Intensity: 🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸
Directed by: Brea Grant , Ed Dougherty, and Chelsea Stardust
Written by: Brea Grant and Ed Dougherty
Does working in today’s economy feel like you are on a treadmill that is getting too fast for you? Has your job killed your dreams? Employment in the modern world can be… a Grind. Grind is a timely anthology that is neatly stitches together how working for Mega-Corporations (TM) can erode your sense of being and may cost you more than a diminished paycheck. If you ever thought “This job is gonna kill me.” Grind will resonate with you.
In a world where gas prices soar past $4.00 per gallon and groceries routinely cost more than $150 per visit, just having a job might not cut it. A minimum wage job isn’t going to pay the bills. Hell, even a white collar professional job might not cover the costs. This is an environment where a paying second side hustle may be necessary. Maybe you need to use your car to be an Uber driver. Or, perhaps you need a side marketing hustle. Perhaps you just need to hang in there a little longer with your primary job in hopes of being promoted to something greater. These are the traps that Grind examines.
This anthology is the brainchild of Brea Grant and Ed Dougherty. Dougherty is a veteran music video director, and Grant is a star actress who has transitioned into a powerhouse indie horror director. (Torn Hearts, 12 Hour Shift, Lucky) Chelsea Stardust is an emerging young director who already has a cult classic feature to her credit. (Satanic Panic) Both Stardust and Grant are featured in my 32 Important Women Horror Directors You Should Know Deadlist. The trio have tapped into something timely and resonant. Horror in the workplace never felt so present.
Here in Portland, with skyrocketing housing prices, a wavering job market, and a general economic malaise, this movie seems to have been channelled for us. Appropriately, the Portland Horror Film Festival featured Grind as one of its featured presentations.
Directors’ Statement:
People all over the world are waking up.
The current state of things as we see it — the average American is suffering while billionaires line their pockets, driving income inequality to a level not seen since the 18th century. Workplace safety is declining, worker exploitation is rising, and wage theft is rampant.
Things are bad but people are realizing it. The public’s approval rate of unions is higher than ever — not just in our industry but industries around the country. From hotels to coffee shops to Waffle Houses, workers are fighting for their rights– often against harsh union busting reprisals. This is a historic moment of anger and fear, and these topics are what everyone’s talking about…
…And thus it’s the perfect theme for a horror film. We want to tackle this subject in a fun, scary way that will provide a cathartic release for audiences everywhere.
This is a film for anyone who’s ever hated their job, had a bad boss, or felt taken advantage of at work. In other words, it’s a film for all of us.
GRIND is a WIP. Sound is final. VFX and color are not (which you will definitely notice).
Warehouse Wonders
Directed by Chelsea Stardust
Starring: Mercedes Mason as Maria, James A. Janisse as Justin
Maria is a DRGN warehouse employee who is racing through the aisles to retrieve a ring light for an expedited delivery order. Time runs out on her search, and she gets transferred to “Special Gifts.” It’s neither a gift, nor special. This is the opening wraparound connective segment for the anthology. We follow the package to the next segment…
MLM
Directed by Brea Grant
Starring: Jessika Van as Sarah, Courtney Pauroso as Molly, Hunter Smith as The Axe Man, and Barbara Crampton as The Founder
Sarah has joined La La Leggings as a downline multi level marketing (MLM) agent in an attempt to earn some extra cash, selling cheap yoga pants online. She is a lackluster sales agent, and her performance reflects it. Her upline partner, Molly notifies her the dire consequences of failing to meet her quota. Notably, one of the contractual conditions of failure is that her husband’s penis will turn into a scrub jay. Yep. Just like it says. It’s hysterical and horrifying, and it’s true! The consequences only get worse from there, and pretty soon, Molly’s reputation is affected. So, Molly comes by to help her pitch stretchy pants. Even combined, the sales are so poor that it summons the immortl Axe Man. (Clad in La La Leggings). They should have sold more leggings!
After the battle with the axe man, a doorbell rings and food has arrived! We now transfer the story from Sarah to Benny.
Delivery
Directed by Brea Grant
Starring Vinny Thomas as Bennie, Gigi Saul Guerrero as Camilla, and Thor Harris as the Frightening Man
After delivering to the La La Leggings house, Bennie continues his food delivery grind. It’s a thankless job, literally, at times, because he is working for tips. And Los Angeles residents are stingy tippers. Delivery after delivery and it becomes an effort in futility. He gets a mysterious Ghost Kitchen call, where his text message directions instruct him to retrieve a manky paper bag from a locked chest for a preposterously big tip. If it seems to be too good to be true, it is. Bennie is caught in a combination deadly escape room and a time loop, where he is requested to do increasingly risky tasks. If he fails, the delivery resets. As things get weirder and weirder, Bennie has no option but to comply with the bizarre and painful requests.
As is true for most time loops, in order to close the loop, he has to satisfy the requests. He guts through the torturous pain and comes face to face with a bizarre epiphany, whereafter he continues on as a food delivery driver for one last drop… to the DRGN headquarters.
Content Moderation
Directed by Ed Dougherty
Starring: Christopher Rodriguez Marquette as Joel, James Urbaniak as Richard, and Rob Huebel as Andy
Joel is a teacher looking for a career change, and has arrived at the DRGN headquarters to apply for a plum job. Andy, a relationships manager at DRGN tells him of the wonderful opportunities at the company. A job that starts at $175,000 and with all the benefits that a high tech job has to offer. However, there is a probationary period, that requires potential new employees to work in The Pit. Joel is skeptical about the offer, but Andy assures him that all he has to do is content moderation for Hatchbook, DRGN’s social media site.
