American Sweatshop – Movie Review (4/5)

AMERICAN SWEATSHOP is a new thriller with a social media twist. However, not in any way we’ve already seen before. This is full of dark and sinister realism with a very strong lead in Lili Reinhart. Read our full American Sweatshop movie review here!

AMERICAN SWEATSHOP is a social media thriller, but not in the sense that it’s about “unfriending” or people talking via a Zoom meeting. Nor is it told with a screen POV. No, this is a very different kind of thriller, and I was completely absorbed in the story.

It’s realistic in all the darkest and most sinister ways because it focuses on all the terrible videos shared on social media. Even after reading the plot, the full impact of this story only really hit me as I watched it unfold. Also, I freakin’ adored that ending!

Continue reading our American Sweatshop movie review below. Find it in select theaters on August 29, 2025, and On Demand from September 19, 2025.

The moderators of social media

American Sweatshop is the perfect title for this movie and also describes the workplace at the center of the plot. We follow Daisy (Lili Reinhart) working as a social media moderator.

This job is as important as it is pure hell for anyone with compassion and morality.

Basically, these social media moderators have to watch every single video that someone flags. They watch the video, consider what it was flagged for, and then either approve the video or delete it.

These videos include all the most heinous, disgusting, and brutal acts imaginable. Also, some are just steamy videos or in bad taste, so it’s not “just” about deleting videos. Plus, as they are reminded, they are not censors, but moderators.

What is your breaking point?

The worst thing about their job is the fact that whenever they do delete a video, it will probably show up again later. If not in their list of tasks, then one of their colleagues. What everyone working here will soon discover is that everyone has a video that breaks them.

You never know what it might be, but you will know once you watch it. That’s the video that will keep you awake and enter your nightmare if you do manage to fall asleep. Watching these colleagues try to have fun and talk about what haunts them was a brutal scene.

For Daisy, that video is something she wants to report to the police, but that’s easier said than done. After all, who can police the internet? Which jurisdiction did it happen in? Who made the video and who uploaded it?

Well, to Daisy, doing nothing is not an option, so she moves away from the safety of her workplace and keyboard to find the person accountable.

I want to see Lili Reinhart as a Final Girl

Of course, Lili Reinhart is no stranger to genre production after years of starring on Riverdale. However, having watched her in American Sweatshop, I feel it’s high time we see her as a Final Girl in a horror movie.

She clearly has everything it takes, and seems to be making all the right decisions about which movies to do. As Daisy, we see her portray a character who might be flawed in plenty of ways (aren’t we all?!), but she also has a moral compass that works perfectly.

On a personal note, the strongest and most relatable scene for me featured Jeremy Ang Jones (Hijack) as one of Daisy’s moderator colleagues. His breaking point would probably (okay, definitely) be the exact same for me.

The only (huge) difference is that I would probably end up taking the approach of Daisy. Admittedly, this is why I loved Lili Reinhart as Daisy. I could very easily relate to the anger she feels when faced with injustice.

Watch American Sweatshop in theaters now (On Demand soon)

American Sweatshop is the feature directorial debut of Emmy nominee Uta Briesewitz, who previously directed on various TV series. To name drop, just a few, her work includes Stranger Things, Severance, Westworld, Altered Carbon, and a Black Mirror episode.

The screenplay comes from Matthew Nemeth, and I am neither afraid nor ashamed to say that I was pleasantly surprised that a man wrote this. Another great example of a male writer being able to write fully fleshed male and female characters.

Alongside Lili Reinhart in the absolute lead, we’re blessed with a strong supporting cast. This includes Daniela Melchior (Road House), Joel Fry (Cordelia), Christiane Paul (Concordia), Josh Whitehouse (Valley Girl), and the aforementioned Jeremy Ang Jones.

I don’t want to give away anything more about the plot, but this gripping social media thriller, highlighting real-life crime, is not to be missed. Watch it when you get the chance.

American Sweatshop is in Select Theaters August 29 & On Demand on September 19, 2025.

Details

Director: Uta Briesewitz
Writer: Matthew Nemeth
Cast: Lili Reinhart, Daniela Melchior, Jeremy Ang Jones, Josh Whitehouse, Tim Plester, Christiane Paul, Joel Fry