Society (film)

Last updated

Society
SocietyPoster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Brian Yuzna
Written by Woody Keith
Rick Fry
Produced byKeith Walley
Starring
CinematographyRick Fichter
Edited byPeter Teshner
Music by
  • Mark Ryder
  • Phil Davies
Distributed byWild Street Pictures
Release dates
  • May 13, 1989 (1989-05-13)(Cannes)
  • February 28, 1992 (1992-02-28)(U.S.)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Society is a 1989 Americanbody horror film directed by Brian Yuzna in his directorial debut from a screenplay by Woody Keith and Rick Fry. It stars Billy Warlock as a teenager in Beverly Hills who begins to suspect that his wealthy parents are part of a gruesome cult made up of the social elite. [1] [2]

Contents

Society was originally conceived as a more conventional slasher, featuring a cult of social elitists who engage in human sacrifice. The screenplay was reshaped by Yuzna, who introduced body horror elements such as the reveal of the cult being a shapeshifting species that can literally feed on the lower classes, a concept he based on nightmares he had experienced. The film was shot in California in 1988 with Screaming Mad George as the special effects designer.

The film screened at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival, but went unreleased in the United States until 1992. [3] It failed commercially, though it received critical acclaim from international audiences. [4] In the years since its release, the film has garnered a cult following and is regarded as influential in body horror. [2] [5] [6]

Plot

Bill lives with his parents and sister in a mansion in Beverly Hills, California. He tells his therapist Dr. Cleveland that he does not trust his rich family. When his sister's ex-boyfriend David gives him a surreptitiously recorded audio tape of what sounds like his family engaged in a murderous orgy, Bill begins to suspect that his feelings are justified. Bill gives the tape to Dr. Cleveland, but when he later plays it back, the audio has changed to his sister's debutante party. When Bill attempts to meet David to obtain another copy, he finds an ambulance and police officers gathered around David's crashed van. A body is placed into the back of the ambulance, but Bill is prevented from seeing its face.

Bill attends a party hosted by his rich classmate Ted Ferguson, who confirms that the first tape was real. Angry and confused, Bill leaves the party with Clarissa, a beautiful girl he had been admiring. The next day, Bill confronts his parents and sister. At David's funeral, Bill and his friend Milo discover that David's corpse may be fake. Bill is contacted by Martin, his rival for the high school presidency. At their arranged meeting, Bill discovers Martin with his throat slashed. When he returns with the police, Martin's body is gone. Martin shows up at school the next day, alive and well. When Bill arrives at home, he confronts his family again, but they drug him with the help of Dr. Cleveland. As Milo trails him, Bill is taken to a hospital; he awakens, thinking he hears David crying out, but discovers nothing is there. Milo and Clarissa try to warn him, but he drives back to his house.

At home, Bill finds a large formal party occurring. Dr. Cleveland reveals that Bill's family and their friends, all members of the social elite, are actually an entirely different species from Bill, who was adopted and therefore not part of their bloodline. To demonstrate, they bring in a still-living Blanchard as a human sacrifice. The wealthy party guests strip to their underwear and begin "shunting", a phenomenon in which they physically deform their bodies and meld with each other into a near-amorphous mass of flesh. As the orgiastic shunt continues, the guests feast on the nutrients from Blanchard's body, gruesomely absorbing and killing him. Their intention is to do the same to Bill, but he escapes and runs around the house, where he finds his parents and sister engaged in similar activities.

Preparing Bill for the shunt, the cult members engage him in a fight with Ted, who pummels him repeatedly despite Clarissa's cries for him to stop. With Bill incapacitated, Ted prepares to feast on him, but Bill manages to kill him by reaching inside his body mid-shunt and pulling his body inside out. Bill escapes with the help of Milo and Clarissa, who is also a member of the other species, but has betrayed them as she has fallen in love with Bill. The three of them flee the house as the cult members continue their party.

