Corporate Retreat is a clerical error
Corporate Retreat is director Aaron Fisher’s team building exercise in what is worth sacrificing to not be terminated. It’s an ensemble of the worst people in the office forced to show their value by debasing themselves. In this company, the only promotion is a body bag.
A group of young executives partake in a luxury corporate retreat for some team building in lavish style. Ginger unwittingly tags along with her boyfriend Cliff, the company’s general counsel. The getaway is hosted by the experience guides Amber and Lola. What starts as a Zen deep cleanse quickly unravels into a visceral survival game organized by their scorn ex-CEO Arthur.
It was incredible to see practical effects in this movie. They were juicy, specifically in the eyeball spoon scenes. The way they have the spoon struggle in the sockets with the heightened sloshing sounds made me shiver. Another scene has a heart being pulled out of a body. A lot of focus is put on each step as Ashton is carving his way inside the chest. The methodical progression made it hypnotic to witness till he finally lifts out the heart. Definitely, the best parts of the movie for me.
The movie seems intent to be a commentary on the nature of office politics and personas. It has a group of self-serving coworkers at the mercy of an out-of-touch CEO pushing them to backstab each other. It unfortunately fails at this and leaves a lot to be desired. Characters are flat and seem to make choices that only serve to keep the story going instead of showing their clashing traits. Its focus seems to be to out crazy the next scene without any purpose.
The ex-CEO, Arthur Scott, is a caricature instead of a character. He’s scorned by his employees for ousting him from the company he founded. It should be enough for him to justify his revenge, but he’s also a new-age prophet that offers his victims enlightenment if they suffer for it. This adds impromptu sermons in between his unhinged desire to enact justice. Instead of enhancing his madness, it felt like it pulled the rug from any serious threat he posed. There’s no doubt whether his new religion is real or not, so they come off as ramblings. His followers, Amber and Lola, don’t show why they follow him obediently, besides vague mentions that he was there for them. They would switch from his bumbling employees into his zealots. It made for a redundant character that was at odds with his own plan. By the time the voodoo doll that pushed him over the edge is revealed, it feels like an underwhelming reason for a bombastic character.
Arthur isn’t the only character that is underdeveloped, as the whole cast introductions are rushed with title cards that state their position in the company. It didn’t feel like I was watching acting, but quick impromptu performances by the cast. The scene where the heart is being pulled has everyone in the room slightly wincing and hardly reacting to the unnatural situation they find themselves in. Aubrey’s antidote scene was ridiculous; when she creates a cure for botulism in a bucket, it goes beyond any suspension of disbelief. The movie relies on generalities and looks to get across character personalities to the point it becomes a vapid watch.
Corporate Retreat offers as much value and entertainment as you’d expect from a real corporate event. It flounders at balancing comedy with horror, doesn’t give the actors moments to be active in an impactful way, and a villain that can’t make up his mind. The saving grace for me was the practical effects, but they couldn’t make up for the poor performances surrounding them. As a worksploitation film, it lacks any message besides bosses are mean. Don’t go out of your way to see this, but if you do, go in with low expectations.
2 soggy eyeballs out of 10.
