Milk & Serial (2024) Review – Revisiting Curry Barker’s Outstanding Horror Debut

Welcome to Knockout Horror and to our review of 2024 found footage horror movie Milk & Serial by Curry Barker. Obviously, the recent success of the brilliant Obsession has made us revisit this hidden gem and I am here to tell you it is definitely worth checking out. The best part is you can go watch it on YouTube right now completely free. Let’s take a look.

A Fascinating Peek at an Emerging Horror Talent

I am sure I don’t need to tell horror fans about the movie Obsession. It’s been an absolute revelation. Produced by Barker on a budget of less than $1,000,000, it’s gone on to make over $200,000,000 globally, at the time of writing, and is breaking box office records on the weekly.

“It’s currently sitting at over 3 million views and that’s likely to climb after the success of Obsession.”

I absolutely loved it, as you can see in my review of Obsession, and I even explained the ending to the film. It’s impossible, however, when watching how polished and masterful the direction and writing is, to not wonder where it all began. Where did this director, who was previously pretty unheard of in mainstream horror, actually get his start?

Well, the truth is, Curry Barker is just one of a number of horror filmmakers who honed his talents on YouTube. He started his career alongside Obsession costar Cooper Tomlinson with their “that’s a bad idea” comedy sketch channel almost a decade ago. It’s been understandably dormant for the past 6 months or so but, over their time, they have released over 500 videos.

One such video is actually a full length feature film – Milk & Serial. Now, if you thought Obsession was made on a low budget, Milk & Serial takes it to a whole different level. This movie was made for around $800 in just four months. That’s insane. The story follows a pair of friends who run a YouTube channel, centred on pranks, being forced to deal with the consequences when their latest stunt goes horribly wrong.

Barker failed to find a mainstream distributor for the film and so, instead, decided to give it away for free on YouTube. It’s currently sitting at over 3 million views and that’s likely to climb after the success of Obsession. It’s a fascinating backstory but how does the movie hold up?

It’s not like Obsession

Let’s get that out of the way right off the bat. Milk & Serial is nothing at all like Obsession. They share a genre and that’s about it. While the latter movie feels refined, polished, and well made, Milk & Serial is a starkly low budget affair. This is found footage in its original intended form.

That means fairly low quality video, retro-scripted dialogue, some substandard acting, and lots of shaky cam. This movie could have come out of the found footage wave of the 2010s. It doesn’t innovate in any major way and feels fairly derivative of a few other genre stablemates which we will be talking about in just a minute.

With that being said, if you are a fan of the genre, you will know exactly what to expect and will feel right at home. Anyone who hates this DIY style of filmmaking might find themselves immediately ostracised.

The fact that the movie is made by someone who went on to direct one of the best horror movies in a long time doesn’t change how raw this feels. In fact, it’s probably easier to get some of the flaws out of the way first so you are amply prepared for, what is, a step down in quality.

It’s a bit flawed

Again, acting can be shaky. This is two YouTubers trying their hands at making a horror movie. Barker is typically solid throughout but Tomlinson can be a bit wooden and reserved in moments that call for high drama and a lot of emotion.

“Many of the other issues are byproducts of the found footage format itself. “

Barker’s tendency towards dimly lit shots and an almost incandescent, yellow glow providing the ambience is very apparent here. Due to the inferior cameras, it might feel more gloomy and depressing than moody and deliberate. There’s something of a graininess that almost acts as if the movie is an 80’s Polaroid picture brought to life. I liked it, others might not.

Without giving too much away, Milk & Serial is far from an original idea. In fact, the DNA is incredibly similar to some of the found footage genre’s best films. Be My Cat: A Movie for Anne and Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer immediately jump to mind.

How Barker transforms the camera into almost an accomplice to the mayhem that is taking place is reminiscent of films like those. Even the opening YouTube video style scenes feel like the opening moments to one hundred different Tubi influencer horror movies.

Many of the other issues are byproducts of the found footage format itself. There’s a few leaps of logic, a couple of “who is filming this” moments, and a decent amount of shaky cam. It’s nothing that will put fans of the format off, though. I am a huge found footage fan (as you can see with this list of my 50 favourite found footage films) and it’s all easy to forgive.

And now for the good stuff

Pushing those things aside, Milk & Serial has so much to love. Firstly, it’s genuinely creepy… Not scary – creepy. You aren’t going to be jumping out of your skin but it’s impossible not to feel horribly uneasy at what you are being made privy to.

Again, you almost act as an accomplice holding the camera up to what’s taking place. The events are so unhinged that it’s hard not to tense up just a little. It will make you feel uncomfortable in the same way as movies like Creep and the aforementioned Be My Cat do.

There’s something so sinister about getting into the mind of a person who simply doesn’t think like other people. That’s presented here in a way that feels, almost, a little dirty. Like something we shouldn’t be witnessing but are pinned to the screen unable to turn away from so are forced to endure.

The synopsis makes the movie sound intriguing but fairly milquetoast. That’s really not the case, though. The plot quickly ventures into some unexpected territory and that’s when things get really interesting.

Rather than a simple, self contained “prank gone bad” narrative that may quickly wear out its welcome, we are actually witnessing something far darker. The shift is a pleasant surprise and a nice hint of Barker’s ability to subvert expectation.

It’s gritty and actually quite realistic

The thing that really keeps you on edge about Milk & Serial is the feasibility. I mean, sure, there are a lot of logic leaps and things that don’t make sense in the real world but everything else is pretty believable. From the levels of escalation to the personalities involved.

“Like something we shouldn’t be witnessing but are pinned to the screen unable to turn away from so are forced to endure.”

The sheer fact that the characters here make their living by pranking people does wonders for making the events seem like something that could actually happen in real life. Hell, the prank format even untangles a lot of the found footage format’s more obvious problems.

There’s an inherent element of escalation that exists, when it comes to pranks, that affords an opportunity to suspend disbelief. “It’s just a prank, bro” is a statement that almost demands the person on the receiving end drops their defenses and goes along with it.

Barker absolutely weaponises that to the nth degree, taking it to the very edge of its extremes. The characters are never quite sure whether they are the ones doing the pranking or the ones on the receiving end of the prank.

They relent and go along with it without seeing the escalation and chaos as it’s unfolding right in front of their eyes. It’s utterly compelling stuff.

When you go into Milk & Serial, don’t expect a companion movie to Obsession. They are very different. Go into it expecting one of the best found footage movies in years and a seriously unsettling time and you will find tons to love.

Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight

Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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