Society (1992)
Directed by: Brian Yuzna
Premise: A teenager (Billy Warlock) discovers that his family is part of a secret organization that includes many of the most powerful people in their community.
What Works: The 1980s saw a renaissance in makeup effects and John Carpenter’s The Thing and David Cronenberg’s The Fly and John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London are often cited among the standard setters. However, Brian Yuzna’s film Society (which debuted at Cannes in 1989 but wasn’t released in the United States until 1992) ought to be part of that conversation and fans of 1980s practical effects movies should seek it out. Society adopts a conspiratorial premise familiar from Invasion of the Body Snatchers but gives it a 1980s socio-economic spin. The story centers on Bill, a teenager whose family occupies a prominent place in the community, and he begins to realize that something is wrong with his parents and his sister. The film builds pretty well with Bill’s paranoia gradually validated and clues stack up in ways that hint that something is afoot but in a way that only makes sense when everything is revealed in the climax. The filmmakers do a good job of integrating the social class critique into the whole picture. Bill is running for class president and his girlfriend is obsessed with her social standing and both of these subplots tie into the larger conspiracy. The makeup effects are exceptional in their own right but they are also metaphorical. Society is about the decadence and corruption of the ruling class and the makeup effects visualize that idea. This movie is audacious in its technical ambition and social critique but also in its humor. Society is in some respects a big, grotesquely dirty joke; the climax is comparable to the infamous “aristocrats joke.”
What Doesn’t: The film has trouble finding an ending. The climax is a spectacular display of makeup effects and it is audacious in a variety of ways but dramatically it’s a little underwhelming. The end of the film doesn’t resolve much. The romance between Bill and his love interest isn’t that involving and the fisticuffs between Bill and another young character doesn’t hold much dramatic weight because the film emphasizes the older generation as the real villains. The social critique of Society is held back a bit by the characterizations and casting. Some of the young characters are a bit difficult to tell apart and Bill is a handsome and athletic mainstream Hollywood hero rather a marginal outsider.
Disc extras: The Arrow Blu-ray release includes featurettes, a music video, a commentary track, interviews, and a trailer. Also available on various streaming services.
Bottom Line: Society is an underseen and underappreciated film. It’s more of a grotesque black comedy than a horror picture and its appeal may be limited to viewers who are fans of outrageous cinema. But it is also a unique picture that does something interesting with its novel concept and gory special effects.
Episode: #1016 (October 6, 2024)