Cast

Themes

Author Jon Towlson identifies political themes imported from paranoid science fiction thrillers, such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Invaders from Mars . [7] Yuzna later cited the film's mix of paranoia, black humor, satire, and gore as alienating mainstream audiences. [8]

Production

Development

After having several of his productions fail for lack of finding a director, Brian Yuzna decided to move into directing. As producer of Re-Animator , he held the rights to a sequel and knew he could find financing. He used this as leverage for a two-picture deal, the first of which became Society. [9] Yuzna said that he wanted the safety of having two pictures to establish himself as a successful director. Society's script appealed to Yuzna partly because it was thematically similar to a failed project he had begun with Dan O'Bannon. [8]

The original screenplay for the film by Woody Keith and Rick Fry resembled a more traditional slasher film that culminated in a climax involving a straightforward religious cult of the elite who sacrifice those from lower social classes. [8] [10] Yuzna chose to alter Keith and Fry's script, instead reshaping the cult into an alternate species of humans who literally feed on the lower classes. [8]

Special effects

The production company introduced him to Screaming Mad George, who they knew to also be interested in surreal gore. [9] For the film's most surreal and gory sequence, the "shunting," Yuzna based it on his nightmares. [8] The sequence was further inspired by The Great Masturbator , a Salvador Dalí painting. [11]

Release

Society screened at the Cannes Film Festival on May 13, 1989, [3] and also screened at the Shock Around the Clock Film Festival in London the same year. [12] For its British release, Society was marketed in Video Trade Weekly with a picture of the film's theatrical premiere. Mark Kermode called this "stupid yet brilliant", as it demonstrated that the distributor did not know how to market the film properly but also showed recognition that traditional marketing for a genre film was irrelevant. [13]

Home media

Anchor Bay Entertainment released Society on DVD in 2002. [14] The following year, Anchor Bay issued the film again on DVD as a double feature paired with Spontaneous Combustion (1990). [15]

Arrow Video released a limited edition Blu-ray in the United Kingdom on June 8 and in the US on June 9, 2015. It includes new interviews and artwork, a comic book sequel, and a music video by Screaming Mad George. [16] The Blu-ray release totaled sales of $1,096,955. [17]

Reception

Critical response

Society was a critical success in Europe, [4] but was shelved for three years before getting a release in the United States. [18] Said director Yuzna in an interview: "I think Europeans are more willing to accept the ideas that are in a movie. That's why for example Society did really well in Europe and in the US did nothing, where it was a big joke. And I think it's because they responded to the ideas in there. I was totally having fun with them, but they are there nonetheless." [19]

Variety described it as "an extremely pretentious, obnoxious horror film that unsuccessfully attempts to introduce kinky sexual elements into extravagant makeup effects". [20] Michael Wilmington of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "No one who sees the last half-hour of this movie will ever forget it—though quite a few may want to." [21] Wilmington likened the film's themes and message to that of Jonathan Swift's 1792 satirical essay A Modest Proposal . [21]

Marc Savlov of The Austin Chronicle wrote that the British press, who gave the film positive reviews, overrated it and stated that it would not play well to American audiences. [22]

Retrospective

Tom Tunney of Empire rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote: "Way ahead of its time, this is a balls-out satire on the disgraceful layers that can lurk just beneath the Avon surface. This is anti- Ferris Bueller and fiendishly funny." [23]

In the early 2010s, Time Out London conducted a poll with several authors, directors, actors, and critics who have worked within the horror genre to vote for their top horror films. [24] Society placed at number 95 on their top 100 list. [25] Bartlomiej Paszylk wrote in The Pleasure and Pain of Cult Horror Films that the film has "one of the craziest and most disgusting endings in movie history". [26]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Society holds a 62% approval rating based on 13 reviews, with an average rating of 5.50/10. [27]

Accolades

In 1990, Society won the Silver Raven award for "Best Make-Up" at the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film.[ citation needed ]

Scottish comic book company Rough Cut Comics acquired the comic book rights to Society in 2002, producing an official sequel. The comic book series returned in 2003 with Society: Party Animal by writer Colin Barr and artists Shelby Robertson (issue 1) and Neill Cameron (issue 2). [28] [29]

A sequel, Society 2: Body Modification, was in development as of 2013, with a script written by Stephan Biro. [30]

Related Research Articles

Return of the Living Dead is a zombie comedy film series that consists of five films beginning with the 1985 film The Return of the Living Dead.

