If you’ve spent any time online this week, chances are you’ve seen mentions of Grimace, the Grimace Shake, and/or Grimace’s birthday. Thanks to a massive marketing campaign by McDonald’s in an effort to sell purple milkshakes that vaguely taste of blueberries, we’ve all been forcibly celebrating the purple abomination’s birthday for what feels like an eternity. But from this capitalistic cash grab has sprouted a new wave of found footage terror: the Grimace Shake Incident.
TikTok users have flocked to the app to create their own terrifying videos that show the consequences of buying and drinking a Grimace Shake, all of which end in a horrible fate. But why? Because McDonald’s milks Grimace to make these shakes and he wants revenge for the exploitation of his big purple body. Good for him, honestly. Some of these videos are simple cuts from sipping a shake in a parking lot to a shot of someone convulsing on the asphalt, covered in purple liquid. Others are intricate mini-found-footage masterpieces that showcase what horror filmmaking can look like in 2023.
As I will continue to scream from the mountaintops, TikTok is the place to look for incredible examples of digital found footage terror. Often made for zero dollars by anyone with a cellphone and a creative vision, these videos are able to potentially reach (and terrify) millions of people across the globe. And the Grimace Shake Incident only further proves that fact.
In honor of our new cosmic overlord and the celebration of his gloriously terrible birth, here are our 10 favorite, and most disturbing, Grimace Shake Incident videos that have taken a massive corporate marketing campaign and turned it into a horror show. Now that’s what I call ethical consumption under capitalism.
The Video That Started It All
@keepitawhisper @McDonald’s Happy birthday Grimace!!!!!!!!!!! #mcdonalds #helpme #ilovebeingawoman Once I Step Behind the Curtain, I Never Come out the Same – Ecology: HomeStones
TikTok user keepitawhisper is reportedly the progenitor of this trend, with her simple video quickly cutting from a sunshine-y tasting video to a shot of her laying on the floor with her face twisted into a terrifying scream. It’s simple and short, but it is 100% effective in how fast the tone and vibe of the video change. Keepitawhisper also slightly resembles the siren from the iconic V/H/S/segment “Amateur Night”, which only compounds the fear factor.
It Came From The Thrift Store Camcorder
@donniedarkoismybabydaddy found footage from a night with the #grimace shake #happybirthdaygrimace original sound – donniedarkoismybabydaddy
This video from donniedarkoismybabydaddy (iconic username) is its own self-contained found footage horror masterpiece. Instead of opening with someone sipping the shake, this video opens with someone discovering a strange tape in a thrift camcorder. It’s a perfect found footage framing device. From there, the video follows the found footage beats shrunken down to 57 seconds and told with a distorted VHS aesthetic that does feel rather cursed. What starts as a late-night trip to get milkshakes descends into a purple-splattered nightmare on an empty beach.
When The Grimace Shake Is So Good You Crawl On The Ceiling
@haleyybaylee Idk why you wanted me to try this… but here we go. Trying the Grimace Shake from McDonalds… HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRIMACE 🫶 @Max Goodrich #grimaceshake #happybirthdaygrimace #grimace original sound – haleyybaylee
TikTok user haleyybaylee posted her version of the Grimace Shake Incident to her 4.9 million followers. But it didn’t go viral just because of her following. The video’s production value is incredible, seeming like just another tasting video filmed in a kitchen until it’s not. Haleyybaylee really channeled Toni Collette from Hereditary in this one.
Boys Night!
@.theanimemen Just got the #grimaceshake Libets Delay by The Caretaker – Alt Tik Tok Sounds
The Anime Men went the pseudo-documentary route by incorporating fake interview footage with a witness of the Grimace-inflicted terror on one faithful boys’ night. Intercut is footage from that night, deep in the woods.
Beau Is Afraid (Of Grimace)
@armiepcharmie i got grimaced #grimace #grimaceshake #grimacesbirthday #mcdonalds #armiepcharmie original sound – armen
Young Beau Is Afraid star Armen Nahapetian hopped on the trend with his simple take on the trend. But the way he contorts his body with blueberry-flavored liquid flowing down his face makes it all the more effective.
McDonald’s Gets In On The Horror
@mattxshaver The response to the Grimace Shake has been so positive that I thought I’d try it myself! Thank you everyone!! #grimaceshake #mcdonalds #grimace Corporate Music – AndrisMusic
It seems that McDonald’s is in on the joke. Just kidding, but sketch comedian Matt Shaver is really convincing as a McDonald’s senior executive who also falls victim to the Grimace Shake.
So Good, It’ll Make You Explode (Literally)
@zachking #grimace #happybirthdaygrimace #grimaceshake Zach king tries the Grimace – Zach King
Zach King took the trend to its most simple extreme: the shake making him explode. While short and sweet, I can only imagine how much liquid they needed to simulate the explosion and how long it took to scrub from the car seat…
Something Strange In NYC
@lilomedia This shake DEFINITELY hit different! #grimaceshake #grimace original sound – Liam
This video from lilomedia makes Grimace feel like Vecna from Stranger Things. Just one sip sends his sad victim into the skies as purple lightning flashes behind him. Grimace is our new overlord.
Another Night With The Boys Ruined By Grimace
@jax_minneci grimace incident #grimace #grimaceshake #happybirthday #mcdonalds original sound – jaxon
Lots of these Grimace videos involve large groups of young white boys yelling about milkshakes and throwing them around the parking lot. But here, TikTok user jax_minneci and his boys took it to the next level with a found footage nightmare that feels like a snuff film. Bodies float in the water as Grimace Shake spreads throughout the water. Something pulls a body behind the trees. This is nightmare fuel at its finest.
Meta Grimace
@smokebreakproductions 🫣 #grimace #grimaceshake #grimacesbirthday original sound – SmokeBreak Productions
SmokeBreak Productions take a meta approach to their Grimace video, starting off as an influencer filming the intro to their scripted horror video. But when they cut and they’re watching back the footage, they come to realize the thing they’re making fun of will be the object of their demise.
What’s your favorite Grimace Shake video? Have you dared try this purple menace’s new delectable treat? Let us know on Twitter @DreadCentral!
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