Mother's Milk

I came across this at the video store (yeah they still exist) and rented it sight unseen. It sounded interesting and looked pretty screwed up due to the title and the woman on the front of the box clawing to get out. As an avid horror fan, I figured it would be a little torture experimental film to pass a few hours.

I will admit as it started, I thought there was a chance I could fall asleep. It seemed as if nothing was happening after a pretty mysterious and exciting opening sequence where our leading man watches water boil and mysteriously seems to destroy a woman in his basement. But it's all done "behind closed doors" - offering a much classier experience than the DVD cover alluded too.

After that though, it seems to plod along. There is a scene at our lead professors classroom, he plays cards with a friend, were introduced to our lead female, she is kidnapped. It all seemed pretty run of the mill after the exciting beginning.

If I am being honest, I almost turned the film off wondering where it would go from here - it just wasn't holding my attention. Well I am so very pleased I did not. After about the 30/45 minute mark I was hooked. Not to a horror film, but to a truly sad character piece. If there is any reason to watch this film (and there are more than one) its the leading performance. I have never heard of Casey Chapman before, but I cannot imagine not hearing about him again. This is the kind of performance an actor would die for with so much material to sink his/her teeth into.

So go into this film looking for a killer leading performance, not so much a killer killing people off film. (This is NOT to say this film isn't disturbing .. it is. Perhaps more-so than the type of film I thought I was getting into)

I would recommend the film to those who enjoy something a little darker, a little quieter.

I like "smart" horror films – and I got one.

Mother's Milk is about the psychological unraveling of a deeply troubled teacher (Claude,) who fights personal demons that he's no match for.

Claude is a character study in "quiet/mild-mannered" meets "savage brutality" (with a little bit of Anthony Hopkins-esque "sexy" thrown in). A young woman (Mackenzie Wiglesworth as Kim Rodgers) is abducted by Claude early in the film. Despite the odds (I think only "Beauty" ended up with "The Beast") – you hope somehow love will conquer all.

In my favorite scene, Claude becomes a petulant five-year old when a dish he serves isn't embraced by his captive. A war of wills ensues, and oddly - you find yourself somehow championing Claude's culinary dictatorship. Here the director is absolutely skilled in capturing the right balance of tension and comic relief in the tug-of-wills between Claude and Kim.

But what anchors the terror of the story - is an at first quiet, then frenetic build to a horrifying scene which I still can't get out of my head (no spoiler alert here – you've got to see it to appreciate this level of "disturbing"). I couldn't look, but I couldn't look away.

The debut film of director Edward Pionke is a trip to the dark side for the viewer. As with many direct to streaming services release, this one again falls victim of misleading a careless cover art. What we are lead to believe is we are about to see a horror film, and this is quite simply not what were given. The only reason I cannot rank this film a perfect 10 is because of the misleading cover art and synopsis. The tag line "family is forever" is a bit more fitting, however what we have here is a glimpse into the mind of a truly disturbed man - not a horror film to please the fans of the Saw franchise or the Hostel franchise. If that's what you're looking for, stray away.

We meet Claude, a professor who seems to live a solitary and lonely life. Early on we find out that he holds a woman captive in the basement of his modest home, we are unsure why. As the film dives down the rabbit hole we learn that he deals with issues from being raised by a mother who perhaps drank too much and perhaps nursed too long. Due to an unfortunate accident, Claude is left a broken and disturbed man.

The film takes place mainly in one room, the dank basement of Claude's house. And besides a few very minor side characters, the film circles around two characters, Claude and Kim. Kim is an attractive woman kidnapped under the wrong circumstances and forced to take the role of "mommy" to Claude.

There's no explosions, no high gore, no jump scares or BOO moments. This is a film that hinges upon the audiences ability to allow themselves to be locked in a room with a borderline psychopath and wonder what you would do in similar circumstances. Would you risk dying alone by fighting against your captor or would you get to know who this man is and find your own way out. In many ways the film is a cat and mouse thriller. It's very much Kim Vs. Claude. And as the film goes on it's very much Claude Vs. Claude.

There's not a lot of movie making like this out today. The film was probably dumped direct on video because a studio would be afraid of how to market the film, afraid there would be no audience for it. I cannot imagine that there was a big budget behind this however, so I wouldn't believe it would be hard to make back its budget, because it is a highly interesting film that could be marketed towards an art house crowd - I know they exist.

Besides featuring an interesting and fresh script and solid directing, it contains a performance that you just don't see even in mainstream films. The actor who plays Claude, Casey Chapman, does the unthinkable. Personally, although he does some unforgivable things, I was rooting for Claude. The actor has sympathized the devil. It's a remarkable performance.

With solid support from the co-lead Mackenzie Wiglesworth, Mother's Milk amounts to a solid art house film that's perfectly worth the price of a rental. Besides the weird marketing angle, this is a dark dark gem.

I saw "Mothers Milk" last week via the SoCal film festival. I really knew nothing about it going in, as it was a part of a ticket package I bought. I decided last minute to watch it, as I had time to kill - and I am glad I made the move. The story is pretty disturbing. It's about a man named Claude who kidnaps women and traps them in his basement in order to fill his childhood fetish.

The movie basically takes place in one room. I could see some people thinking the movie is a bit slow moving, but there is a big payoff. It's really all about the actor who plays Claude (Casey Chapman). This is a performance that could hold up with anything being buzzed about currently for awards this season. He takes a character that is so disturbing, so disgusting, and so unlikeable and makes him sympathetic. There are points in the movie where I caught myself disagreeing with his victim at points, which shocked me as a woman.

Glad that I attend smaller festivals, as you can find hidden gems like this that are just as good (if not better) than what you will see in one of the bigger festivals in the US. I will keep my eye out for films from this writer and director (Edward Pionke) as well.

I honestly never write bad reviews, unless I absolutely feel like the movie deserves it. I might as well start with the good: Curiosity got me hooked until the end, as I expected some crazy twist that might redeem the overall quality of the movie. I was let down completely with an "open to interpretations" end, however it was not the ending that disappointed me the most. The story itself is original and worth a try, but the quality of the cinematography, editing, acting and directing really fail to do it justice. The acting clearly fails from the script on, and while we might be able to feel connected to the characters in some way or another, their choice of words and actions often make them seem like robots. And the special effects where lousy even for an indie low budget film. It's not a fantastic movie, it's not even good, but it might have flown under the radar had It not been for all these ridiculous reviews left on its IMDB page.

However, if you take it as what it truly is, a bad movie, and try not to take it too seriously, you might actually enjoy the experience of sitting through all the inconsistencies.