Horror has been one of the most popular genres throughout history. It has encompassed folk tales, novels, radio, movies, comics, video games, and more. There are many reasons the genre has captivated audiences for so long, but one of the most universal reasons is a therapeutic one. These stories relate to real-world fears with real-world situations, locations, and people. Whether it's the fear of the unknown, or real-life ideals like religious fanaticism, familial trauma, discrimination, and so much more, horror stories are based on real-world fears. Horror does what many other genres simply have no way of doing. They reach deep down inside the audience's psyche and hit a nerve.
But what is scarier then the day-to-day mundane, the 9-to-5 work life that withers away at the human soul? It is so sparingly explored in horror stories, yet it is one of the most universally shared dislikes in day-to-day human culture. The workplace has inherent fears and anxieties connected to it, which most people have felt some at some point or another. We've all felt those first-day jitters, the anxiety of the boss looking over one's shoulder, the fear of being stuck in a dead-end job, or the cult-like workplace culture of the 'family.' The 9-to-5 is a perfect subject for horror, especially in today's age.
The Shining
Although it isn't a 9-to-5, Jack and his family aren't staying at The Overlook Hotel for vacation; Jack is spending the whole time working on his novel. In this Kubrick classic, the Torrence family is clocked in 24/7. Who wouldn't go mad from such a long shift at the office/Hotel?
This study in isolation encapsulates the downward spiral of going mad that many may feel in the lonely and isolating cubicle. Hopefully, though, most won't feel it to the extent that Jack did. It's a classic film for a reason, and though it isn't strictly a workplace setting, it shows how someone can crack when they take work wherever they go.
The Thing
The Thing takes place in yet another cold and isolated workplace that is set off by a seed of paranoia and anxiety. R. J. Macready, Childs, and a slew of other Antarctic researchers come upon an alien that can take the form of any being it comes in contact with inside their isolated base camp.
What makes this film so special and iconic however is the special effects work the movie. It would be hard-pressed for anyone to find a better showcase of practical effects in horror especially. The gore is what made this movie notorious at the time, but nowadays, it's revered for it.
Cabin In The Woods
This movie is a satire of all horror movies and rightfully deserves its place in horror cult fandom. The Cabin In The Woods takes every horror movie trope and explains them away as them being the result of an entire movie-like crew creating the story and unleashing horror movie monster look-a-likes upon teens staying in a cabin in the woods. This is all done in order to appease audiences — or the Ancient Ones, as the movie puts it.
When it comes to horror movie workplaces, this film takes the job of the writer and director of the movie itself and puts it right on the screen. Workplace horror really doesn't get much more straightforward than this one. Cabin In The Woods' workplace is the writer's room, and it is all to satisfy the sadistic minds of the audience.
The Belko Experiment
James Gunn has become one of Hollywood's most popular filmmakers right now. But before he did superhero movies, he did a lot of horror. With The Belko Experiment, James Gunn has taken a movie like Battle Royale and combined it with an office satire. The results are a fun horror movie — albeit at times tonally confused about just another day at the office.
It's bloody, gory, brutal, and takes a rough day at the office to a whole other level. The Belko Experiment is every office worker's worst nightmare of what would happen if the invisible higher-ups were absolutely twisted people. Office workers beware; it may be impossible to ever look at a higher-up the same way ever again.
Saint Maud
A hospice nurse becomes a religious fanatic and believes she has been given a purpose by a higher power to save the soul of her patient who is dying of cancer. Saint Maud is a deeply disturbing look at religious fanaticism and what it can do to a person, or even what that fanaticism can cause a person to do.
There are some absolutely brutal scenes in this film. It doesn't rely on gore or jump scares. Rather, it simply sits in the deeply disturbing moments created by the messed-up series of events and story that unfolds along with the deep trauma experienced by the religiously fanatic protagonist.