4.5

Amateurish Debut Horror Human Resources Should Check Its Severance Package

By Matt Donato  |  January 9, 2023 | 11:30am
Movies Reviews horror movies
Amateurish Debut Horror Human Resources Should Check Its Severance Package
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Braden Swope’s Human Resources demonizes America’s all-grind capitalist hellscape in an indie that ineffectively delivers worksploitation on a blue-collar wage. Braden and brother Evan Swope pen a screenplay intending to break the shackles of personal worth being linked to soul-sucking career stability, but struggle to conceptualize their workaholic paranoias as a maintainable horror concept. Mayhem, Bloodsucking Bastards, The Belko Experiment—filmmakers have long melded genre extremism with work-life peril, none of which Human Resources outperforms. It’s a feature debut that amateurishly exudes its feature debutness, rough around the edges like smoothing with the wrong side of a sandpaper sheet.

Hugh McCrae Jr. stars as chronically and distractingly anxious Sam Coleman, the newest part-time employee at Brooke’s Hardware. Sam dreams about eventually attending medical school, but presently frets over steady paychecks. Manager Gene Knibbs (Anthony Candell) welcomes Sam to the Brooke’s family, a skeleton crew that includes cynical veteran Sarah (Sarah José) and irritated general manager Brian (Tim Misuradze). Sam will do anything to impress his new bosses, even if it means turning a blind eye to eerie missing-persons cases involving ex-employees. “A Brooke’s day is a great day,” even when Sam stumbles upon what looks like blood puddles.

“No one knows when to quit” in this obvious metaphor for working ourselves to death at dead-end gigs governed by corporate ghouls who care not for their minions. The problem with Human Resources is not the thematic commentary but the abysmal pacing, dismissable performances and clunky storytelling. The opening four minutes introduce the store’s mysterious in-house threat—Sam’s ensuing mystery to crack—only to spend another 70 stuck with a rejected Halloween Superstore special, leading into another half an hour where any horror prominence throttles back into gear too late. Braden dangles demonic possibilities like a carrot, then yanks away our narrative treat until we’ve forgotten the possible reward, paying dismal attention to the thrilling details that keep horror fans invested throughout a film’s duration.

Sam’s journey as a hardware store cog (the “human resource’’) under managers who can’t even spell his name right highlights the horrendous conditions employees endure in the name of professional stability. We trade our ambitions and passions for a punch-clock purgatory that drives some to alcoholism and others into depression. Sam’s an unfortunate leading character to follow in these realistic circumstances. McCrae Jr.’s lack of chemistry with quickdraw romantic interest José is paramount, made worse by directions that have McCrae Jr. spinelessly stammering like a noodle-limp, grating yes-man. It’s a massive problem; that hour-plus chunk of Sam and Sarah’s on-site junior sleuthing crumbles as a direct result. Candell as the sickeningly upbeat company disciple and Misuradze as the ruthless suited head-honcho are serviceable stereotypes, but our “heroes,” the symbolic uprising, leave screen presence to be desired.

Cinematographer Cooper Lichacz elevates the film’s look above the median level of technical merit, using red filters and over-achieving framing that shines as a standout element. When light turns dark and the horror templates reengage, Lichacz is there to bolster the reintroduction of frightful endeavors. However, camerawork is far from a saving grace as the haunted Brooke’s Hardware brick-and-mortar unravels in its third act. The Swopes’ screenplay is structurally uneven and its ideas tangled, pushing through weak and unearned Horror Milestones. There’s plenty in Human Resources that hits like a first draft or test shoot meant to receive feedback, yet all sales are disappointingly final.

Every movie made is a minor miracle—Human Resources is no exception. For Braden Swope and the rest of his exceptionally young crew (reportedly mostly 20-year-olds or under during production), may this be a fruitful learning experience. With lead performances this inauthentically forced and/or unimpactful, with horror storytelling that lacks consistency in atmosphere, with direction of this caliber…a DIY feature cannot sustain 110 minutes. Human Resources is a debut that you hope leads to better tomorrows because today—keeping with the metaphor—feels like a Going Out of Business sale.

Director: Braden Swope
Writer: Braden Swope, Evan Swope
Starring: Hugh McCrae, Jr., Anthony Candell, Sarah José, Tim Misuradze, Michael Kammerer, Angel Hilton
Release Date: January 10, 2023

Matt Donato is a Los Angeles-based film critic currently published on SlashFilm, Fangoria, Bloody Disgusting, and anywhere else he’s allowed to spread the gospel of Demon Wind. He is also a member of the Hollywood Critics Association. Definitely don’t feed him after midnight.

 
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