Directed and written by Spider One, Little Bites is driven more by its theme than its plot. The story is of little significance here, since the focus is primarily on the metaphor used to address addiction and the challenges of being a single parent. Little Bites could have worked better as a short film than a feature; it is because of the duration that the metaphor is overexplained and it loses its spark. The plot is similar to the 2014 Austrian film The Babadook. Krsy Fox delivers a stellar performance as single mother Mindy Vogel, and Jon Sklaroff is pretty convincing as the ghastly-looking monster, Agyar.
Spoiler Alert
What was Mindy protecting Alice from?
Mindy’s ten-year-old daughter Alice had been staying at her grandmother’s house for over a week. She had no idea why her mother wanted her to stay away, and Alice looked forward to returning home to her mother. Mindy’s mother was disappointed in her daughter. She thought it was time Mindy took responsibility for herself and Alice instead of running away from it. Mindy could not explain what she was going through— nobody would have believed her. She knew that she risked being called a terrible mother; she thought keeping her daughter away was a better option than sacrificing her to the monster. Mindy had a monster in her basement, and he called himself Agyar. The monster fed on Mindy a little every day, leaving her weak and tired. He could have devoured Mindy in seconds, but he did not think he would find joy in that. Killing her slowly without any resistance let him savor his meal. Mindy was ready to sacrifice herself to protect her daughter, but with Mindy’s debilitating condition, she was scared that the monster would feed on Alice after her death. She had to stay alive to ensure that Alice was protected, but it was slowly becoming a challenge. The monster is a metaphor for addiction and the challenges that come with single parenting. The bite marks can be compared to the needle marks on an addict’s body. The monster always rang a bell when he was hungry, and it can be interpreted as the urge that an addict experiences and that they find impossible to resist. Even if Mindy had stopped taking drugs, stopping herself and staying truly committed to becoming a better parent was not easy, and the monster symbolized how self-doubt and pressure continuously ate her from the inside.
What happened to Sonya Whitfield?
When Gail Hurley, a parent at Alice’s school, ran into Mindy at the grocery store, she was a little concerned when she noticed Mindy wearing a hat and sunglasses indoors. When Mindy removed her sunglasses, Gail noticed the dark circles around her eyes and was concerned. As it turned out, after returning home, Gail contacted Child Protective Services, and Sonya Whitfield knocked on Mindy’s door. She inquired about Alice’s whereabouts, and when she explained that she worked with Child Protective Services, Mindy got nervous. She was afraid that because of her history with addiction, Alice might be taken away from her. Sonya entered to check the condition of Mindy’s house; she heard the bell ring, but when she entered the basement, no one was there. Sonya instructed Mindy to bring Alice home by Tuesday, and she would stop by her house again to ensure that Alice was alright.
The constant aching from the bites, the fear of losing her life, her inability to live on her own terms, and being misunderstood by everyone around her gradually started to affect Mindy’s mental and physical health. She needed to find an alternative, which meant she had to offer the monster another body to feed on. Mindy lured home a stranger she befriended at the bus stop. The man, Paul, was hesitant, but she insisted he try the drugged ice cream she brought him. The drug worked, and he fainted; Mindy dragged his body to the basement room. The monster reminded her that he did not feed on the dead, but Mindy assured him the man was alive. Since Paul barely took any risks in life and perhaps lived a routine life, the monster did not find him interesting enough to feed on. Since the monster represented a culmination of negative emotions, it only feasted on those who were vulnerable, and at the same time had something that they were afraid to lose. When Paul regained consciousness, he noticed the bite mark on his arm and was startled. He immediately got to his feet and walked out of the door.
The next time Sonya Whitfield stopped by Mindy’s house, she became the monster’s prey. She heard the bell ring again, and she assumed that Mindy had Alice locked in the basement. Unlike the first time, when Sonya entered the basement room, she was pulled right in by the monster. Agyar was hungry, and he devoured Sonya in her entirety. This scene particularly caters to the idea that the monster in Mindy’s basement is not just symbolic but also real. Sonya was killed to serve the monster’s appetite.
How did Mindy decide to face the monster?
