2024 is already shaping up to be a great year for horror movies, with Longlegs topping $100 million and Late Night with the Devil garnering a whopping 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. Still, the breakout thriller of the year might be an $800 project that’s available to watch for free on YouTube today.
In the film, there are some extremely neat lines, such as when the main character describes gaslighting as “when you pull a prank on someone but make them think it’s their fault”
Milk & Serial is a 62-minute found-footage thriller by YouTuber Curry Barker, and it manages to be both relentlessly dramatic and supremely authentic.
Amassing 348,000 views within two weeks of its release, its popularity has been boosted by rave reviews on Reddit, which have since spilled over into mainstream media.
Bloody Disgusting called it “one of the best kept secrets of the year,” and this week Barker was interviewed by Variety.
Torture to click?
Milk & Serial’s credits list Barker as the film’s writer, director, producer, editor, cinematographer, composer, and star. Additionally, the $800 budget was mostly spent on hiring an actor and buying a camera (which was then sold for a $100 profit). It’s the kind of threshing floor to living room story that Hollywood loves.
But other than that, it’s just a really good movie. Milk & Serial follows the path of two insufferable YouTube pranksters who try to torture each other for clicks. But, without giving too much away, everything goes awry when one of the two discovers that his capacity for torture far exceeds that of his partner.
Of course, the fact that the subject of the film was “ready-made” also helps. There’s a huge section of YouTube devoted entirely to silly prank videos where groups of friends spend an inordinate amount of money and time making each other’s lives as miserable as possible, and then celebrate it.
“I’ve never had a budget in my life”
In the film, there are some extremely neat lines, such as when the main character describes gaslighting as “when you prank someone but make them think it’s their fault”. Furthermore, although the casting seems to come from Barker’s own social circle, each character seems to be written to their individual strengths.
The film is likely to continue to be released for free on YouTube. He doesn’t need to drag it to festivals, or push for distribution. It’s there, and it’s proof that he knows exactly what he’s doing.
But the big heads of the industry have already begun to surround him. According to Variety , he’s already working with Fall producer James Harris on his next film — telling the publication that he’s “never had a budget in my life” — and depending on how it goes, this could be the beginning of a brilliant career.
Or maybe not. With Milk & Serial, Barker has proven that he is capable of creating skillful, compelling horror films – and making a profit from them – by delivering them directly to the public for free.
*With information from: Guardian & Variety
