Director: Curry Barker
Cast: Curry Barker, Cooper Tomlinson
Screenplay: Curry Barker
62 mins. Not Rated.

Curry Barker exploded onto the scene this year with Obsession, a movie that has captured audiences of all kinds with its creepy careful-what-you-wish-for story of relationship horror, but he also had quite a moment back in 2024 with his YouTube-released horror feature Milk & Serial, a film that took over online discussions as viewers saw the movie, learned of its $800 budget, and questioned why this movie didn’t go to theaters or a streaming service. Milk & Serial is a solid first feature for Barker that maybe got more traction on YouTube than a small theatrical release would give, and it sets the stage for the tone of his later film.

Seven (Cooper Tomlinson, Mank) has been planning a birthday surprise for his friend Milk (Barker) for their prank video channel, but when Milk returns the prank and it goes too far, the two men must face the disturbing consequences and try to cover up the unraveling prank.

Milk & Serial is a very simple and traditional tale of pranks gone too far, but it showcases the stylistic choices of Barker very well. Given the thinner-than-shoestring budget of this feature, it’s incredible how good this movie looks, nearly as professional as the Blumhouse-produced follow-up and on less than a thousand dollars. The performances are not mind-blowing, but none of them took me out of the picture and, understanding that a lot of these people were just friends with Barker and Tomlinson, I’m surprised that they work as well as they do.

It’s a smart decision to mostly confine this film to simple locations without a lot of people, like apartments and back alleys. Simplicity is often the best gift to a first-time feature director, and when the project works, which this one does well enough, it’s hardly noticeable how confined the limitations are.

If anything, Milk & Serial suffers from playing on familiarity in its storytelling, with much of the screenplay feeling very unsurprising. It would seem that Barker is a unique director, but I think he could use support in his writing, as both this and Obsession were pretty traditional morality plays that didn’t make the most of the familiarity to inject some uncertainty. Most of the time I had a pretty good idea where things were headed.

Milk & Serial shows that Curry Barker can do a lot with a little. His screenplays are more tradition and familiar, but he has a knack for stylistic choices that cause viewers to wonder if they should be laughing or being scared, and that will suit him down the road. I liked Milk & Serial a bit more than Obsession, and I’m still very interested in where this young talent is headed.

3/5
-Kyle A. Goethe

For more Curry Barker: Obsession