An ongoing review of politics and culture

Workplace Horror Flicks

In the comments section to Chris Orr’s post on the new Canadian workplace safety ads, one person wonders if our neighbors to the north hired Eli Roth to direct, and another suggests that the ads are like the Final Destination films, but with plot. Both comments are rather apt, but neither quite capture the disturbing but fascinating nature of the series.

A few months ago, Matt Zoller Seitz, in the midst of a deeply fascinating discussion about Quentin Tarantino, said that “one of the surefire signs that a filmmaker is worth taking seriously is when you’re [not] entirely sure if they’re kidding or not.” That, I think, pretty much perfectly sums up the combination of horror and ghoulish hilarity of the ads. I’m not sure what to think of them, exactly (the others are here and here), but I’m weirdly riveted.