This year marks the 13th anniversary of FilmQuest Festival, which kicked off Oct 22nd at Velour in Downtown Provo, Utah. Premiering Sunday, Oct 25th was GRIND, a horror anthology told in four parts about the gig economy, bad jobs and side hustles. Directed by Ed Dougherty, Brea Grant and Chelsea Stardust, the film stars Barbara Crampton, Rob Huebel, Christopher Rodriguez Marquette, Jessika Van, Vinny Thomas and Ify Nwadiwe, to name a few.
The first segment is a twisted and inventive take on the LuLaRoe fiasco. Recruitment is a necessary process of pyramid schemes and Sarah has been convinced by her friend Molly into becoming a leggings seller. Being shy and new to influencing, Sarah’s unnatural approach yields unfavourable results and each time she doesn’t meet her goal, something awful happens. The comedy pays off in manners involving her husband’s penis, Courtney Pauroso’s performance and an axe murderer donning unicorn leggings. This story unfolds with more comedy than horror and approaches influencer culture in a hilariously disturbing way.
The second segment follows Benny, a delivery driver that struggles to pay his rent, on a nightmarish delivery he can’t escape. A compelling story with eerie and distressing elements that takes the audience on a mysterious journey that continues to pique curiosity about its terminus. Once Benny accepts a pick up job via text, he’s given an address to a desolate building with a room inside filled with numbered items. The texter is somehow able to see and hear Benny and continues to provide clues. As Benny locates a slimy brown paper bag, he’s given further instructions but if he doesn’t follow them perfectly, he must start over at the beginning. This cursed time loop reflects the gruelling repetition of mundane jobs we’re all too familiar with that excels with unsettling horror and empathy for the protagonist.
The third segment is a commentary on the hierarchic structures in the workforce of callous upper managements that have the power to demean their inferior ranked employees. Joel is hired at a successful company with the tease that he could one day be promoted to the fourth floor and eat unlimited lobster rolls, but in order to get there, he must first go through a probational period which involves watching a certain amount of Traces of Death style videos. Joel endures the videos in the pit below ground with many fellow employees striving to get to zero, but he soon begins to hallucinate and question if his dream job is a lie and unattainable. This is a story of the constant throes stalwart employees must go through in order to climb the corporate ladder while being expendable.
The final segment is for you if you’ve ever been an acrimonious Starbucks employee and also love mermaid horror. A group of baristas decide to stand up for themselves and form a union by locking themselves in the coffee shop they work at overnight. An unexpected package gets delivered, which is a giant black box that made its first appearance in the film’s opening, and lurking deep inside is a Lovecraftian Siren manifestation. This segment infuses a classic sci-fi/horror anthology vibe in the style of Tales from the Crypt with elements of economic inequality.
GRIND encompasses an all-too-real theme of overworked and exploited employees who suffer through terrible conditions in order to pay their bills while being teased with money and success. These stories are a reflection of the capitalist and classist economy we live in, and the actors portray a true bravado of both the rapacious elite and the industrious working class.