Mindy had come across a woman named Ellenor (Heather Langenkamp) at a park. Mindy was looking at the children playing, and Ellenor guessed that Mindy was a mother. She believed every mother had resilient energy, and she felt it radiating from Mindy. There was more in common between Mindy and Ellenor than met the eye. They were both single mothers, and she had the same marks that Mindy did, which was perhaps why Ellenor took an interest in Mindy. She knew how challenging it was to raise children as a single parent; she knew the grief of losing a loved one, and she could sense that Mindy was going through all of that and much more. Just like Mindy, the monster had tried to feed on Ellenor too, but her children helped her overcome her fear and heal.
After Mindy’s husband, Jack, passed away suddenly, she was left to look after Alice. She was often overwhelmed and sometimes wondered if she was a good mother. But Ellenor advised her that after a certain age, a mother too needed help and support from their children. Instead of sacrificing and losing herself in the process, Mindy had to reach out to her daughter, and together they could overpower the monster. Mindy felt hopeful after talking to Ellenor. She realized if she was truly determined she could destroy the monster.
Mindy contacted her mother and requested that she bring Alice home. The next morning, Alice finally returned home. She was happy to be reunited with her mother, though she could not stop asking Mindy why she needed time alone. Mindy did not have an answer, but she eventually decided to tell her daughter the entire truth. Mindy disclosed that there was a monster in the basement room. Alice looked puzzled and scared. She was all the more frightened when Mindy suggested they face the monster together. She had heard her grandmother talk about her mother’s mental health and addiction problem, and perhaps she wondered if her mother was having another episode. But Mindy was serious, and together they entered the basement room. Mindy was shocked to see that the monster was gone. She could not believe her eyes, but she soon figured the monster had left after Alice returned to stay with her. Mindy realized she was right; together they could scare the monster away. This hints at how Alice’s support positively impacted Mindy’s mental health, and the doubts that often clouded her mind cleared as soon as she had her daughter by her side.
What is the meaning behind the final scene?
Mindy woke up to a nightmare—she imagined the monster feeding on Alice. When she walked to Alice’s room, she saw her daughter sleeping peacefully. The next morning, Burt Holzman of Child Protective Services showed up at her doorstep. He inquired about Sonya Whitfield, and Mindy lied. She told him that Sonya had spoken to Alice and closed the case. Burt was not happy with the response; he added that Sonya had never closed the case, and therefore he was interested in meeting Alice and finding out if she was alright. Mindy introduced Alice to Burt and allowed them to speak in private. Burt was content with Alice’s response, and Mindy breathed a sigh of relief when he told her that the case was closed. Before leaving, Burt asked Mindy to inform him if Sonya ever stopped by (ah well!).
When Alice was alone in the living room at night, she heard a knock on the door. She ignored it at first but decided to respond when the knocks continued. Alice saw a strange man standing at the door wearing a hat and claiming to be her mother’s friend. She refused to allow him inside the house because she was taught not to entertain strangers. The man told Alice that his name was Agyar, and he asked her to inform her mother that he’d visited. Mindy was in the shower when Alice told her that an Agyar had come to visit her. Mindy was shaken; she walked to the living room and noticed the door was a little ajar. Mindy freaked out, and her first instinct was to scold Alice. But she soon realized that her daughter had no clue what she was dealing with, and it was simply unfair to expect her to be extra careful.
Alice was scared for her mother, she saw the fear in Mindy’s eyes, and she did not know what to expect. They started to hear strange noises around the house; Alice proposed they run away, but Mindy refused to leave. It was her house, and she wanted the monster to know he would not scare her. When Mindy and Alice entered the basement, the light started to flicker, and they could hear a mix of many voices. But the most prominent one (assumably) was Jack saying everything would be fine. Losing Jack had left both Mindy and Alice emotionally broken, but his voice was almost a reminder that they must stick together as a team and destroy whoever dared to harm them.Alice suggested they kill the monster; that was the only way she could save her mother and restore their relationship.
In Little Bites’ ending, the monster offered himself to Mindy; she could either stab him or she could surrender herself to him. Mindy had to choose between sacrificing herself to addiction and guilt and her daughter, and for a second she could not stop the monster from feeding on her again. But this time Alice stepped in, and Little Bites came to an end with Alice taking a bite of the monster and asking her mother to do the same. Instead of letting the monster ruin them, Alice showed her mother they could destroy the creature together. In the end credit scene, we witnessed Mindy living a peaceful life at her home, and Alice, a grownup now, came home to visit her mother. It suggests that after the gory night, Mindy and Alice’s bond got better and nobody could ever again hamper their relationship.
