'Grind' Review: A Wildly Strange Anthology That Makes Work Horrifying - FrightFest 2026
By Becca Johnson - August 31, 2026
Horror is a genre that often lends itself well to the anthology format, with the likes of the V/H/S franchise continuing to deliver new instalments on a regular basis. Grind follows suit with four interconnected stories centred around the gig economy, hustle culture and the evils of late-stage capitalism, guest starring the likes of Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator) and James Urbaniak (Oppenheimer).
Offering some solid, if eccentric, commentary on a working world many will recognise, Grind is an entertaining and playful anthology that varies in quality but has plenty of fun in the process.
The most important thing an anthology film can have is a strong through-line, and luckily, Grind finds one. Each segment tackles a different corner of the working world, from MLM culture to delivery driving, yet all explore frustrations that will be familiar to many: long hours, little reward, arrogant CEOs and the constant promise of success that never quite materialises. Despite sharing these ideas, the stories approach them from wildly different angles, giving each segment its own identity and making it difficult to predict what strange direction the film will take next. Better still, the connections extend beyond theme alone. A character and/or location becomes the starting point for another, allowing each story to organically hand the baton to the next rather than simply ending and starting afresh. It creates a satisfying chain reaction across the anthology, ensuring four very different stories ultimately operate as parts of the same wonderfully eccentric whole.
The eccentricity of Grind is likely to make or break the experience for some viewers. Each segment begins with a recognisable workplace scenario, whether it’s someone signing up to an MLM scheme or a delivery driver simply trying to complete an order, before sending the situation spiralling down an increasingly bizarre rabbit hole. Sellers who fail to reach their targets might find themselves threatened by a masked killer, while another unfortunate employee is sent to work in ‘the pit’ to prove his commitment to the job. Dougherty, Grant and Stardust take these familiar frustrations to ridiculous extremes, creating a heavy-handed but often amusing satire of just how much modern working culture demands from its employees. Not every joke or outlandish turn hits the mark, and occasionally the weirdness threatens to overwhelm the point being made, but there’s something admirable about just how committed Grind is to pushing its workplace nightmares to breaking point.
With four stories taking such different approaches, Grind inevitably struggles to maintain the same quality throughout. Performances, pacing and storytelling vary from segment to segment, as does the type of horror on offer; one might embrace a thrilling time-loop structure, while another heads firmly into slasher or creature-feature territory. This variety certainly keeps the anthology unpredictable, but not every bold swing lands with the same impact. The differing lengths prove particularly noticeable, with the snappier instalments making some of their longer counterparts appear unnecessarily drawn out. Unfortunately, the weakest arrives last, as a story following coffee-chain employees attempting to unionise lacks the punch of what came before and causes the film to lose momentum when it should be building towards a strong finish. Grind deserves credit for constantly switching gears, but its willingness to experiment ultimately proves both one of its greatest strengths and its biggest weaknesses.
Grind is a playful and refreshingly strange anthology that turns the frustrations of modern working life into four wildly different horror stories. Its interconnected structure and committed satire give the film a strong identity, even if uneven pacing and a weaker final segment prevent every bold swing from paying off. Inventive, unpredictable and suitably eccentric, Grind proves the daily grind can be pretty horrific — although in this case, clocking in is a good way to ease the Sunday scaries.
'Grind' had its UK premiere at FrightFest London 2026 on August 29.
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