CORPORATE ANIMALS: Eating Your Way To The Top
Corporate Animals, the newest film by Patrick Brice, most notably known for Creep 1 & 2, displays his aptitude for horror/comedy in a bloody, if not overly gross package.
When I first heard about this at Sundance Film Festival it piqued my interest because it was starring Demi Moore, who isn’t known for genre films like this. There are definitely some unrefined moments, an exasperatedly in your face sort of black comedy, but Corporate Animals is amusing enough for the brief hour and twenty-six minute run time.
It’s A Dog Eats Dog World
Moore plays Lucy, the CEO of Incredible Edibles Cutlery. Right from the opening scene we see a mock commercial quickly introducing us to her product which provides you with…exactly as it sounds, cutlery you can also eat. So, it’s good for the environment, of course! From there we see that she’s brought her team on a retreat for some team building exercises led by an energetic Brandon (Ed Helms).
She pushes the group to head into the advanced cave system rather than the beginners, quickly spelling trouble, even at Brandon’s behest. Once they are firmly well-below ground their passage out collapses on itself, and they’re forced to do whatever they can to survive. Which, as you might guess, gets a bit savage.
Written by Sam Bain, there are a quite a few laugh out loud moments. Some of the verbiage and nonchalance when discussing disturbing things makes for humorous scenes. A lot of it reminded me of The Office, and perhaps that’s because it’s a group of employees with varying personalities, but it had a similar comic niche. There’s even a random sequence of hallucinogen inducing newts, and some pop culture/fandom with Gary Sinise and Britney Spears.
Before the end of each new day (lettered in bloody, imposing red across the screen) come some of the film’s best jokes, and with the small space the group dynamics really come out to play. Those who are squabbling, like the two potential candidates for the vice president position, Jess (Jessica Williams) and Freddie (Karan Soni), in particular. Of course, there are also a lot of truths that come out about the ego-driven Lucy. It is a pressure cooker sort of situation, and it doesn’t take this group long to start butting heads.
Funny, But Intentionally Excessive
As a satire the film succeeds, and it uses the most of its limited space by filling it with an interesting corporate culture. That sort of… battle to the top mentality, in a situation where it is actually about survival of the fittest. I think the narrative is a little thin, but it is also something that couldn’t have been made into much more. If you consider the idea, this isn’t a movie that could have a prolonged run-time, and it shouldn’t. The only thing I think could have helped was an additional scene prior to the team building, rather than jumping right in, but the decision does its job in introducing us to these people within a crisis. We get a quick glimpse prior, but mostly it is when they are under pressure that we learn about each of these characters.
There’s a fairly large troupe, with Moore at the front and a short, but funny Ed Helms with a limited role at the start. They’re definitely an interesting group, with the usual range of personalities and reactions as you might imagine in a dire situation: Derek (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), Aidan (Calum Worthy) and May (Jennifer Kim) to name a few. Moore can do funny, and some of the most levity is found when Corporate Animals is absurd and random. While this isn’t a movie that may resonate for long, it’s a dose of frenzied genre that’ll satisfy those looking for this sort of escape.
Conclusion: Corporate Animals
Corporate Animals by no means breaks the horror/comedy mold, but there’s some laughs to be had with a sustainable story that doesn’t hold back and delivers some thought-provoking irony. By the end, you’ll wonder if you want these people to make it out at all.
What did you think? Did you enjoy the film or did you think more could have been explored? Let us know in the comments below!
Watch Corporate Animals
Does content like this matter to you?
Become a Member and support film journalism. Unlock access to all of Film Inquiry`s great articles. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about cinema - get access to our private members Network, give back to independent filmmakers, and more.
