Human Resources

source: Human Resources

This film is a must-see from start to finish. It masterfully portrays the bleakness of working in retail and uncovers the sinister motives behind the scenes. A thrilling horror movie that centers around the protagonist's internal struggle and concludes with an impactful finale that will have you cheering. A remarkable debut for director Braden Swope, who made the film at the young age of 19. And kudos to the cast and crew, who also largely composed of young talent, for their remarkable achievement in creating this film. The eerie soundtrack and stunning special effects add to the feeling of isolation and the drudgery of retail work. Don't miss it, you won't be disappointed.

This was such a fun, suspenseful watch. The acting is amazing and I see a promising future for everyone involved. That ending is INSANE!!! The central story is super relatable: a young man trying to find his first job and doubting himself along the way. Anybody can empathize with him working long retail shifts with strange coworkers. The action builds up in a really smart way, leading to a conclusion that is well worth waiting for. I really liked the cinematography, the sound design, and the writing. And director Braden Swope puts it together in a really solid way. There's a lot of really funny moments too.

The only good thing about this movie is the rol of the protagonist. Hugh McCrae is an incredible actor, he surprises and leaves you in shock. It's really the first time I've seen him, and I don't know if he has theater formation, but it's something different and superior to what you see on TV or in movies, he has the talent to cross the screen. Let's see if any Marvel producer realizes this gem. Hopefully he can get good roles, and show all his talent. A great discovery and a lot of acting resources, he is of pure acting breed. The movie is not good or entertaining, but just seeing the protagonist already deserves it.

I'm not 100% sure what I was expecting, but from the trailer, it looked like a 'decent' indie flick. The first 15 minutes or so, are OK...but the constant look of dread, pain...and worry on the lead's face, quickly becomes annoying. I mean it's CONSTANT...in every scene he's in. I'm not sure if this was the plan, but if it was, this really spoils the film. Besides all that weirdness, the supporting actors are awful. Not a single one shone...even in their own light. To be honest, even the lead wasn't that great. He didn't really stand out as a lead. The cinematography is good though, but the sound is awful...especially in some of the office scenes...the sound is awful. It sounds like the boom mic is miles away from the actors. Story was abysmal and almost non-sensical. Just not a great movie in any way, shape, or form.

Don't bother unless you want to fall asleep fast. Any of the 10/10 reviews were done by the director and his family/friends. The premise had promise, however with the lackluster performance of the lead, the shoddy filming and the far too guessable plot, let's this film down. One of the most annoying parts of this movie was that the characters were so boring that they might have well been played by mannequins, at least then the "character development" choices (ie the lead's constant "anxiety") would not have been present. If you want a not great but fun retail horror film, watch Black Friday or something similar, as they will at the very least be entertaining.

Stumbling upon the 2021 horror movie "Human Resources" here in 2023, and never having heard about it, of course I opted to sit down and give the movie a watch. The storyline in the movie, as written by Branden Swope and Evan Swope, was a bit weird. Now, let me just say that the movie started out okay, but it quickly became somewhat stale as there wasn't a whole lot happening throughout the course of the movie. And when the final reveal of what was going on took place on the screen, you simply have sat through too much nonsense, so it was a little bit too little and too late. I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie, but the cast did good jobs with their roles and characters. Just a shame that they didn't have a more entertaining, enjoyable and thoroughly written storyline to work with. Visually then you're not in for anything grand. There are virtually no special effects in the movie, and it "Human Resources" have had that at least, then it would have been a more durable movie to sit through. For a horror movie then "Human Resources" was disappointing. Sure, I managed to sit through all 108 minutes of director Braden Swope's movie, but I was only slightly entertained by the movie as a whole. And if you are an avid fan of horror movies, then I wouldn't really recommend you spend your time, money or effort on this 2021 movie. My rating of "Human Resources" lands on a four out of ten stars.

What caught my attention was that, according to the PR package, this film won 4 individual awards at various festivals focused on indie horror. But disappointment quickly followed. The premise is interesting. So interesting that some of the critics suggested placing it in the category of "workplace horror," but then remembered that such a category, if it did exist, would have almost no other competing films in it. The idea that a protagonist (Hugh McCrae Jr.) could be so desperate for a job that he would put up with "unusual" workplace happenings is interesting, and might even strike a chord in today's economy. But the followthrough was just not there; the film is way overlong at a 1:45 running length; and, seriously, how many H&S shots of McCrae looking harried or anxious can one viewer tolerate? I think the key here is that indie awards are given out by people who live and breathe indies, and they sometimes forget there is another entire universe of entertainment out there. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

Trailer—Human Resources

I really like those low budget, indie horror movies that turn out to be surprising. Take for example Evil Dead and Night of the slicing dead. Shoestring budgets and lots of imagination brought o life by the filmmakers. Someone at work suggested I see this and I found it on Stars. The opening scene set up the events in the movie pretty effectively. The pacing at times did drag but not for much and a few times I found myself asking WTH is going on here? The main character is a young person looking for work and finds it in hardware store which is creepy in itself. I mean, there's all kinds of potential things to obliterate a human in each aisle. Enter the female love interest who insists there's something creepy about the whole place. So while most people would quit at this point, these two instead play some Scooby Doo and the movie's pacing is just fine at that point. I'm wondering how I missed this one in theaters because it's pretty decent and effective. While it won't be a classic like night of the living dead or evil dead, it does hold its own as an effective, suspense thriller.