Little Bites (2024)
A Mostly Toothless Effort
Mindy (Krsy Fox) has a big problem. She’s got a monster in her basement, and it feeds on human flesh. The creature, who is named Aygar (Jon Sklaroff), has his eyes set on Mindy’s ten year old daughter, Alice (Elizabeth Phoenix Caro). Whenever Aygar gets hungry, he rings a bell to summon Mindy down to the basement. She placates him by letting him nibble on her.
Meanwhile, Child Protective Services agents are knocking on Mindy’s door. They want to speak to Alice, who isn’t home. Mindy has sent her away while she ponders how to deal with Aygar. Alice is currently living with Mindy’s cantankerous mother. The movie never bothers to give the mom a name, but she’s played by Bonnie Arons.
No effort is made to explain how the monster ended up in the basement or why he is fixated on Alice. He is certainly willing to eat other humans, although he apparently prefers women over men, like the dude in Fresh.
We later see that Aygar is able to move in and out of the house at will, so it’s unclear why he spends most of the movie in the basement. Little Bites doesn’t tell us much about the monster’s backstory, other than that he is centuries old.
An Uninspired Scare Flick
Little Bites is an attempt at a straight horror movie. It’s not a comedy or a spoof, and it takes itself very seriously. Unfortunately, there is little tension to be found here. The characters and performances are bland.
Without people we care about, it’s impossible for a horror movie to be scary. The creature isn’t frightening, either. Being ugly and mean isn’t enough. He’s a generic monster with little to distinguish himself.
The movie gains some entertainment value with two horror celebrities in supporting roles. Barbara Crampton gets a couple of scenes as the main CPS official who is investigating Mindy. She grows suspicious after hearing the creature ring his bell. Her character arc is predictable, though.
Also, Heather Langenkamp appears for one brief and rather random scene. I’m not sure why Langenkamp was interested in a tiny cameo as a character we never see again. It’s like the filmmakers signed her solely for her name value, and then scrambled to figure out a role for her to play. Virtually any actress could have played her character.
Little Bites ends with an abrupt twist that makes little sense, and comes far too late to save the movie. I won’t spoil the ending, but the final scene leaves us with more questions than answers. The more you think about this movie, the less it makes sense. It’s fine to leave some stuff ambiguous, but this type of writing is just sloppy.
This movie is one of those Shudder exclusive streaming deals (it had a brief stint in theaters during the 2024 Halloween season). I love Shudder, but its lineup of exclusive content is uneven at best. I did enjoy The Well, but Little Bites is like most of their exclusives – a disappointing mediocrity.
Shudder offers lots of fantastic stuff, but they need better quality control in terms of the little indie projects they purchase. My guess is that they were convinced by Crampton and Langenkamp being involved, but this duo only gets around 15 minutes of screen time combined.
This movie may work better for parents, especially mothers. The director, Spider One, grapples with the themes of motherhood and mother-daughter relationships. Wouldn’t it be more fitting for a woman to direct a movie about motherhood? It’s a weird thematic choice for a guy.
Mindy and Alice don’t share any screen time until the third act (unless you count a brief telephone call), and their relationship is kind of distant. Their lack of chemistry prevents the movie’s themes from being effective.
Rating
Little Bites is, unfortunately, aptly named. Instead of having real bite, it’s content to merely nibble.
Rating from 1 (avoid at all costs) to 10 (masterpiece): 4
