Fantastic Fest 2024 Review: LITTLE BITES (2024)

There are a lot of parts to making a movie. I don’t just mean the various departments that come together, but also on a purely macro level. There’s the idea and the execution elements where something can be a pretty bland idea but made so well that it defies its basic roots. Or, conversely, a concept can exist so perfectly in the mind but falls inert once production is underway and the brilliance of its origin is vastly overshadowed by its aggressively mediocre existence. Sadly, that is the case with writer/director Spider One’s LITTLE BITES. It’s a novel approach to a very familiar trope, but then everything else about is so underwhelming and convoluted that it’s hard to remember just how clever it was on paper. There’s genuine intelligence and insight to be had from Spider One’s idea, but viewers will be hard pressed to find that same ingenuity in the film itself.

Upon discovery of a monster in her house, Mindy (Krsy Fox) sends her daughter, Alice (Elizabeth Phoenix Caro), away. The creature, Agyar (Jon Sklaroff), is vampiric and drains Mindy’s blood multiple times a day, but really wants to devour Alice. Covered in the wounds of Agyar’s many bites, Mindy hides the situation even as she is dying and being harangued by her own mother (Bonnie Aarons) for mysteriously sending Alice to stay with her, Mindy is also being pestered by a social worker (Barbara Crampton) who thinks that something may be wrong for the child. Mindy has to find some way out of her horrible situation while Agyar’s hunger never ceases.

Why is LITTLE BITES set in 1979? Often times, horror films are set before the 2000s to avoid the pesky preponderance of cell phones that could cause issues for screenwriters and thoroughly muck up some dangerous set ups. But there is nothing in LITTLE BITES that would really be affected if folks had a smartphone. Maybe it’s because Mindy is unaware of Child Protective Services (CPS), and the argument is that the organization wasn’t especially well known at the time? But…that doesn’t necessitate setting it during the Carter administration. So the only things that remain is financial, where costuming and decorating the main set—a house in California—was less expensive if done 45 years ago. Or, it’s for a personal reason that resonated with the writer/director, who was probably a kid during that time. And therein lies a tricky aspect of discussing LITTLE BITES: not only is it a good idea for a film, but you can tell that Spider One took on this project very seriously and personally and put a lot of himself (fears of being a parent, problems with being a child) into the movie. So it does genuinely pain me to say that despite the good ideas and personal touches that elevate some parts of the script, over all LITLE BITES just isn’t very good.

None of the period stuff really works as it doesn’t feel needed and the 1979 aesthetic doesn’t do anything to really heighten the visuals. It’s all shot fairly conventionally, with lots of uninteresting static shots that never do much to tell an intriguing story on their own. The music is comically bad, with Roy Mayorga’s score coming off as the most generic horror movie soundtrack—including pizzicato strings and sudden stings to suggest what you’re seeing is, in fact, interesting. And I don’t know what Sklaroff is doing in the main monster/vampire role of Agyar but it flatly does not work. He sounds like Noel Fielding’s goth character from The IT Crowd mixed with The Master from Buffy The Vampire Slayer, a goofy toothy performance that robs the creature of any real threat or viciousness. The fact that his “abilities” and the rules governing those are poorly sketched out also makes him seem less like a true source of menace and more like a kid playing pretend who is just making shit up as he goes along.

But it’s not all bad. Despite some poor dialogue and action, Fox delivers a strong performance as the embattled Mindy. This is a woman who is just trying her best to hold on for her child while everything else around her falls apart. Her suffering is palpable, and not just because of the f/x that show her scarred body, but through her weary expressions and terrified demeanor. Mindy doesn’t know what to do, desperately wants it all to stop, but mostly wants to be there for her daughter. It’s powerful stuff that is unfortunately often obscured by everything wrong in LITTLE BITES. Caro and Crampton are also solid in their roles, even with limited screen time and not the best material. Heather Langenkamp appears in one scene to help Mindy by delivering some advice, and it’s arguably the best scene in the film with some nice dialogue and a real rapport between the two actresses with a lot being said without being said.

But then…it turns out that Langenkamp’s character also has those characteristic bite marks all over her arms just like Mindy. It’s clear this is meant to be two abuse survivors helping each other out, but the metaphor breaks down as it just leaves audiences wondering why there are other monsters roaming about and how did Langenkamp deal with hers and did 1979 California really have such a vampiric infestation? Again, strong idea but the execution lacks refinement and thus robs the moment of any poignancy.

LITTLE BITES isn’t so much awful as it is frustrating. Okay, and also more than a bit bad. There’s a really good idea about a mother sacrificing herself for her daughter when it comes to domestic abuse, and the vampire/monster metaphor helps make it even more interesting. There are some talented performers in it who are clearly capable of delivering the best version of the material that could nail these parts and turn in a classic horror film that would be a fresh new take on vampirism in a difficult way. Instead, it’s all hashed together and poorly assembled into too much of it being unintentionally goofy and awkward with poor pacing and a pretty dreadful climax. LITTLE BITES is an example where there are capable people on the team and folks seem to be taking it all to heart, but further collaboration and refinement could’ve greatly helped the situation instead of resulting in this unfortunate outcome.