A struggling musician abandons his art for a lucrative job at a company that creates custom fermented drinks for corporate clients, unaware that the drinks slowly change him. A film by Jake Myers, starring Terrence Carey, Claire McFadden, Paige Bourne, Jesse Kendall, Charín Álvarez, TJ Jagodowski, and Magdalena Conway.
KOMBUCHA
Jake Myers
(2025)
Evening at the Symbio office. Rachel (Magdalena Conway) receives a call from her mother, Tammy (Charín Álvarez), who’s wondering where she is. They were supposed to get dinner together before the show. Rachel is visibly frustrated as she explains that she had to stay for a late meeting. Worried, Tammy tells her that if she doesn’t stop working so much, it’s going to kill her. Rachel begins to sob, confiding that the company is going to replace her. Tammy is surprised but also relieved that her daughter won’t have to deal with this company anymore. Suddenly, Rachel starts coughing and throwing up. Tammy grows worried, but Rachel cuts the conversation short, saying she has to go, and hangs up.
Rachel heads to the pantry and opens the fridge stocked with Symbio’s kombucha bottles. She stares at them but doesn’t take one. Instead, she turns to the cabinet where her eyes land on a bottle of bleach. A moment later, her boss Kelsey (Claire McFadden) appears, saying everyone is waiting in the meeting room. Rachel says she just needs a little liquid courage first. Kelsey assures her there’s nothing to worry about. It’s just a routine check-in with HR.
Rachel follows Kelsey to the meeting room where two HR representatives are waiting. Suddenly, Rachel is drawn to a strange piece of artwork hanging on the wall. She gazes at it, unable to break away. As Kelsey is about to start the meeting, Rachel interrupts, saying “I quit,” and begins drinking from the mug she brought with her. Rachel starts coughing violently, then collapses to the floor, dying in agony from the poison.
After a performance at a local bar, struggling musician Luke (Terrence Carey) looks disappointed. He tells his girlfriend Elyse (Paige Bourne) that the record label guy never showed, so the whole thing was pointless. His mood shifts when his childhood friend Andrew “Andy” Blatz (Jesse Kendall) approaches their table. Luke introduces Elyse to Andy, mentioning they used to play in a band called “Pocket Change” back in school.
Andy offers to buy Luke a beer. They head to the bar to catch up. Andy mentions he spent a few years in LA with a band that seemed promising but never made it. He got tired of the grind and ended up in the corporate world. The company he works for now is perfect for people like them, he says, smart creative types with unrealized ambition. He’s much happier these days because he doesn’t have to scramble for gigs just to pay rent. Andy encourages Luke to apply, mentioning the company is always hiring and entry level positions start at $100,000 with no experience required. Before leaving, Andy hands Luke his business card and tells him to think it over.
That night at Elyse’s apartment, Luke and Elyse get into a heated argument. She says she knows music is his dream, but it doesn’t seem to make him happy. It just makes him miserable to be around. Luke snaps back that he can’t help wanting more from life than what they have now. Stung by the idea that being with her isn’t enough, Elyse suggests they take a break and tells Luke to go back to his apartment.
Luke decides to apply for a position at Symbio and meets the managing director, Kelsey Rhodes, at the office. When he enters the meeting room, he’s drawn to the artwork on the wall and hears strange whispers in the air. He’s surprised when Kelsey hires him without an interview. Andy’s recommendation is all she needs, she says. Kelsey explains that her company has figured out how creative people can thrive in a corporate world dominated by finance and engineering types. As a culture consultant, Luke will identify problems in their clients’ workplace cultures, then recommend Symbio’s proprietary work rituals tailored to each company’s needs. He’ll also be selling the company’s secret weapon: custom-designed kombucha that gives employees peak energy and laser focus. The drinks are formulated specifically for each company so that employees’ gut biomes and body chemistry sync perfectly. Teams unite at a cellular level, she explains, creating true symbiosis between employees and their organization.
Directed by American filmmaker Jake Myers from a screenplay he co-wrote with Geoff Bakken, KOMBUCHA is a body horror following a struggling musician who joins a company that sells custom fermented drinks to corporate clients, promising a spike in productivity as employees work toward the same goal as one.
Kombucha is a fermented tea beverage made from sweetened black or green tea combined with a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, known as SCOBY. Tea is brewed with sugar, cooled, and mixed with the SCOBY culture, then fermented for 7-30 days at room temperature, producing a fizzy, tangy drink with low alcohol content. Flavors like fruit or spices are often added during or after fermentation. Widely consumed as a probiotic health drink for potential benefits like improved digestion, though scientific evidence remains limited. Commercial versions are available in stores, alongside home-brewing kits.
I love the opening premise. The film blends fermented tea with a myth about the origins of the bacteria and yeast behind their first kombucha, “Mother’s Secret.” It’s a fascinating hook, especially if you’re already familiar with kombucha. Turning the SCOBY’s strange biology into folk horror and corporate lore gives the drink an almost sacred quality that really nails the sci-fi horror vibe.
However, the film struggles to maintain its mystery when it leans into recurring nightmares and hallucinations that quickly become repetitive and exhausting.
Ultimately, this doesn’t break new ground. It’s a culmination of ideas from movies and novels that came before it. The reveal of the mythical creature is underwhelming, and its design looks like a low-budget Lovecraftian monster.
I also don’t get how something that’s survived for centuries can be taken down so easily by two people.
KOMBUCHA premiered at FrightFest on 22 August 2025.