<i>Sleepaway Camp</i> 1983 American slasher film

Sleepaway Camp is a 1983 American slasher film written and directed by Robert Hiltzik, and starring Mike Kellin, Katherine Kamhi, and Paul DeAngelo alongside Jonathan Tiersten, Felissa Rose, Christopher Collet, and Karen Fields. The original entry in the Sleepaway Camp film series, it focuses on serial killings which occur at a summer camp for teenagers.

<i>Nekromantik</i> 1987 West German horror exploitation film by Jörg Buttgereit

Nekromantik is a 1987 West German erotic exploitation horror film co-written and directed by Jörg Buttgereit. It is known to be frequently controversial, banned in a number of countries, and has become a cult film over the years due to its transgressive subject matter and audacious imagery.

<i>Re-Animator</i> 1985 film by Stuart Gordon

Re-Animator is a 1985 American comedy horror film loosely based on the 1922 H. P. Lovecraft serial novelette "Herbert West–Reanimator". Directed by Stuart Gordon and produced by Brian Yuzna, the film stars Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West, a medical student who has invented a reagent which can re-animate deceased bodies. He and his classmate Dan Cain begin to test the serum on dead human bodies, and conflict with Dr. Carl Hill, who is infatuated with Cain's fiancée and wants to claim the invention as his own.

<i>Bride of Re-Animator</i> 1991 film by Brian Yuzna

Bride of Re-Animator is a 1990 American comedy horror film produced and directed by Brian Yuzna and written by Yuzna, Rick Fry, and Woody Keith. It is a sequel to the 1985 film Re-Animator and the second entry in the Re-Animator film series. Like its predecessor, it is loosely based on the serialized story "Herbert West–Reanimator" (1921-1922) by H. P. Lovecraft. Unlike its predecessor, it was released direct-to-video.

<i>Beyond Re-Animator</i> 2003 horror film

Beyond Re-Animator is a 2003 Spanish-American horror film directed by Brian Yuzna and starring Jeffrey Combs, Jason Barry, Elsa Pataky, Simón Andreu and Santiago Segura. It is the third and final installment in the Re-Animator film series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Yuzna</span> American film director

Brian Yuzna is an American film producer, director, and writer. He is best known for his work in the science fiction and horror film genres. Yuzna began his career as a producer for several films by director Stuart Gordon, such as Re-Animator (1985) and From Beyond (1986), before making his directorial debut with the satirical body horror film Society (1989).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart Gordon</span> American film and theatre director and writer (1947–2020)

Stuart Alan Gordon was an American filmmaker, theatre director, screenwriter, and playwright. Initially recognized for his provocative and frequently controversial work in experimental theatre, Gordon began directing films in 1985. Most of Gordon's cinematic output was in the horror genre, though he also ventured into science fiction and film noir.

<i>Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation</i> 1990 film by Brian Yuzna

Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation is a 1990 American supernatural horror film directed by Brian Yuzna, written by Yuzna, Woody Keith, and Arthur Gorson, and starring Maud Adams, Tommy Hinkley, Allyce Beasley, Clint Howard and Neith Hunter. It focuses on a Los Angeles newspaper reporter who, while investigating the unexplained death of a woman, becomes entangled with a coven of Lilith-worshipping witches who are preparing her for a ritual on Christmas Eve. The fourth installment in the Silent Night, Deadly Night film series, it bears no resemblance to the previous films, as it drops the storyline of the Billy Chapman and Ricky Caldwell characters entirely.

<i>Possession</i> (1981 film) Horror film by Andrzej Żuławski

Possession is a 1981 psychological horror drama film directed by Andrzej Żuławski and written by Żuławski and Frederic Tuten. The plot obliquely follows the relationship between an international spy and his wife, who begins exhibiting increasingly disturbing behavior after asking for a divorce.

