- Director: Curry Barker
- Writer: Curry Barker
- Stars: Cooper Tomlinson, Tristan Welsh, Paul Santoli, Curry Barker
REVIEW
Word of mouth phenomenon Milk and Serial is a 62 minute found footage horror film from Curry Barker. He doesn’t just direct and star in it, but he is also a writer, producer, editor, co-cinematographer, and composer on the film. Barker already has a solid following on YouTube, along with his sketch comedy partner Cooper Tomlinson, on their channel, “that’s a bad idea.” Their natural, easy going chemistry lends itself very well to Milk and Serial and is one of the key components of why it works as well as it does.
Milk (Barker) and Seven (Tomlinson) are friends, roommates and YouTube content creators who pull pranks on each other and within their friend group. Utilizing the found footage narrative, we meet them as Seven is on a mission to pull the ultimate prank on Milk. Much like The Blair Witch Project 25 year prior, Milk and Serial has done something really special by perfectly capturing a moment in time. While Heather, Josh and Mike were on the early learning curve of handheld video cameras recording everything they do and say, Milk and Seven are smack in the middle of the YouTube generation that not only films everything they do, but seems to be motivated solely by creating content. It’s this self cynical look at what they do, both for fun and for income, that elevates Milk and Serial to something more than just a horror film; this is a fascinating commentary on Gen Z, made by Gen Z.
Made for 800 dollars and available for free on YouTube, Milk and Serial is exactly the kind of guerrilla filmmaking that thrives in the horror genre. Any time a new director comes on the scene, it’s easy to say that they are someone to watch, but Barker has been crafting creative and well made short horror films for some time now; we’re the ones catching up to him. The Chair, Enigma and Warnings are all wonderful glimpses into what Barker and Tomlinson are capable of. Milk and Serial is the darkest entry yet, but it’s also the most daring, cohesive and rewarding. Despite having the opportunity to be picked up by a distributor, Barker has allowed this hidden gem to live it’s life on YouTube while he works on his next horror film that has a bonafide producer and budget. To say that Curry Barker is a director to keep an eye on would be a huge understatement. He’s one of THE directors to watch.
Lisa Fremont