“This job is trying to kill me!” is something I would jokingly say to my friends, a self-soothing mantra I’ve used throughout my life. It didn’t matter if work was an easy enough desk job answering phones or managing a large team of writers as an entertainment editor, capitalism was and is always asking for too much. The assumed 24-7 on call availability, the “we are a team” pep speeches, the paltry perks in lieu of real compensation. It’s why the daily grind makes a perfect backdrop for a scary movie.
Since labor is trying to consume human’s actual sweat, blood, and tears, horror labor films quicken the tension with devilish bosses and competitive co-workers willing to off the competition. Ambition can be such a seductive siren. It’s why I wrote my adult debut Tiny Threads (Del Rey Books). The supernatural thriller follows Samara Martin as she moves to the new hipster city Vernon, California to work for a legendary fashion designer. As the pressure of the new job gets to her, Samara’s drinking increases so much that she’s blinded by the signs alerting her that she’s in danger.
Whether it’s predators in the modeling world or disturbed sailors stuck in a claustrophobic lighthouse, the movies listed below all have one thing in common: work is trying to take them out. Consider these films a good reminder that if you’re working for the “man,” better make sure the “man” isn’t some demon.
The Lighthouse
Prepare for some strangeness, mythology, and violent rants. Robert Eggers’ films (The Witch, The Northman) are never lite-fare and The Lighthouse does not stray from this. Starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, the 2019 film is a psychological thriller of two lighthouse keepers stuck on a 1800 New England island forced to work together. Dafoe, as the more experienced worker, truly takes his role to unhinged heights when both of them find themselves bearing down a storm. Questions of superstitions and visions of deadly mermaids bubble up under the strain. Add alcohol to the mix and things get ugly real quick. Filmed in black and white, the movie illustrates what it means when co-workers are not quite who they seem to be.
The Neon Demon
The 2016 indie film stars a young Elle Fanning as Jesse, a newly arrived transplant to Los Angeles. The fresh-faced Jesse just wants to be a model but predators hide in every corner, from makeup artists to budding photographers. She’s the new girl in town and everyone wants a piece of what she’s selling, that taste of innocence. The closer Jesse reaches her goal to runway stardom, the more disturbing those around her reveal themselves to be. Los Angeles is portrayed in extremes, from cavernous studios to scummy motels. Every single person Jesse encounters is eager to consume her but the young ingénue really believes she somehow has the upper hand until it’s too late. You don’t want to miss a sleazy Keanu Reeves playing the motel manager eager to pounce.
Sorry to Bother You
Directed by Boots Riley, the 2018 surreal comedy stars the amazing LaKeith Stanfield as the unemployed Cassius “Cash” Green who lives in his uncle’s garage. His girlfriend Detroit, played by Tessa Thompson, is an activist slash performance artist who is trying to bring down the corporation exploiting the community. When Cassius gets a job at said corporation as a telemarketer, he starts employing a white voice to climb up the corporate ladder, losing sight of his morals. Set in a near future Oakland where people in severe debt go on game shows to be thrown excrement at for money, Sorry to Bother You is a disturbing tale of how far a person is willing to go to sell their soul for money. The dark scene when Cassius “raps” to a room full of white people is nightmare fodder.
Eyes of Laura Mars
Fashion and horror slink together in a scary, seventies haze in this 1978 film. Eyes of Laura Mars stars Faye Dunaway as fashion photographer Laura Mars whose work glorifies violent imagery. A young Tommy Lee Jones, all brooding in fitted turtlenecks, is the detective hired to investigate recent murders that seem to be linked to Laura’s photos since it appears the serial killer is reimagining her controversial images. When Laura starts to black out and see the murders being played out in real time, the photographer begins to spiral, wondering which of her friends or co-workers are next. A serial killer taking over your body can definitely put a damper on creative work. New York is depicted in all of its grittiness while real life models Darlanne Feugal and Lisa Taylor bring the sleazy decadence of the time to life but it’s Tommy Lee Jones who really keeps the audiences guessing.
Atlantics
Marking her feature film debut, director Mati Diop directed this 2019 Senegalese supernatural drama that centers around Souleiman (played by Ibrahmia Traoré), a young construction worker, and his girlfriend Ada (Mame Bineta Sane). After Souleiman and his co-workers complain of how they’ve haven’t been paid in months working on a high-rise, the downtrodden laborers try their luck searching for work in Spain traveling by boat and leaving behind the women who love them. Ada, betrothed to an affluent businessman, can only think of Souleiman and the other workers, their demise evident. But when a fire engulfs her wedding day, word gets out that the boys have returned home. The detective hired to investigate the fire accuses Ada of hiding the truth but she’s confused. Is Souleiman back? Why are the women of the city sleepwalking, and where does the detective fall in all of this? Atlantics deservedly won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, a haunting film of laborers traveling across time and space to get back what they are owed.
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Tiny Threads
