Guerrilla Metropolitana is back again with another controversial short horror film: Corporate Torment (It Burns Like Hell). Set against the backdrop of London’s Canary Wharf redevelopment, fueled by greedy privatization practices during the 80s, an HR manager gets a taste of her own medicine after firing an employee.
Dedicated to those who have unfairly lost their jobs, Corporate Torment is a sinister look at karmic retribution given to those at the top. HR manager Hillary Rice (played by JUICY X), is one of those one-percenters who looks down at others not up to her standards. Gifted both in breast size and personal drive, she has worked hard for her position, never stopping to care what happens to employees that fail to deliver on their work. Rudolph (Guerrilla Metropolitana) is struggling at his job and caring for a sick child alone. After being rudely dismissed by Rice and accused of eyeing her figure a bit too strongly, Rudolph warns her of a terrible monster that comes for those who let greed possess them.
What awaits Rice is a putrid mass of flies, shit, and assault. Definitely leaning heavily into its controversial nature, Corporate Torment is a graphic, raw pursuit of justice — a defiant look back at the “one percent.”
As in his other films, Guerrilla Metropolitana uses sound and guerrilla-style visuals to drive the story. Corporate Torment has very little spoken dialog, instead relying on images and sounds that mimic the hostile environment his characters live in. Rice is a glowing example of selfishness masked by expertise, while Rudolph’s sadness turns to depravity when he is so bluntly let go. A mostly-monochromatic lens captures the black-and-white nature of the story: do good and get rewarded, or do bad and get punished. All the while a piercing noise of strewn throughout, an example of the hellish torment of both individuals.
Corporate Torment (It Burns Like Hell) is an avant-garde short film that provides a lesson, of sorts, about empathy for others and not letting greed rule over you. The monsters you create are the ones who will meet you in the end; in other words, you reap what you sow.
Corporate Torment (It Burns Like Hell) can only be found in the upcoming months as a bonus feature in the next release of Dariuss from Ultra Visual Films. Follow Guerilla Metropolitana on Instagram, and see more of their works on YouTube.
