NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!
Greenes Please don't spend money on this.
StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
spencergrande6 Shunting. I knew not of ye before and wish I could not know not of ye forevermore. Apparently this is a medical term, God save those who have to use it ever again after this film for their jobs.This is a pure blistering B-movie, near perfection for the kind of flick it is. It has a deranged premise, an out in the open and in your face "message"/"theme" whathaveyou that's explored rather than dissected -- ironically through dissections, vivisections and gory surrealism. This is the kind of movie that dares to make your deepest, darkest fears about class, society and social strata an all-too-real horror with taboos of incest, nepotism, murder, and inhuman grotesqueness as both a release -- letting you know your the one that's still human -- and as a call to arms -- thou shall not suffer a witch to live.The ending is a true carnival ride nightmare come to life, bold and shocking. But the lead up to it, while mostly good and serving its purpose, is of the all too low-grade B-movie reality in which stock characters do things and question things, while the audience already knows the answers (it's THAT kind of movie after all) while we wait for the freak show. More atmosphere, mood and mystery would have been nice. And while the main character is likable enough, he's a bit pedestrian and one-note. His impact on Clarissa (who s him in the end) feels unearned (also pointless since he saves himself).Also what was with Clarissa's mom? I don't get it. Weirdly out of place and making no sense even by this film's loose standards.
Predrag The glory of "Society" is that for all its perversity, the movie functions very much in the realm of quirky eighties psychological thriller, and for the bulk of its running time, there's hardly a drop of blood or a gobbet of gore. Certainly Bill Whitney has a strained and awkward relationship with his glossy, preening, patrician parents, but at his age who doesn't? In the meantime, "Society" is a stylish, severely debauched, possibly mentally insane little romp that entertains in spades. Chiefly due to Yuzna's skill with the camera, sense of pacing, spooky use of lighting and color, and lavish set-pieces (the mansion, the car wreck), "Society" entertains on its own as a stylishly creepy horror film. Cinematographer Rick Fichter wields one mean camera! Fichter captures the high society ghoulishness with high style, using colored lighting in a fashion reminiscent of Dario Argento. The acting is competent, the casting inspired: all the principals (Warlock, Patrice Jennings as Sis, the parents) work like troopers, while Ben Slack as the silver-tongued society shrink and David Wiley as the cigar-chomping Judge Carter (who has a talent for getting to the 'bottom' of any problem, quite literally) steal every scene they're in.This is the single piece that is the most disappointing. While the artwork isn't bad, the story is and the characters don't really match up with their personalities in the film. Even though development in the film is very shallow, it would have been nice if that carried over to the book. It also diminishes the end of the film, and probably since it's a comic book would have been better suited if it was set right after the events of the movie not at least 15 years after.Overall rating: 8 out of 10.
gavin6942 The teenager Bill Whitney (Billy Warlock) feels misfit with his parents and his sister Jenny Whitney (Patrice Jennings). When his sister's boyfriend David Blanchard (Tim Bartell) bugs his family, he shows the disturbing tapes to Bill showing incest and a weird society. When Blanchard dies in a car accident, Bill decides to investigate his family and find a scary truth.I am still trying to grasp the concept of "body horror". In the context of David Cronenberg, it makes sense. "Rabid", "Videodrome" and "The Fly" all clearly have elements of a person's own body working against them. Here it is a little bit different. Although we have some bodies getting a very malleable treatment, the horror seems largely external. The lead character (and his friend) have nothing happening to THEIR bodies. And yet this makes the list of "body horror". Someone needs to really fine-tune a definition.Anyway, this film is hit and miss. The first half is really strong, with plenty of mystery that leaves you wondering. Following from Billy's point of view, we only know what he knows and only see what he sees. That makes it rather fun, trying to determine who we should trust and who we should not.And, of course, the effects from Screaming Mad George deserve praise. This could be compared to "Videodrome" or "From Beyond" in its effects, but George really takes it to the next level. So, for technical points, this film gets a perfect ten.But it definitely has its flaws, largely resulting from gaping plot holes. Some say those holes do not matter as the whole thing is meant to be an allegory on "society". But it does matter. The phrase "good breeding" does not answer all the questions. And the Carlin family is especially unclear: why does the daughter rebel? Why is the mother mentally impaired? Is this drugs or a genetic issue? And for Billy, why was nothing weird until his senior year of high school? So yeah, the effects are great and the message is good (even if way too obvious). But the third act drags on much too long and just leaves me very unsatisfied. Perhaps Yuzna should have gone with his original idea of the vampire film?
Macauley Gibbons Most reviews start out with a short summary of the movie, but Society is one of those films that's best enjoyed when you go in blind. Basically, Bill Whitney feels alienated from the pompous, upper-class world he has been born into, and as bizarre things begin to happen, he soon discovers there is something very different about high society. It sounds like the basic plot of many paranoid conspiracy films, but this one excels for certain reasons. What are those reasons? I won't say, for very recently I went into this film with no idea of what was going to happen and I came out completely shocked and morbidly delighted by what I had seen. I've seen a lot of body horror films, but this one accomplished feats I had never even considered. I came upon this while perusing for campy, vile movies, and upon seeing the cover, I decided this held promise for being acceptably grotesque. It was far more grotesque than I could have ever dreamed. I had never heard of this film before I found it a short while ago, but now I know it must be viewed by all lovers of camp and body horror, hence why I'm writing this review. If this is the kind of movie you look for, then you've found it.
