Horror anthologies are always a tricky format to master. Oftentimes they involve a revolving door of directors whose segments are then later stitched together, either with a wobbly wraparound story, or a basic fade to black and then new title card. Other times the anthology is helmed by one single voice, and although there is more cohesion to the tone and style of the stories, they can be left lacking. One anthology that skirts both of these problems is Grind.
Co-written by Brea Grant and Ed Dougherty, and directed by the duo alongside Chelsea Stardust, Grind tells several interconnected stories all set within the working world. By having three voices behind the camera, there is enough variety to keep things fresh, but not too many that they spoil the overall tone or messaging. Although each story is very different to the next, there remains a through line that keeps everything firing on all cylinders, Grind avoiding the anthology curse of having varying degrees of success with its segments. The other strong suit in Grind’s arsenal is that the team nails the transitions from story to story. Rather than some convoluted wraparound story, or cop-out title card, characters within Grind pass the baton from one to another. This is a far more seamless method of storytelling and one that could trick anthology haters into identifying Grind as such.
Grind is also able to avoid the curse of the weaker anthology section with all of the stories within being super strong. Each audience member will of course have their preferred sections, but in terms of overall quality in both stories and execution, Grind is very accomplished. One of the primary reasons for the equal enjoyment of all the stories is that each of them is set within a different place of work. Chelsea Stardust’s opening tease, Warehouse Wonders, is a near perfect recreation of those stories we’ve all seen on the news about working for a certain online shopping giant. It sets the comedy horror tone beautifully and from here on, the stories continue to be strong examples of modern working life.
First comes a double bill from Brea Grant – MLM and Delivery – which capture the hustle and consequences of online sales and the extreme lengths that delivery drivers will go to for a merger tip. MLM finds new La La Leggings sales agent, Sarah, getting into all kinds of trouble when she fails to meet her daily sales quota. For each failed quota, Sarah must endure a new strange consequence, a trend that quickly escalates. The story highlights the pitchfalls of these types of jobs that champion being your own boss, when the reality is you’ve essentially sold your soul to a heartless overlord. MLM gets Grind off with a fun and glittery bang, before moving onto Delivery.
In Delivery, an UberEats style driver finds himself in over his head when he accepts a pick-up from a remote location. Delivery is a beautiful analysis of the neverending loop these workers find themselves trapped in. Grant’s second segment also features some great effects, one of which borrows from Inception and proves that you don’t need Nolan’s budget of millions to create something effective.
Once Brea Grant’s duo of stories are over, the torch is passed to Ed Dougherty for his double of Content Moderation and Union Meeting. Dougherty’s first venture, Content Moderation is brilliant, and captures the personalities within an office perfectly. The story follows Joel (Christopher Rodriguez-Marquette) as he joins a high-profile company, Dragon. Initially touring the facility for the ultimate dream job with the most incredible perks, Joel is first tasked with passing a probationary period that involves moderating internet content. Dougherty’s Content Moderation connects on so many levels in terms of working experiences, but also has had a ton of work poured into it. As Joel watches a range of depraved videos, they flash up on screen; Dougherty called on a team of filmmaker friends to create these clips.Keen-eyed fans of indie horror will spot several fun elements, with Anthony Cousin’s Frogman the most obvious.
For Union Meeting, Dougherty changes tact and tells of the attempted unionisation of a chain coffee store. Featuring exactly the mixture of personalities you would expect to find working as store managers and barista’s, Union Meeting is easily the most zany of the anthology. Every anthology film needs a section that makes the audience go WTF at least once, and Union Meeting definitely does that. Grind then rounds out with the return of Chelsea Stardust with The Black Box. This short section works as a nice coda to everything that has come before, neatly rounding up a couple of loose threads.
A rare horror anthology that has universal appeal, Grind is a film for anybody that has ever had a bad day at work, an unhinged boss, or a desire to leave the slog of 9-5 life behind. With Grind Brea Grant, Chelsea Stardust, and Ed Dougherty have created a brilliant satire of the modern working climate of gig economy late stage capitalism, that is sure to be this generation’s answer to Office Space.
Grind
Summary
Proof that with a lot of painstaking hard work, the horror anthology can be a resounding success. A rare example of an anthology with no weak links, the universal appeal of Grind’s subject matter ensures it will entertain any and all that settle down to watch it.
Grind was reviewed at SXSW 2026.
