The internet is a wild place, where memes can be mean, AI slop is everywhere, and users can post violent videos that will cause trauma. Into this treacherous terrain, American Sweatshop wades to unfurl a thriller about what one woman will do once she’s seen something she can’t unsee.
Riverdale‘s Lili Reinhart stars as Daisy, who dreams of being a nurse and helping people — but currently has a survival job as a social media moderator. At night, she gets stoned and watches videos on her phone. But by day, she’s exposed to the darkest corners of the web, forced to watch videos of mutilation, beheadings, and animal torture to determine if they violate her company’s user agreements.
Such a job takes a heavy psychological toll. So who better to helm American Sweatshop than Uta Briesewitz, who’s directed episodes of such wickedly clever tech-centered shows as Severance and Black Mirror? Just like those mind-bending series, American Sweatshop goes down a twisted rabbit hole. Once Daisy sees a seemingly real snuff film, flagging it as offensive isn’t enough. She can’t shake the images therein, and needs to know if it’s real. And if so, she wants justice — even if that means going vigilante.
Out of the film’s SXSW premiere, I reviewed American Sweatshop. And as you see in trailer above heralded it “a cyberthriller for the doomscrolling age.” I also cheered of this freaky thriller it, “gets under your skin, creeping up your spine to bend your brain. Like the internet videos that are its grim inspiration, it’s not easy to shake off the chills American Sweatshop triggers.”
American Sweatshop opens in select theaters and on demand on Sept. 19.
