Kombucha

Kombucha is a movie that stands on it own. Wonderfully unique story that could only exist in 2025. Corporate satire at it's finest.

The concept is really brought to life by the actors and the pace. This movie is no slow burn - it jumps right in. The characters feel real, even through we're operating in the bounds of a sci-fi horror.

It's a beautifully shot movie and feels like a bigger production than it is. Kudos to the cinematographer and the crew.

With the Substance being all the metaphorical rage a couple year ago, it was bound to spawn a new spate of similar fables. And Kombucha is quite a decent offering along those lines.

It's a cute black comedy horror take on the nonsensical stupidity that is pretentious and slavish beverage cults. In fact, our protagonist insists that he will stick with the standard buggy bean Charbucks dirt water rather than submit to his new employer's demand to drink the company's house brand fermented tea as part of its corporate jargon buzzword missionspeak of synergistic dynamic ideation.

There is some fun gross-out gags of super childish bathroom humor. The boss is delightfully recognizable from every corporate training video. It is shot and acted well. I think most of the effects are practical. But this was an expanded short film and does struggle a bit to fill out a feature length movie with concepts.

Otherwise, it was a fun surprise.

I didn't have many expectations when this film started and was pleasantly surprised. The story was unique and interesting, acting was solid for the most part, and honestly it was one of those films that kept me interested until the very end.

This is a film that doesn't take itself too seriously, and there were a handful of laugh out loud moments as the director clearly wanted humor to shine through in contrast with the truly unsettling moments of the film.

Is this a $50M Tier 1 production? No. But in the campy horror category I would say this movie is among the best I've seen in awhile.

What if a corporation wasn't just a company, but an insidious narcissistic villain? Jake Myers' "Kombucha" takes this premise and pushes it into a grotesque, darkly hilarious territory.

The film is a humorous disturbing satire on how companies keep you chained to your desk, enforce a reign of healthy living, and insist it's all for your benefit-when in reality, the only thing they care about is squeezing every ounce of productivity out of you.

But what is kombucha, really? A fizzy tea brewed with a floating blob of bacteria and yeast-supposedly a cleansing drink.

Sounds like the perfect recipe for a healthy bad trip-and that's precisely what toxic environments are. They welcome you in like family, only to trap you in a system that alters your perception of work, dreams, and private life, leaving you physically and mentally sick.

Are today's new illnesses really the result of such dehumanizing environments?

"Kombucha" cleverly lays bare how corporations build a cult-like ideology: follow the leader or be cast out. Bullying, gaslighting, mobbing-these tactics convince you that you are the problem whenever you raise concerns or notice cracks in their so-called happy club.

Mistakes are quickly patched over to polish the company image, but the shadow of those lies always leaves a stain.

"Kombucha" isn't just a satire of money-corrupted culture; it also skewers the wellness industry and the influencers who flood our feeds with promises of eternal youth and boundless energy.

These fads are dressed-up placebos, stripping us of our money while offering nothing lasting. Like fashion trends, they come and go.

Co-written by Myers and Geoff Bakken, "Kombucha" is a natural evolution of their 2023 short film of the same name. It blends satire, body horror, and comedy with some truly stomach-churning moments.

The story follows a struggling musician, Luke (Terrence Carey), who takes a cushy corporate job, only to discover that the company-provided drink has sinister side effects.

Much of the narrative unfolds in the sterile Symbio office, evoking comparisons to the series Severance for its manipulation and erosion of personal identity, while blending in Cronenberg-style grotesquerie and the greasy practical effects of the cult Society.

The cinematography is key, with grey-blue tones contrasted with warm orange hues that establish a clinical yet oddly inviting environment.

The gooey horror of the kombucha then provides a sticky, grotesque counterpoint. It's a visual style at once snarky and slimy, perfectly embodying the theme of being consumed by work.

The film taps into a screenlife storytelling approach, using phones and digital communication as narrative tools to highlight our loss of human connection.

It's a curious blend of nostalgic 1980s-style practical effects with the fast-pace of today's tech world. This descent of corrupted victims heightens both the humor and the psychological manipulation, making the absurdity feel uncomfortably real.

"Kombucha" is a provocation. Myers invites us to reflect: heed it, or keep wearing your fake corporate smile.

The real question is whether we'll keep drinking.

Now, I virtually had no idea what I was in for here, as I opted to sit down and watch "Kombucha". But that hardly mattered, as I do believe in giving all movies a fair chance.

Writers Geoff Bakken and Jake Myers put together a rather interesting storyline, but also one that was pretty bizarre. But it worked out nicely, and "Kombucha" proved to be enjoyable and entertaining, so the writers succeeded at their task.

As it turned out, then I was actually not familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list. Which certainly was something that spoke in favor of the movie. The acting performances in "Kombucha" were good.

The effects in the movie were good, and certainly helped to add to the overall impression of the movie.

If you enjoy something out of the ordinary in the horror genre, give "Kombucha" a chance. I was adequately entertained throughout the course of the movie.

This was a watchable movie, for sure, and an entertaining one as well. But it is hardly a movie that warrants more than a single viewing.

My rating of the 2025 movie "Kombucha", from director Jake Myers, lands on a six out of ten stars.