's start with the positives. The idea that we have this monster living in the house and feeding on a mother is great. I know there is an allegory under this and I'm guessing it is depression. We learn that Mindy's husband and the father of Alice passed away. I get the idea that this is pointing out how difficult it is to be a parent, especially when you're doing it alone. I'm thankful for my wife, Jaime, and how we're able to help each other. I give all the credit in the world to single parents for sure.

Getting back to what I was referring to, while I was watching this, I had the idea that we're watching a monster feed on this mother, but there is more underneath it. Mindy isn't in the position to bargain with Agyar. It seems like Mindy sent Alice away because she didn't want it to feed on her. I love this idea, but I just wish they would have done more with it. Agyar wants Alice to come back as it seems like Mindy is being fed on to protect her. With how it is presented and this is me reading into it trying to figure out or make the connection. I believe if this is developed more, then it could work better. I did like that Mindy learns that she can feed others to the beast, but they need to have something to live for. He loves that despair and wants to live.

Then to build from this, I do think the issues that I have is with the writing. The dialogue at times is awkward and feels like it is a bit too on the nose. It also feels like it is purposefully saying things to get to the point they want to make and doesn't feel as organic. This makes performances come off stiff. I'm less inclined to blame the actors, just knowing that we have people I've seen in other things. I'll say that I did like the despair we see from Fox. She works as this mother who is fighting to keep things together. I love the growth there. Caro is solid for a child. She doesn't show up until late so they were strategic there, limiting the screentime to critique. Sklaroff is great as this monster. The accent adds something to the performance, making this creature seem wise. Chaz Bono, James A. Janisse and Chelsea Rebecca were fine in their supporting roles. They bring life to their quirky characters. Other than that, I love the cameos by Aarons, Langenkamp and Crampton.

I'll then finish this out with filmmaking. I did think the cinematography and framing were good. There are shots here that are crafted in interesting ways. That did add something. The look of Agyar was creepy. Seeing the scars all over Mindy was good as well. That just adds a dimension of seeing everything she's endured thus far. Made me feel for her. This is limited to blood and gore, but what we got there looked good. It was done practically. If there was CGI, the use was limited so I'll credit the team there. Other than that, the soundtrack was solid. It adds creepiness to the atmosphere they're building. Plus, the sound of that bell carries such fear for the lead.

In conclusion, this is a solid lower budget film. It is limited in what they're working with, but that adds to its feel. We are seeing this mother, Mindy, who has isolated herself to deal with a monster in her house. The allegory to depression and how difficult raising a child alone can be is good. I do think there is more that can be built on here that could make this even better. The acting is solid though, my issues seem to be more with the writing. This was made well enough with the practical effects, cinematography, framing and the soundtrack leading the way there. Again, not a great movie but I enjoyed my time here. I'd recommend it if you like creature features and want one that has something to say.

My Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Mindy Vogel (Krsy Fox) is talking with a creepy creature in her dark basement. Child Protective Service comes knocking at her door. She tells the agent that her daughter Alice is visiting her mother.

This small horror has good creepiness. Mindy looks absolutely haunted. The creature is pretty basic but effective. It is lurking in the dark and that is very creepy. The problem is the slower pace. The story needs to have one more thing to happen or one more person to kill. It is great to see Heather Langenkamp, but I don't want her getting killed. The fat guy is great. Maybe she should get the woman who called CPS.

I enjoyed the movie. The first two thirds were really good, I'd give it an 8. The slow building tension, the acting was spot on. I was actually impressed with Krsy Fox's performance. Heather Langenkamp's performance was my favourite, she has a limited role but she makes it so memorable. The pace of the slow boil was good in my opinion. It wasn't so slow that I lost interest and it didn't rush and lose the delicate tension. The last third I almost felt like maybe the original script was changed? It took me out of the movie a bit hence my rating coming down to a 7. It was not bad by any means, I still enjoyed it. I would have preferred an ending that kept in tone with the first 2/3. I actually think that Spider One created a solid movie though. I actually would love to see him explore other genres, I think he could create an interesting body of work.