'Bloodride: The Elephant in the Room' deals with workplace drama with a dash of blood and vengeance
Spoiler alert for 'Bloodride' Episode 3 'The Elephant in the Room'
Netflix's latest Norwegian anthology horror 'Bloodride' uses six unique stories pegged on superstitions, folklores, creepy animal lovers, ambitious entrepreneurs, office weirdos, overcompensating newbies and more. While the common theme in each of them is a dash of gore and violence with an almost laughable satirical spin to the horror, the themes setting each story apart are presented with a tongue-in-cheek essence, executed near to perfection in the third episode entitled 'The Elephant in the Room' where the show tackles workplace decorum, office bullies, and the pressure new employees feel to be a part of the it-club, all through some pretty terrifying violent outcomes.
The plot introduces us to a seemingly unstable William, gearing up for an office costume party where he's going dressed as the eponymous elephant. It is made clear that William has recently been through some traumatic instances at his workplace as moments into the party, their boss addresses the tragic accident of a certain employee called Martha, and asks William, and his work-wife Helene to say something about her.
Turns out Martha had fallen from a rather high balcony which left her in a coma. However, infusing some rather sudden, but equally smooth dark humor into the scenario, we see William referring to her fall as getting her face smashed like a meatball.
Along with this nonchalant crassness from William, there's also ominous secrecy surrounding Martha's accident which makes none of the employees too comfortable talking about it — something we learn through office newbies Kristin and Paul, both of whom dress as mice to the party.
Through Kristin and Paul, we see the desperation new employees feel to be part of the crowd as quickly as they can. They decide it's best that they stick together, and find a common sense of belonging in not knowing Martha's full story; but at the same time, investigating the root cause of Martha's fall also makes them feel like they are in the know along with the other employees who have been working there longer, and know the full story.
It is, however, this air of secrecy — or probably the refusal to let new people in the on the info that hooks the viewer's intrigue, even in the backdrop of the man in the elephant costume going around dancing like a vulgar maniac, dry humping Helene on the dance floor among other outrageous things.
On one hand, there's William and Helene's cocky demeanor as if they run the workplace and are above and beyond all rules and consequences. On the other hand, there's this awkward compliance from their other coworkers who are okay with William's outrageous behavior, and also completely fine with not addressing the blatant prospect of him and Helene having to do something with Martha's fall.
As Kristin and Paul go about their own investigation, the office HR drops hints that William and Helene bullied Martha by printing images of her alongside those of Gollum and other not so easy-on-the-eyes characters from pop-culture thereby doing their due share of sparking office drama.
Things are made more relatable by the eventual reveal that Martha was in fact not bullied by the two. Instead, she was the one that the two employees were terrified of — something Kristin and Paul learn right at the end of the episode after confronting Helene and locking her up in the photo-copy room with the Elephant. By this time it becomes clear that the Elephant in the room needs to be addressed as it's not William in the costume anymore.
Turns out it's Martha, who turns up at the party secretly, kills William, puts on his costume and targets Helene next, thus weaving a story of bloodthirsty revenge because her terrified coworkers chose to bully her instead of giving her a fair chance. In all of its bloody, violent glory, the tale is satirical in its own morbid way.
Be it the commentary on reckless job execution of the office HR or the rampant bullying that is passed off as adults having harmless fun at another's expense — 'The Elephant in the Room' addresses vengeance in an almost funny manner, without taking the horrifying significance of it away.
'Bloodride' premieres with all six episodes on Friday, March 13, only on Netflix.