By Mark Young
Its not all work, work, work
Grind is a collection of four interconnected shorts that channels the spirit of the Amicus anthologies of the 60s and 70s while tackling the gig economy, work-life balance, and the absurd penalties that come with not reading the small print. Given its subject matter and attitude, this is exactly the sort of film I want to catch at an event like Grimfest. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and knows it, despite the themes it touches on.
MLMs get the treatment in the opening tale, LaLa Leggings, featuring Barbara Crampton, who is absolutely on fire as The Founder, head of the delightfully suspect LaLa Leggings empire. Of course, it’s a pyramid scheme that may or may not be connected to darker forces. The premise is simple: sell a ton of leggings to people who don’t need them, hit your quota, and nothing bad will happen. The setup is completely transparent, but that’s part of the fun. The cast understands exactly what kind of story they’re in and runs with it.
Delivery comes next, following a driver gradually sinking into misery as he struggles to make rent and carve out a future for himself. The opportunity to earn real money finally appears, but naturally there’s a catch. A special order leads him into an escape-room-style nightmare where failure means being sent right back to the beginning. Visually, this is one of the film’s strongest segments, inventive and unsettling while leaning into a darker atmosphere that works well.
Content Moderation is the third story, and the tone darkens further. This segment embraces psychological horror, exploring the mental toll placed on an office worker tasked with filtering the most violent and disturbing content found on social media. It’s also our first real look at DRGN, the office building that provides the thematic link between the stories. The company sells itself as the perfect employer, but once you’re through the door the reality becomes clear. Didn’t mention the probationary period, did they? Once you’re in, you’re trapped, and the house always wins. It’s a recurring theme throughout the anthology because just when you think you’ve found a way out, you realise you haven’t.
Union Meeting rounds things off. The underpaid and overworked staff of Neptulia Coffee decide enough is enough and begin organising for better pay, conditions and, well, everything else. Unsurprisingly, DRGN isn’t willing to take that lying down. Their solution is unique, to say the least, and it delivers a satisfyingly old-school anthology ending. It’s also worth singling out Barbara Crampton and Rob Huebel as the various awful bosses. Both completely own every scene they’re in and are reason enough to give the film a look.
Like the Amicus films that inspired it, some segments work better than others, and much of that comes down to length. The strongest stories are the leaner ones, particularly LaLa Leggings, which benefits from the energy and momentum generated by its cast. To the film’s credit, each segment has its own tone and identity, becoming progressively darker before arriving at a more traditional finale. If you get the chance, give Grind a look.