<i>Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker</i> 1991 film by Martin Kitrosser

Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker is a 1991 American science fiction horror film directed by Martin Kitrosser and stars Mickey Rooney, who had previously condemned the original film. It is the fifth film in the Silent Night, Deadly Night film series.

<i>Bennys Video</i> 1992 Austrian-Swiss psychological thriller film by Michael Haneke

Benny's Video is a 1992 psychological horror film directed by Michael Haneke and starring Arno Frisch, Angela Winkler, and Ulrich Mühe. Set in Vienna, it centers on Benny, a teenager who views much of his life as distilled through video images, and his well-to-do parents Anna and Georg, who enable Benny's focus on video cameras and images. The film won the FIPRESCI Award at the 1993 European Film Awards.

<i>The Witch Who Came from the Sea</i> 1976 film by Matt Cimber

The Witch Who Came from the Sea is a 1976 American psychological horror film produced and directed by Matt Cimber and starring Millie Perkins, Lonny Chapman, Vanessa Brown, Peggy Feury, Rick Jason, George Buck Flower, and Roberta Collins. The film centers on an emotionally scarred woman who goes on a killing spree after taking a job as a waitress in a seaside bar. Its title refers to The Birth of Venus, which figures in the film. Dean Cundey served as associate photographer on the film.

<i>Return of the Living Dead 3</i> 1993 film

Return of the Living Dead 3 is a 1993 romantic horror film directed by Brian Yuzna and written by John Penney. It is the third film in the Return of the Living Dead film series, following Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988).

John Penney is an American film producer, screenwriter and director who has been working in the horror genre for over thirty years. He has created material for, and been involved in, a range of subgenres, including zombie movies, classic Creature Features (Amphibious), and supernatural thrillers (Hellgate).

<i>V/H/S/2</i> 2013 horror anthology film

V/H/S/2 is a 2013 found footage horror anthology film produced by Bloody Disgusting and Roxanne Benjamin. The sequel to V/H/S (2012) and the second installment in the V/H/S franchise, it comprises four found footage segments linked together by a fifth frame narrative. The film features a largely different group of directors: Jason Eisener, Gareth Wuw Evans, Timo Tjahjanto, Eduardo Sánchez, and Gregg Hale, and franchise returnees Simon Barrett and Adam Wingard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Screaming Mad George</span> Japanese-American artist and director

Joji Tani, known as Screaming Mad George, is a Japanese special effects artist, film director, and former musician. He was born in Osaka, Japan, and emigrated to the United States, where he has become known for his surreal, gory special effects. He has collaborated with director and producer Brian Yuzna on many films.

<i>The Babysitter</i> (2017 film) Teen horror-comedy film by McG

The Babysitter is a 2017 American teen black comedy slasher film directed by McG and written by Brian Duffield. It stars Samara Weaving, Judah Lewis, Hana Mae Lee, Robbie Amell and Bella Thorne. The film follows a lonely 12-year-old boy (Lewis) who discovers that his babysitter (Weaving) is part of a satanic cult that wants to kill him. The film was released by Netflix on October 13, 2017, and received mostly positive reviews from critics. A sequel, The Babysitter: Killer Queen, was released on September 10, 2020.

Kim Levitt Fictional character

Kim Levitt is a fictional character in the Silent Night, Deadly Night film series. Created by Brian Yuzna, Arthur Gorson, and S.J. Smith, she is an editor for the fictional classified ads paper the L.A. Eye. She is first introduced in the fourth installment in the series, Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation (1990), as the protagonist of the film who finds herself enmeshed with a cult of witches while investigating the mysterious spontaneous combustion death of a woman.

Billy (<i>Black Christmas</i>) Fictional character in the Black Christmas film series

Billy is a fictional character from the Black Christmas film series, first appearing in Black Christmas (1974) as a deranged murderer who taunts and kills a group of college students during the Christmas season. Created by Timothy Bond and A. Roy Moore, the character was partly inspired by the urban legend "The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs", in addition to the crimes of George Webster and the serial killer William Heirens.

