It’s a Grueling Never-Ending Workday In The Slow Paced Sci-Fi Mystery “The Mill”

The workforce no matter what industry you’re in can be grueling whether you love your chosen field or not. Working day in and day out can take a toll on you mentally, emotionally, and physically, but the folks at Mallard are trying to build the best workers in the Hulu original film “The Mill.”

Directed by Sean King O’Grady and written by Jeffrey David Thomas, “The Mill” premiered back in October as part of Hulu’s Huluween content rollout for Spooky Season. Lil Rel Howery stars in the film as Joe, a businessman working for a tech company called Mallard and wakes up next to an ancient grist mill in the center of an open-air prison with no recollection of how he got there. A female voice heard over a speaker instructs Joe on the rules of his new job. He must push the mill daily. Failure to comply or meet a daily quota results in punishment. Employees with the fewest points will be “terminated.” Karen Obilom, Pat Healy, and Patrick Fischler also appear in the small cast for the film.

Lil Rel Howery as Joe in “The Mill.” Photo: Hulu

*Spoilers ahead*

“The Mill” had an intriguing concept but I couldn’t help but see the similarities between the film and an episode of Black Mirror. In “Playtest,” the second episode in season three, Wyatt Russell plays an American traveler named Cooper Redfield who runs out of funds overseas. In order to make money he signs up to test a revolutionary new gaming system that seems all too real. The big catch of the episode is that Cooper’s reality of playing the game for an extended time only took a few seconds which resulted in his death. In “The Mill,” Joe had a similar experience feeling the brunt of working long hours and missing key moments with his wife and child, but it was all a simulation.

For me the ending was lackluster and the film ran entirely too long. It was only one key location in the film and it focused on Lil Rel’s character which made it boring at times. Seeing what the other employees were doing could have made “The Mill” a bit more interesting because Lil Rel wasn’t carrying with his performance. Another big part of watching “The Mill” for me is how expendable jobs treat their workers. They will work you to the bone and the moment you don’t live up to expectations you’ll be replaced without a second thought.

Although “The Mill” ended on a cliffhanger I don’t think a sequel is needed. It would just be a boring counterpart to an already bland film. The most exciting part about this film was seeing the new challenges the workers faced but with Joe knowing the truth about the company I’m not sure how more tests could happen. But I’m curious to know what you think.

“The Mill” is streaming now on Hulu.

Have you watched “The Mill” on Hulu yet? What did you think about the film? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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Photo: Hulu