By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
With Halloween right around the corner, there are plenty of good scary movies to watch leading up to the big spooky night and beyond. The latest one in theaters is
"Little Bites."
Describing "Little Bites" as quirky feels like an understatement. This low-budget thriller, while undeniably ridiculous and silly, intrigued me because it's executive produced by
Cher, it features her son
Chaz Bono, and is also written and directed by
Spider One, the brother of Rob Zombie. That's an eclectic mix.
The film features
Krsy Fox ("Terrifier 3") as Mindy Vogel, a single mother tormented by a vampire-like demon living in her basement. The reasons for his presence remain murky, but in a twisted deal, she allows the grotesque creature named Agyar (Jon Skarloff, "Showdown at the Grand") to take “little bites” of her body in exchange for sparing her young daughter, Alice (Elizabeth Phoenix Caro, TV's "Ariel: Mermaid Tales").
Alice, who is staying with her grandmother (Bonnie Aarons, "Camp Pleasant Lake"), doesn’t understand why she can’t see her mother.
As Mindy becomes increasingly weary of her grim situation and her scarred body, she devises a plan to feed the demon a pesky Child Protective Services agent (Barbara Crampton, "Cursed in Baja") and even lures a stranger (Bono, "The Bell Keeper") to her home, hoping to buy time and possibly convince the monster to free her.
The scenes featuring Mindy's cold-blooded schemes, particularly her attempt to poison Bono's character with ice cream, are jarring yet strangely comical and among some of the film's most memorable moments.
While "Little Bites" has tremendous potential, it struggles to find its footing. The film rushes through its tense moments and spends too much time on aspects that lack intrigue. This leads to questions about whether the entire setup is merely in Mindy's head, a bad dream, or simply a result of uneven writing from Spider One.
Despite its shortcomings, "Little Bites" successfully creates a haunting and dark atmosphere. I just wished the payoff had been more rewarding and didn’t leave viewers wanting more from this twisted tale.
"Little Bites" was released by RLJE Films and in theaters Oct. 4 and is available to stream through
Shudder/Video on Demand.
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays now at 5:17 p.m. and 6:47 p.m. on radio station KFBK 93.1 FM and 1530 AM.
Look At This Trailer For
"LITTLE BITES"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), The American Film Institute (AFI), and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
