SPOILER ALERT: Minor spoilers ahead for “Milk & Serial,” now available on YouTube.
Curry Barker has achieved a remarkable feat with his latest project, “Milk & Serial,” a 62-minute horror feature that has captured the attention of genre fans despite being made on a shoestring budget of just $800. The film, which stars Barker and his comedy partner Cooper Tomlinson, follows YouTube pranksters who find themselves entangled in escalating crises.
Barker, known for his viral 2023 horror short “The Chair,” decided to release “Milk & Serial” directly on YouTube on August 8. This decision proved to be a success, as the film quickly accumulated over 323,000 views (as of August 26) and generated significant buzz on horror forums like Reddit, YouTube, and #HorrorTok.
In reflecting on the film’s impact, Barker notes the difference between short films and features in terms of recognition. “On ‘The Chair,’ there were a lot of comments saying ‘Hollywood needs to give this guy a budget,’” Barker says. “But with a feature, you get reviews from people who cover movies professionally, and suddenly your work is being discussed alongside major titles.”
The idea for “Milk & Serial” originated from Barker’s acting reel, where he initially crafted a serial killer scene. What began as a simple reel project evolved into a full-fledged found footage horror film. Barker and Tomlinson shot the movie over four months with a tight-knit crew, spending most of their budget on a Sony camcorder and a single outside actor, Jonnathon Cripple.
Choosing to bypass traditional distribution, Barker released the film for free on YouTube. Despite having a distributor lined up, Barker opted to connect directly with fans and provide them with free access to the film. “We wanted to give our fans the best experience,” Barker explains. “Even though we could have gone with a paywall, we felt that our audience deserved to watch it for free.”
This freedom also allowed Barker to fine-tune the film’s pacing, trimming 20 minutes to enhance its flow. “The found footage style let me be more flexible with editing, making the film feel faster and more engaging,” he says.
Looking ahead, Barker is busy working on a new feature titled “Obsession,” with James Harris of Tea Shop Productions attached. The upcoming film, described as a traditional horror project, marks a departure from the found footage style of “Milk & Serial.”
As for “Milk & Serial,” Barker is content with leaving its ending open to interpretation. The film’s final scene hints at a potential sequel, but Barker prefers to let viewers speculate about the future. “If it becomes a cult classic like ‘Blair Witch’ or ‘Creep,’ we might consider a sequel,” Barker says. “For now, it’s fun to let the audience imagine who’s picking up the camera.”
Barker is represented by Aaron Folbe at Underground and Gersh, with legal support from Yorn, Levine, Barnes, Krintzman, Rubenstein, Kohner, Endlich, Goodell & Gellman.
Watch “Milk & Serial” on YouTube below.
