A widowed mother allows a monster to feed on her flesh in order to keep
the creature away from her daughter.
Review by
Eric Hillis
Directed by: Spider One
Starring: Krsy Fox, Elizabeth Caro, Jon Sklaroff, Barbara Crampton, Heather Langenkamp, Bonnie Aarons, Chaz
Bono
Musician turned filmmaker Spider One is the younger brother of Rob
Zombie. Little Bites is his third feature, following 2021's
Allegoria and 2022's Bury the Bride. I haven't seen his first two films, but based on
Little Bites, Spider One's filmmaking style shares little with that of his more
famous (or infamous) sibling, aside from casting his romantic partner,
Krsy Fox, as his leads. The manic grindhouse aesthetic of Zombie's
work stands in stark contrast with the patient, deliberately paced (some
might say slow) storytelling on display here.
Set in the 1970s for no apparent reason other than to remove the
storytelling obstacles posed by today's technology,
Little Bites sees Fox play Mindy, a single mother who has
sent her 10-year-old daughter Alice (Elizabeth Caro) to stay with
her mother (Bonnie Aarons) while she "takes care of a few things."
In phone conversations Mindy's mother speaks to her daughter in a
condescending tone that suggests she's fed up with Mindy's behaviour, and
with her blackened eyes and pale complexion we might guess Mindy is
struggling with some form of drug addiction.
The truth is far more fantastic. In Mindy's basement lives Agyar (Jon Sklaroff), a vampiric monster who feeds off Mindy, rationing her body via the
"little bites" of the title. Agyar really wants to sink his fangs into the
more youthful flesh of Alice but is forced to settle for her mother. When
her body gets to the point that any further nibbling could finish her off,
Mindy reluctantly seeks out other human meat for Agyar to feast on.
Clive Barker's
Hellraiser
would appear to be a heavily influence on Spider One, with
Little Bites borrowing its subplot of a woman bringing
unsuspecting victims back to her home to be ravaged by a monster. The
difference here is that there is no romantic bond between Mindy and Agyar;
she's enslaved to him purely for the sake of protecting her child.
The pact between Mindy and Agyar works on several metaphorical levels. It
could be read as an allegory for domestic abuse, with Mindy unable to
extract herself from this domineering male figure who constantly threatens
and belittles her. You might see it as a stand-in for a parent struggling
with addiction. Or it could be emblematic of the sacrifices parents are
forced to make for their children. Of the various interpretations, it's
the domestic abuse allegory that carries the most weight. You might ask
why Mindy doesn't up and leave, but the answer is the same for any woman
stuck in an abusive relationship - where would they go? Mindy allowing
herself to be physically abused to keep Agyar away from her daughter
unfortunately echoes many a real life scenario.
At times Spider One overeggs his metaphor as though worried the audience
might not pick up on it, and his film suffers from pacing issues. A
subplot involving Barbara Crampton as a Child Protective Services
officer is stretched across two lengthy scenes when one would have
sufficed. Some conversations are allowed to ramble on after they've made
their point. There are other issues too. A sequence involving
Chaz Bono as a potential meal for Agyar sees the film attempt to
inject some American Psycho-style black comedy that jars with the oppressively grim tone of the rest
of the movie. At a certain point the ambiguity surrounding Mindy and
Agyar's relationship becomes frustrating as we find ourselves trying to
figure out how long this has been playing out and how this creature ended
up in a suburban basement. A cameo by Heather Langenkamp raises
questions that remain unanswered.
What keeps us engaged is the strength of Fox and Sklaroff's performances,
which greatly help to make the fantastical scenario feel grounded. Fox
genuinely looks like a woman who has been so drained by a toxic
relationship that she can't fight back, and her interactions with other
humans have a concealed desperation that suggests she badly wants to reach
out to someone. Largely concealed by a combination of heavy make-up and
shadows, Sklaroff is forced to rely on his voice and delivers a chilling
vocal performance. There's a menacing arrogance to Agyar's threats that
helps us sympathise with Mindy's fear of standing up to him. His
aristocratic British accent greatly enhances the idea that he's a creature
that has been preying on women like Mindy for centuries.
Little Bites is in US cinemas
and on VOD from October 4th. A UK/ROI release has yet to be
announced.