References

  1. ↑ Robbins, Joshua (June 11, 2019). "'Society' Brings Body Image Issues to Another Level". Queen City Nerve. Archived from the original on February 21, 2024.
  2. 1 2 Lethbridge, Tommy (September 29, 2024). "The Substance's 90% Rotten Tomatoes Success Is A Perfect Reminder To Watch This Cult 1989 Body Horror Movie". Screen Rant . Archived from the original on October 1, 2024.
  3. 1 2 "Society". AFI Catalog of Feature Films . American Film Institute. Archived from the original on November 12, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Flowers, Maisy (January 23, 2021). "Society: How The Movie's Ending Was Different In The Original Script". Screen Rant . Archived from the original on August 17, 2024.
  5. ↑ Sloss, Brandon (November 2023). "Impolite Society: Looking Back on Brian Yuzna's Interspecies Class War". Arrow Films . Archived from the original on November 8, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Society (1989)". British Film Institute . Archived from the original on April 19, 2024.
  7. ↑ Towlson 2014, p. 190.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Brown, Phil (May 20, 2015). "Interview: Brian Yuzna talks Society Blu-ray and Sequel!". Fangoria . Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  9. 1 2 Kane, Elric (October 28, 2015). "Interview: Brian Yuzna Comes Clean On SOCIETY!". Blumhouse Productions . Archived from the original on January 29, 2019. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  10. ↑ Fisher, Kieran (August 21, 2019). "Why 'Society' Will Always Be Disgustingly Topical". Film School Rejects . Archived from the original on April 20, 2024.
  11. ↑ Ognjanovic, Dejan (September 28, 2008). "Interview: Brian Yuzna". Beyond Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 17, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  12. ↑ Knight, Jacob Q. (June 22, 2015). "Target Practice: Society (1989) & Happiness of the Katakuris (2001)". Shock Till You Drop . Archived from the original on June 26, 2015.
  13. ↑ Kermode 2011, pp. 92–93.
  14. ↑ "Society [DVD Video]". WorldCat . Archived from the original on November 16, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Society / Spontaneous Combustion [DVD Video]". WorldCat . Archived from the original on November 16, 2024.
  16. ↑ Miska, Brad (May 29, 2015). "Brian Yuzna's Society Gets Mutated Blu-ray Release!". Bloody Disgusting . Archived from the original on April 22, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Society (1989)". The Numbers . Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  18. ↑ Karl, Williams (2015). "Society (1989)". The New York Times . Archived from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  19. ↑ Totaro, Donato (February 18, 1999). "Interview with Brain Yuzna and Jillian McWhirter". Hors Champ. Archived from the original on June 1, 2006.
  20. ↑ "Review: 'Society'". Variety . 1989. Archived from the original on October 31, 2023.
  21. 1 2 Wilmington, Michael (February 28, 1992). "Shocker-Satire 'Society' Takes Raunchy Look at Upper Class". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on July 1, 2015.
  22. ↑ Savlov, Marc (July 24, 1992). "Society". The Austin Chronicle . Archived from the original on December 10, 2017.
  23. ↑ Tunney, Tom. "Society". Empire . Archived from the original on July 10, 2015.
  24. ↑ "The 100 best horror films". Time Out . Retrieved April 13, 2014.
  25. ↑ NF. "The 100 best horror films: the list". Time Out . Retrieved April 13, 2014.
  26. ↑ Paszylk 2009, p. 188.
  27. ↑ "Society (1989)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  28. ↑ Society: Party Animal Issue 1 & 2 Archived 2013-08-14 at the Wayback Machine at Homepage of Rough Cut Comics Retrieved 13 August 2013
  29. ↑ Cut Comics 10th Birthday: Neill Cameron [ permanent dead link ] at roughcutcomics.blogspot, 14 November 2011 Retrieved 13 August 2013
  30. ↑ Williams, Owen (October 31, 2013). "Brian Yuzna Developing Society Sequel". Empire . Archived from the original on January 23, 2024.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.