- Directed by Spider One
- Written by Spider One
- Stars Krsy Fox, Jon Sklaroff, Elizabeth Phoenix Caro
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 45 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_o7jQQAt8Ok
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
How far would or should a mother go to protect her child is one of the questions here. There are some other questions too, and some things seem pretty clear when there’s a monster in the closet that feeds on blood. It’s well made and moves well. But we didn’t understand or appreciate the ending. So we have mixed feelings about it.
Spoilery Synopsis
Mindy, a woman appearing depressed, sits alone and looks upset when a bell rings. She opens the door, and something frightening says, “I’m hungry.” “Can you do the leg?” she asks. “I much prefer the arm,” he replies. He insists on her arm, even though it’s infected. “Now, feed me.” She removes her robe, revealing that she’s covered in scars. The creature leaps and bites her as the credits roll.
Mindy gets a call from her daughter, Alice. She wants to come home again, but Mindy knows that won’t be a good idea. Mindy’s mother is bitter and angry that she is not taking care of her daughter. She thinks Mindy is on drugs and gives her a big lecture. Mindy clearly isn’t living her best life. Just as she gets to sleep, the bell rings again.
At the store, Mindy runs into Gail, one of her friends. “You look terrible.” Gail clearly sees that something is wrong, but Mindy is evasive and deceptive. At home, Mindy continues to feed the creature. They talk, and he is not supportive.
Sonya, with Child Protective Services, comes to the door to check on Alice. She’s gotten a call about Alice’s welfare. Sona threatens police and warrants if Mindy won’t let her in to look around. She wants to meet Alice when she comes home. The bell rings, and Sonya wonders what that is and goes to investigate. There’s a bad smell, but nothing bad happens. Sonya says she’ll come back on Tuesday, and she expects to see Alice then.
Agyar, the monster, wants Mindy to give Alice to him. It’s clear who’s really in charge here. She wants to find him someone else to eat. He… sings her a song.
Mindy picks up a guy at the bus stop. He’s a desperate, nerdy guy, and he’s a little afraid of her. She’s flirty, and he ends up going home with her, but he’s also terrified. She makes him some ice cream, loading it up with tons of pills and drugs. It’s not subtle at all, but she’s insistent on spoon-feeding him. It’s so overpowered that he just pukes it all up– and then keels over.
She slowly drags Paul downstairs and into Agyar’s room. He takes a bite and gags. “It’s no good. It tastes of misery and despair. Take it away.” She drags Paul back upstairs and wakes him. She can’t explain the bite mark on his arm, so he leaves in a panic.
The next day, in the park, an older woman sits next to Mindy and talks about children. Mindy notices that Ellenor has bite marks all down her arms, but they don’t speak of that.
Sonya returns for Alice, who still hasn’t come home. Mindy confirms that Alice is home and downstairs. Sonya walks into the dark room in the basement, and Agyar devours her. Still, Sonya puts up quite a fight, and Agyar loves the treat. Sonya’s dead body is… gone. “You underestimate my capabilities. The rest of this mess will be gone in a minute.”
Mindy calls her mother and tells her to bring Alice home tomorrow. She tells the monster that she won’t be deceived anymore and that this is all over now. He’s not concerned.
Mindy’s mother brings Alice the next day, and she’s not nice at all. When Alice asks why she had to spend so much time at Grandma’s, Mindy can’t explain. “I need to show you something,” she explains. “Monsters are real, and there’s one downstairs.”
The two go downstairs together, but Agyar isn’t there. Alice wonders if Mindy is out of her mind. “He’s gone. It really might be over.”
Finally happy, Mindy tucks Alice into bed. She then goes back downstairs just to be sure. Later, she has a nightmare about Agyar feeding on Alice, but it’s just a dream.
In the morning, Burt, from CPS, comes knocking, looking for Sonya. He’s the office manager, and he wants to talk to Alice. The talk goes well, and he leaves again. There’s a knock on the door. Mindy is in the shower, so Alice answers. It’s Agyar in full creepy mode. He doesn’t do anything but tell Alice to tell her mother that he’s been there. “Tell her Agyar was here for a little visit.”
When Mindy gets out of the shower, Agyar has gotten inside, and it’s obvious to both women that he’s trying to scare them. Then they hear the bell ringing again. “Do you hear him too?” Alice does hear him and says, “I think we just need to kill him.”
Agyar shows up again and dares Mindy to kill him. Instead, she gets down on her knees and crawls to him. He bites her. Alice walks over. “Are you one of us?” he asks. Then Alice bites him, and Mindy bites him, too. They both finish off the monster and eat well.
We cut forward many years, and now Alice is grown up.
Brian’s Commentary
It’s slow-moving and moody, showing us how bleak Mindy’s life is. The big mystery is how she got stuck caring for a vampire in her closet. Agyar is cruel and sadistic but also seems pretty weak and helpless– until he’s not. He’s got all sorts of weird powers beyond the usual vampire stuff. What is he?
The creature design for Agyar is really good. We only see him in the dark, but what we see is pretty cool. He looks more like Nosferatu (1922) than Nosferatu (2024).
It features a fun cast of “horror women,” including Heather Langenkamp, Bonnie, Aarons, and Barbara Crampton. We wondered until the very end whether or not Agyar was even real or just Mindy’s insanity manifesting.
Still, I have many questions. We get zero explanations for any of this, and the ending twists everything around, but we still don’t know why. It was doing really well until that ending, and neither of us understood it.
Kevin’s Commentary
Like Brian said, I was fully on board until the ending. Agyar was ridiculously powerful, the situation was horrifying and horrible, and everything was great. I suppose we weren’t supposed to take it so literally and it was about the power of motherhood and misogyny and woman power over the domination of men or something. Whatever. The ending bugs me more the more I think about it.
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