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SOCIETY

BILLY SUSPECTS HIS FAMILY IS NOT WHO THEY SAY THEY ARE



★★★★★ (A Must-See)

Director: Brian Yuzna

1989


WARNING: THIS IS A BRIAN YUZNA FILM. DO NOT WATCH SOCIETY IF YOU HAVE A HEART CONDITION, TAKE HEART MEDICATION SUCH AS HYDRALIZINE, CANDESSARTAN, AND LOSARTAN. SOCIETY CAN CAUSE HALLUCINATIONS, HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, AND AN ADDICTION TO BODY HORROR. DO NOT WATCH SOCIETY ON A FULL STOMACH.


There’s probably nothing I can say about Society that hasn’t been said a hundred times already. Yes, this is in the same lane as From Beyond, but I promise you that Society is so much more than disgusting body horror. The mystery is intriguing, the fleshed-out characters (no pun intended) are top notch, and I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the paranoia that runs through its veins—pushing a deep message about the way America views the upper class—is Hitchcockian. On a side note, please do not read the synopsis of the movie on Wikipedia or streaming services, and do not pay attention to promotional photos. Try to fast forward through the title sequence, too. You’ll have the best movie-watching experience just going into Society believing it’s a run-of-the-mill horror flick about a high-schooler who feels alienated from his family.



Billy (actor Bill Warlock) lives with his parents and younger sister Jenny in a mansion in Beverly Hills, and he’s not used to not getting what he wants; he’s a football star, class president, and dates the adorable blonde cheerleader. But all this changes one afternoon when Jenny’s ex-boyfriend—determined to force the siblings to escape with him—breaks into the house as the girl is getting ready for her coming-out party. The guy can’t explain his motivations, so he’s given the boot, but not before planting a seed of doubt in Billy’s head. Now all the teen can think about is how much his parents dote on Jenny, and how he doesn’t look anything like any of them.


A therapist is helping Billy with these issues, but evidence that something is wrong keeps mounting. Someone with an incriminating recording mysteriously dies in a car wreck, the police treat Billy as if he’s the enemy, he sees strange things that make him question his sanity. Like I said, the paranoia in this film is so strong that it keeps us on the edge of our seats trying to figure out what’s going on. But even in Billy’s worst nightmares (and ours) he and we couldn’t guess what’s coming by a longshot. The shocking finale may be legendary, but it’s also a liability as it seems to keep fans who are afraid a friend is going to say, “that’s what you’re into?” from recommending this film, and I suspect this is why more people haven’t seen it.


That ending you might have heard about is a testament to Screaming Mad George (Predator, Bride of Re-Animator), a practical effects genius on same level as Rob Bottin, whose work in the final scenes of Society are a masterclass in classing up bloody surrealism. As a waltz begins to play, the light in the room goes red so that the effects are more palatable, but if you’re rattled by the first few minutes, you probably should skip the rest—this imagination explosion only gets more intense. Don’t feel bad if you turn away or get sick, a lot of people just don’t like body horror, and that’s okay. The point of the film is to scare you into looking over your shoulder, and to reaffirm what you believe about the American caste system. As for those who say they don’t understand the movie? Let them watch Bird Box , I mean, eat cake.






GENRES: Body Horror, Psychological, What the Fuck Was That


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