Arrow in the Head reviews Society

Society (1989)

Buy this DVD

Buy Horror Posters

Buy Horror Merchandise

Buy Arrow Merchandise


Directed by:	Brian Yuzna
Starring:	Billy Warlock/Bill
	Patrice Jennings/Jenny
	Tim Bartle/Blanchard
	David Wiley/Judge Carter

RATING

PLOT-CRUNCH:

Bill (Warlock) has got it all: his family is filthy rich, his parents and his hot buttered muffin of a sister (Jennings) seem perfect and they all live amidst the luxury of high class Beverly Hills. But even though Billy is living in a material world, he’s far from being a material girl. The man just doesn’t seem to fit in with his peers! Our boy eventually confirms his sense of unease when he discovers that the “society” in which he exists has all kinds of perverse “shin digs” happening behind close doors. Who dropped the acid in my milk? Sneaky Brian Yuzna, that’s who!!

THE LOWDOWN:

"Oooooh, I got a beauty mark!" --- Judge Carter

You gotta hand it to Brian Yuzna; the man has never been afraid to push the boundaries of gore and bad taste and he proved that early on with his twisted directorial debut: "Society". DAMN DUDE! I want some of what you’re snorting!

"Society" is a weird, mind-bending film about paranoia and being the outcast, as well as a light statement on the relationship between the upper and lower class. Think the way “They Live” passed on its message about the poor being oppressed by the rich. Think in your face LSD-inspired sexual horror symbolism that would make David Cronenberg proud. Think totally fucked up. This film had me by the balls with its set-up, had me relishing the sumptuous 80’s costume/production designs and before anything else, kept me in the game with its intrigue/ambiguousness.

Themes of incest, insane orgies, rabid cannibalism and sexual grotesqueries are also addressed in this madhouse and you just can’t go wrong with subjects like that in a film! And then there’s the powerful kick in the head we all need at times: the unique and deranged finale. Let me just say that it will blow your freaking carrot top to Kingdom Cum. Flesh melds together, hands go up all kind of orifices, heads pop out of anuses and dirty old men do all kinds of perverted shite (that damn Judge…brrr). It’s a carnival of sexual monstrosity and warped ideas that almost had me hurling my Whopper back to Mother Nature. How sick can one be?

But still, all was not perfect in this Country Club from hell. Even though the movie did retain my attention for its entire running time, I did find it a tad redundant on occasion. In my opinion, there just wasn’t enough meat behind the madness to fully sustain a feature length flick. I get it: poor Bill is seeing abnormal stuff and he doesn’t fit in. Message received loud and clear! But there are just so many times you can ask the same question (“is he paranoid, or is the nuttiness real?”) before getting tired of it and praying that the movie hops on to a different bus. Alas, that’s pretty much the only card this flick holds throughout until the extravagant and disgusting cap-off rolls in. But I should point out that I was never bored, even while the script stretched its one "ace in the deck", I was still engaged on various levels for the whole ride.

Overall, I have to kiss Society’s ass. The film sports an aura of taboo eroticism that continually turned me on and off like a cheap radio. The special effects are also so outlandish that I couldn’t help but be bitch-slapped by them (it’s not everyday you see a dude become a giant hand). If you’re craving a disgusting, shocking, inventive and sexually deviant banana split, you’re at the right ice cream shop! Please come in and take off your clothes, but word to the wise: bring protection-- lots of condoms and a fucking machete. THIS IS HARDCORE FORNICATING, YO! One more thing…WATCH OUT FOR THAT FLABBY JUDGE! HE BE HORNY!

ACTING:

Billy Warlock (Bill) was ok as the “Emilio Estevez”-like lead. Nothing great but he got the job done. Patrice Jennings (Jenny) looked so sweet, her voice was so soothing and her ass was so heart shaped that I couldn’t help but love her. Tim Bartle (Blanchard) does what he has to do, but he got on my nerves at times. It's official: David Wiley (Judge Carter) is now my worst nightmare. Fuck me man! Good work, pops.

GORE:

Get ready for some icky, jaw-dropping shite! Wacky makeup dude “Screaming Mad George” is responsible for the goodies here and he goes all out! You’ll see stuff in this party that you’ve never seen before (unless you do lots of drugs). One dude is turned inside out, a man has his eyeballs pushed out from the inside and in this social circle, heads do come out of assess. Yeah, you heard me! That’s all I’ll say...discover the rest yourselves.

T & A:

We get lots of skimpy dressed ladies and Patrice Jennings (Jenny) looks damn yummy in her undies or nude in the shower (through a door or covered up though). We get enough erotic stuff to turn us on, but way too many middle aged men without their clothes to put us off (unless that’s your thing). Yes again…that damn Judge…PUKE!

DIRECTING:

Yuzna gives this baby a very polished look with lots of tilted angles, tight shots and stylish camera moves. The slick costumes, production design and lighting also helped give this flick a very particular look that I mucho dug.

SOUNDTRACK:

We get an eerie synthesizer score that’s tacky at times, but mostly fits the bill in the spook zone.

DVD FEATURES:

Distributor: Anchor Bay Entertainment

IMAGE: The 1.85:1 letterboxed image is bright and crisp and the colors are vibrant. Nice!

SOUND: The Dolby 2.0 Surround serves the sound effects and the score very well. The dialogue was at times too low though.

EXTRAS:

Commentary (full length): Brian Yuzna talks about the film’s script, how he got attached to the project, specific scenes, what he wanted to communicate, the characters and gabs a lot about the film’s symbolism and its deeper meanings. If you dig the film, you’ll be grooving on this commentary.

We also get the film’s Trailer. NOTE: This DVD cut of the film is un-rated. YIPPEE!

BOTTOM LINE:

Even though I think the story would’ve worked better in an hour “Twilight Zone”-like format, I still firmly recommend that you see "Society". It’s not every day that an odd flick like this comes along to assault our senses, that’s fer sure! The perverted sexual energy; the trippy drug-like horror visuals and the anal-fisting friendly, gross-out orgy scene made it worth my freaking while! Slap this one in the DVD player and watch your non-horror lover mates break down like toddlers with spoons stuck up their noses. And one last time for the record: FEAR THE JUDGE!

BULL'S EYE:

Billy Warlock is the son of Michael Myers actor Dick Warlock (in "Halloween 2").

Billy was, at one point, engaged to big breasted Erika Eleniak...his Baywatch co-star.

Discuss this movie on The Arrow's HORROR BOARD