With a plot similar to that of “The Babadook,” and a monster looking like the ‘Baron’ from “What We Do in the Shadows” (the TV show), “Little Bites” entangles itself in rough-hewn metaphors and uneven messaging. But, when it concentrates on being a slow-burn gore-fest, with the right amount of dread and horror, the Spider One feature does succeed. With taut atmospheric cinematography and a fine performance from Krsy Fox, “Little Bites” is not a totally disappointing fare. In fact, for pure horror aficionados, it should be compellingly entertaining.
Written by Spider One, the film juggles with some metaphors and has a surprising ending. Let us discuss that.
Little Bites (2024) Movie Synopsis and Plot Summary:
We start with an ominous close-up of Mindy Vogel (Krsy Fox) as she looks helplessly and despondently. As a dinner bell rings from someplace afar, she begins to drag herself toward the source of the sound. Dread rising with each passing step, Mindy opens the door of one of the rooms in the house’s basement. The sound seems to come from there. She asks the darkness if her arms can be spared for tonight. If the monster will be interested in her leg for a change. The grotesque face answers, with the right amount of sophisticated politeness, that he would much rather have the arm. And he bites into Mindy’s offering hand.
The scene establishes the situation Mindy finds herself in. A monster (Jon Sklaroff) has taken shelter in her home. She has let her daughter, 10-year-old Alice, stay with her grandmother. It appears that the vampire-like monster, named Agyar, asked for Alice initially. To save her daughter, Mindy has volunteered herself to be consumed. Agyar is often hungry. Hence, Mindy is losing massive chunks of her body parts without getting time to heal.
Meanwhile, one of her neighbors grows suspicious after spotting a disheveled Mindy in the supermarket. When Mindy does not respond in a social manner, the neighbor marks Mindy to be unfit as a parent. As a result, the Child Protective Service gets a call. One of their representatives, Sonya Whitfield (Barbara Crampton) visits Mindy’s home. She demands to speak to Alice. Upon learning Alice is currently at Mindy’s mother’s place, she sets another appointment and asks Mindy to have Alice by that time.
Mindy realizes she cannot keep getting eaten continuously if she has to have any hope of getting Alice back. She proposes to Agyar if she can arrange for an alternative feeding arrangement. Meaning that Mindy has to bring someone else to be eaten. So, Mindy sets off to find Agyar’s food. She befriends a beleaguered man named Paul. She tries to knock Paul out by feeding him ice cream laced with sleeping pills. It works to some extent. Mindy drags Paul’s unconscious, heavy body to the basement for Agyar. But Agyar rejects that food. So Mindy lets Paul go.
Little Bites (2025) Ending Explained:
Why Did Agyar Not Eat Paul?
It appears Agyar does not just crave the meat of a human body, but he also craves the emotions of the human. Thus, the temperament of the prey becomes important for him. Paul, a desperate-looking, lonely man, does not have a lot going for him. Agyar could taste the despair and loneliness in him. And he does not like that one bit. It probably tastes bitter. Agyar needs to devour love. Like the one he gets from Mindy, who is full of love for her daughter.
What Happens to Sonya Whitfield?
After the Paul experiment debacle, Mindy is once again forced to provide her own body to Agyar. Meanwhile, Sonya comes back on her appointment date. She barges in and asks to speak to Alice immediately. The dinner bell from Agyar’s room starts to ring at that moment. Sonya assumes Mindy is hiding Alice, and sets off to find the basement room. Mindy, despite initial reluctance, sees the only way to get out of this Sonya-predicament. She pushes Sonya to Agyar’s room and locks the door. Agyar does the rest. When Mindy gets inside, Agyar informs that any sign of Sonya has been ‘licked clean.’ It is implied that Sonya is eaten by Agyar.
Did Mindy and Alice Defeat the Monster?
When a desperate Mindy goes to the nearest park, for some kind of respite, she meets a strange woman. This older woman tells her there are three stages of being a mother. At the first stage, the parent stands behind the child, to help them from falling. Then they stand before the child, to protect them from the outside world. Then comes a time when the parent has to stand beside the child. To allow the child to fight as well. Mindy notices that the woman has bite marks on her arm as well. The ones Mindy has, from Agyar.
Inspired by the woman’s words, Mindy calls her mother to bring Alice home. Mindy decides to tell Alice the truth. A visibly scared Alice looks at her mother in disbelief. Mindy takes her to Agyar’s room. To Mindy’s surprise, the room is empty, as if there has been no one there in the first place. Alice worries about her mother’s mental health, as Mindy believes that Agyar has finally left them. However, the next day, Agyar knocks on the door and Alice opens it. Agyar talks with the child, quite politely, and asks her to tell her mother that ‘Agyar is here.’
Upon learning that Mindy is horrified and goes inside Agyar’s room. Although the room is empty, Agyar takes control of the entire house. Alice tells her mother that she can hear him too, thus believing Mindy’s story. Together, they decide that they can kill Agyar. So, they go to the kitchen to get knives. Agyar appears in front of them. Agyar challenges Mindy that deep down, she is like him. A seemingly hypnotized Mindy offers herself to Agyar once more.
Agyar calls Alice to join them, and the girl proceeds toward him. Then, in a surprising twist, instead of being eaten, Alice bites into Agyar. Seeing that, Mindy also starts to bite back at Agyar. The mother-daughter duo devours Agyar as the screen goes black. In a mid-credit scene, we see Mindy living peacefully, with a smile on her face. She hears a knock on the door and finds a grown Alice in front of her. It appears that the mother and daughter are finally happy.
What Does the Monster Signify?
Initially, it appeared that Agyar might have represented Mindy’s depression, a la “The Babadook.” But it seems that the monster represents an abusive relationship, where the tormentor often feeds on their prey’s fear and love for the child. It is often the case that the mothers have to take the beatings from their partners just to ensure their child remains safe. In the story, Mindy’s actual husband is dead, and Agyar preys on the vulnerability of the woman. In a darker theory, Agyar could represent the darkness of rapes. Mindy’s sacrifice to protect Alice becomes even more horrific and tragic.
