SXSW 2026 kicked off opening night with the premiere of a new anthology horror film, Grind. The anthology was written by Brea Grant (12 Hour Shift, Lucky) and Ed Dougherty (V/H/S/Viral, Paint it Black) and consists of four segments, which were also directed by Grant and Dougherty, as well as two wrap-around segments directed by Chelsea Stardust (All That We Destroy, Satanic Panic). These interconnected stories tell fascinating tales of workplace horror that are frightening, hilarious, creepy, gross, and relatable. Grind takes the current work culture and throws a horror spin on it, showing just how absurd the current job market is and how evil our corporate overlords are. In the case of this fictional world, that corporate overlord is a company called DRGN.

Grant’s two segments are at the front of the film. “MLM” takes inspiration from the well-known pyramid scheme, Lularoe. It shows a woman struggling to meet her quotas selling printed leggings with absolutely unhinged consequences written into her contract. It’s funny, it’s quirky, it leans into the silliness, and it shows just how ridiculous these types of businesses are. “MLM” has some fun visuals which are shown partly through integrating what is happening online (going “live” on social media, getting comments and messages, etc) and partly through hilarious depictions of what happens when you don’t meet your sales quota. There is some minor CGI, which looks quite good considering the budget. There are also a number of great performances from Jessika Van (American Horror Stories) as the failing leggings saleswoman, Courtney Pauroso (Dogleg) as the seasoned seller, and Barbara Crampton (Jakob’s Wife) as the evil founder of the MLM.

Then Grant tackles a more current business model with “Delivery.” Taking inspiration from companies like UberEats and DoorDash, the segment follows a delivery driver as he gets treated like garbage and makes horrible tips while he delivers food to entitled people. That is, until he gets offered the tip of a lifetime to make one of the most difficult deliveries of his career. This segment takes plenty of unexpected turns to tell one of the more bizarre, yet utterly compelling stories of the anthology. Vinny Thomas (Ahsoka) plays Benny, the unfortunate delivery driver. Thomas is a standout, giving a layered performance that ranges the full spectrum of human emotion, making it hard not to root for him. “Delivery” also feature some of the most compelling visuals in Grind. From mysteriously slimy bags with unknown contents to spinning rooms to severed fingers to text messages being shown, the practical and CGI effects plus the production design are incredibly well done.

“Content Moderation” is the first segment on Grind by Dougherty. In this, a young man is offered a job that’s too good to be true. All he has to do is get through a quota of online videos first, marking the content as accepted or rejected. The videos range from hilarious to traumatizing and with millions to get through, the protagonist might lose is sanity before he gets the job. It’s a fun, disturbing story about how companies never really want you to succeed. Christopher Rodriguez Marquette (Freddy vs. Jason) plays gullible employee, Joel, who is determined to finish the videos and get to his dream job. Marquette is fantastic in how he shows Joel’s unraveling psyche, thanks to the disturbing nature of the videos. Rob Huebel (The Other Guys) gives a hilariously sinister performance as Andy, the corporate boss. Because there are many videos being watched within this segment, there is a lot of great practical effects work shown throughout. However, there are a couple instances of a greenscreen background done with CGI that reveal the low budget of the film.

Dougherty’s last segment is “Union Meeting.” Taking place in a Starbucks-like cafe, a group of baristas decide to form a union and do a lock-in to show their bosses they mean business. Unfortunately, the big boss has decided to send them a night delivery with something quite dangerous waiting inside. This one is tense, humorous, and has some of the most gory moments of the entire film. Many of the actors in “Union Meeting” are recognizable as social media influencers, hosts, and personalities. Most of them giving great performances, along with one or two less than stellar ones. Ify Nwadiwe (Dimension 20) is the clear standout playing Todd, the shift manager who is a stickler for following corporate policy. This segment also has some of the biggest practical effects, bringing to life a fully practical killer mermaid sent to annihilate those who want to unionize.

Tying it all together are the opening and closing shorts directed by Stardust. She opens with “Warehouse Wonders,” depicting a worker in an Amazon-like shipping warehouse, then closes the film with “The Black Box,” which finally shows those at the top who take advantage of workers get what’s coming to them. We get a short but great performance from Mercedes Mason (Fear the Walking Dead) as a warehouse employee as well as the return of Crampton and Huebel for one last scream. These bookending segments are brief, but they’re still quite memorable and help create the world these stories live in. What’s more, these wraparound segments are a rare example in a horror anthology in which the wraparound actually connects and adds to the other stories being told.

Grind is a hilarious horror anthology that uses the supernatural, psychological, and monstrous to show the darker side of corporate “grind” culture. Grant, Dougherty, and Stardust prove to be a great filmmaking team with something to say in their film. Not only did they create a range of interesting tales covering different subgenres of horror, but they also shined a spotlight on the darker side of how well-known companies treat their employees. While at times the low budget is quite apparent, this team really made the most of it. There are some great performances, a range of wonderful effects, and plenty of memorable moments that will make you laugh, cringe, scream, gag, or all of the above. I have no doubt Grind will find a great distributor after this world premiere, so be sure to follow them on social media to keep track of its release.

OVERALL RATING: 7/10