Milk & Serial

Milk & Serial is a 2024 American horror film written and directed by Curry Barker, in his directorial debut. The found footage film stars Barker and Cooper Tomlinson, the comedy duo best known for their YouTube sketch comedy channel "that's a bad idea". With a budget of $800, the duo made it in four months. After failing to work with a film distributor, Barker decided to release the full movie on to YouTube for free. It was released on August 8, 2024. Milk & Serial received positive reviews from critics.

Milk & Serial follows two YouTube pranksters as they attempt to prank each other only for the situation to dramatically spiral out of control.

• Curry Barker as Milk
• Cooper Tomlinson as Seven
• Adlih Alvarado as Naomi
• Sterling L. Pope as Link
• Jonnathon Cripple as Greg
• John Simmonds as Frank
• Gloria Karel as Lara
• Andy Dubitsky as Arms Dealer
• Tristan Welsh as Jason
• Paul Santoli as Paul
• Rob Harrow as Cop

Credits adapted from Bloody Disgusting.

Milk & Serial was made by the comedy duo Curry Barker and Cooper Tomlinson. The duo had previously gathered a fan base on YouTube with their sketch comedy channel "that's a bad Idea". The channel also occasionally did other projects, including the 2023 viral horror short film "The Chair". Milk & Serial was the duo's first feature in the genre. The budget for Milk & Serial was $800, and was primarily spent on hiring an actor and buying a Sony camcorder camera. Milk & Serial was shot over four months, with help from their friends playing other roles and working weekends depending on everyone's availability.

After a year of trying to get film distributor for Milk & Serial, Barker decided to release the full movie on to video-sharing platform YouTube for free. In an interview with Variety, Barker said "So even though we worked really hard for a year trying to get distribution for this thing, we said screw it and threw it on YouTube." Milk & Serial was released on August 8, 2024.

Milk & Serial received positive reviews from critics. Stuart Heritage of The Guardian praised the story, and said "As a film it's great. There are some incredibly neatly observed moments, such as when the main character describes gaslighting as 'when you prank somebody but make them think it's their fault'." Heritage compared it to other found footage film like The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity, and Rob Savage's Host. Timothy Rawles of iHorror said "Move over Longlegs and Cuckoo, one of the most disturbing movies of the year is actually on YouTube. For free."

Mary McAndrews of Dread Central named Milk & Serial as among the "best found footage films of 2024" and said "It's a simple story supported by some harrowing performances and clever editing." William Earl of Variety said "Curry Barker has delivered the year's most unlikely hit." Yonni Uribe of Slug Mag said "This film is not one to miss if you're a horror nerd with an affinity for found footage." Uribe compared it to other horror internet projects made by Chris Stuckmann and Kane Pixels. Ari Drew of Bloody Disgusting said it is "one of the year's best-kept secrets".

• Milk & Serial (Found Footage Horror Film) on YouTube