The catch is, the content that has to be watched is some of the most vile and disturbing content on the internet. Watch enough videos, and you can get that big paycheck with the cushy benefits. How many videos? Only a mere 6,750,000. This is a staggering and emotionally taxing amount of awful content to be viewed. Joel is determined to be the rare, and perhaps only person to emerge from the Pit to get the big job upstairs. Andy will do everything to make sure that doesn’t happen. The consequences are corrosive and psychologically devastating.
Union Meeting
Directed by Ed Dougherty
Starring: Sharlene Cruz as Kayla, Ify Nwandiwe as Todd, James A. Janisse as Justin, Aubrey Shea as Mel, James Paxton as Crowe, Teri Gamble as Clara, Rob Heubel as Andy, and Vee Nixie as Neptulia
Power to the people! The employees of a Neptulia Coffee shop are forming a union, and going on strike! No more minimum wage, lousy benefits, high job turnover, and understaffed work loads. The crew is a mixed bag of oddballs. Kayla is the committed union leader. Todd is the burly, but geeky corporate supportive shift manager. Crowe is the dimwitted activist wannabe who glues himself to the cashier counter, but now has to pee badly. This strike is doomed for failure.
Meanwhile, DRGN corporate overlord Andy has been tracking the special gift delivery destined for the coffee shop. It’s the same package from the opening wraparound. The delivery is the size of a refrigerator, and weighs a ton. Why would they receive a package from HQ? DRGN is going to bust this strike, with a stealthy option. There’s a toothy monster mermaid in that “gift”, and woe be to the would-be labor organizers. Can the gang that can’t get their act together fight off the blasphemous namesake of their shop?
Black Box
Directed by Chelsea Stardust
Starring: Barbara Crampton as the Founder and Rob Heubel as Andy
In the back half wraparound, we discover that Andy and the La La Leggins founder are a married power couple, basking in their wickedness and enjoying their domain. A package has arrived at the door, though. A black box. That could only mean one thing: DRGN Gift, which is as we know now, not a good thing. But, why would DRGN turn on two of their power brokers? What could it be? The slightly damaged box suggests it might not be what they think it is…
Evaluation of Grind
Grind may be the best anthology I’ve seen since Southbound. The narrative threads and thematic consistency show real intent. The hilarious MLM is the foundation of the movie, as it was generated as a short film that worked the festival circuit in 2025 and was a fan favorite. I saw it at both Overlook and Portland Horror FF last year, and each time it brought the house down. Brea and Ed were able to deftly find similar work-based horror themes that resonanate with the current economic cycle. The hand-offs and transitions from segment to segment really work, and it all comes through as a singular message.
Grind’s level of craft is evidence of the growth in the emerging talents of all three directors. The trio essentially is self-funding this project without the backing of a major studio, but you wouldn’t know it from the production values. Part of this is a testament to independent film making in the 2020’s, with the availability of better equipment, but this movie also had an impressive and huge cast.
Kudos to Jessika Van, Vinny Thomas, and Christopher Rodriguez Marquette for each holding down their segments. These are veteran character actors, and it is great to see them getting to showcase their talents in each of the stories. Thier struggles feel like our struggles. In each case, equal parts frustration and determination come to the fore. I also really enjoyed Ify Nwadiwe’s take as the straight man foil for the kooky activists in Union Meeting. Getting such a big cast on a tight budget is a testament to the filmmaker’s ability to get buy-in from their actors. I hope it bodes well for all of them.
Concluding Thoughts:
A superior anthology requires balance and cohesiveness in concept, while avoiding so much similarity that it becomes redundant. The beauty of Grind is that it strikes an entertaining tone and maintains it throughout the run of all the segments. Surely a lot of this is because the same writers are involved with all the stories, but the fresh takes that each segment has keeps it surprising. There are some tonal shifts, with two of the segments having bleak endings and two of them ending with the protagonists on top. Ultimately, this satisfies.
For a truly independent film, financed by the directors themselves, this was quite an achievement. A testament to this is the huge cast that they were able to assemble. Aside from Barbara Crampton, there aren’t any big stars in this film. The cast answered the call to good filmmakers, and it pays off. One of the notable performances is that of Vee Nixie, a thin contortionist/costume acting specialist who is becoming the female version of Doug Jones. Her portrayal of Neptulia the mermaid, scrambling around the floor in a full fish suit was truly impressive. She’s a regular fixture at Monsterpalooza, the great horror makeup convention in Los Angeles, so go find her if you are an attendee.
When Grind showed at the Portland Horror Film Festival, it was well into its festival run. There are more festivals to come, and the producers are still trying to get into more. The solid reputations of these filmmakers, plus the positive reception that they’ve been getting so far in their run means that this might end up in a festival near you. It is definitely one to catch if you see it at a late summer festival screening. The content pushes just over the R rated boundary, particularly the multitude of grisly videos shown in the Content Moderation segment. But, this movie isn’t likely to trigger anyone, and the great humor and clever stories make it a good gateway horror property.
Review by Eric Li
The Scariest Things Grind Interview with Brea Grant, Ed Dougherty, and Chelsea Stardust
Here’s my interview from the green room at the Hollywood theater, directly after having seen Grind at the Portland Horror Film Festival:
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