Screen to Scream: Slaxx and Horrorstör

 

Work is something to which we devote most of our lives. This is because work provides money, and money is required to live in modern society. The desire for money and the necessity of a job can create a vicious cycle, especially if you feel that your job is tedious or meaningless, and horror always uses everyday stresses in our life and then amplifies them into something horrific. But we are also working for more than just the bare necessities. If anyone reading this has lived through the ‘80s (and watched, for example, John Carpenter’s They Live) know that horror often has a lot to say about societal trends like consumerism and how our desire for the nicer things in life locks us into a lifestyle we don’t want. In other words, to quote David Byrne, you make ask yourself, “How did I get here?” (another shoutout to the ‘80s kids). The movie Slaxx and Grady Hendrix’s book Horrorstör both look at some truly hellish workplaces.

Slaxx has a very out-there premise: a possessed pair of jeans goes on a killing spree while a trendy store is in lockdown. Before the big premier of Super Shaper jeans, Libby McClean is hired to work at Canadian Cotton Clothiers (CCC), a trendy clothing store, which is also Libby’s dream job. Libby is an idealistic teen who is ready to help CCC deliver its message of sustainable, ethically responsible, and attractive fashion, but after meeting her fellow workers, like insufferable boss Craig, and learning what the store is really about thanks to said possessed pair of jeans, that idealism is shattered. Some say that the tearing down of one’s idealism, at least that person’s loftier ideas, is a fundamental part of growing up, but Slaxx is also a movie about a nasty aspect of consumerism: a company’s message may be quite different from its actual practices, especially in the service of monetary profit.

If Slaxx depicts the death of idealism, then Horrorstör is the exhumation of its corpse. Amy is unhappy with her job at ORSK, a furniture store that sells minimalist furniture and is no way related to IKEA (it totally is IKEA). Amy sees her job as a dead-end job and sees her manager Basil as a wannabe corporate tool. When a few coworkers suggest Amy and Basil stay with them overnight to see who is trashing the store at night, what seems like an interesting diversion to Amy becomes a haunted and harrowing night. Yes, the ghosts in this store are terrifying, even as the book dives deep into its IKEA satire. However, the book also looks at the fear Amy feels of her life being stuck working in a job she hates, something that many people can relate to. She might want to get off the hamster wheel that many feel strapped into once they reach adulthood, but she doesn’t know how. The ghosts haunting ORSK are into torture, as well as the importance of work and discipline, but Amy’s torture began long before she stayed overnight in ORSK. It was when she realizes her complete lack of direction in life. During the night she spends in ORSK, the dial was cranked up all the way and then ripped off. Horror lovers should love both these stories if they have a job they don’t like, or if they’ve ever escaped one.