Society (film)

Society
Film poster for Society.
Directed by	Brian Yuzna
Produced by	Paul White Keizo Kabata Terry Ogisu Keith Walley
Written by	Woody Keith Rick Fry
Starring	Billy Warlock Devin DeVasquez Evan Richards Ben Meyerson
Music by	Mark Ryder Phil Davies
Cinematography	Rick Fichter
Editing by	Peter Teshner
Distributed by	Wild Street Pictures
Release dates	May 1989 (Cannes Film Festival), June 11, 1992
Running time	99 min.
Country	United States
Language	English

Society is an American horror film. It was finished in 1989, but not released in the US until 1992. It was Brian Yuzna's directorial debut and was written by Rick Fry and Woody Keith. The film stars Billy Warlock as Bill Whitney, Devin DeVasquez as Clarissa Carlyn, Evan Richards as Milo and Ben Meyerson as Ferguson. Screaming Mad George was responsible for the special effects.

Society is considered to be a minor classic in the body horror sub-genre. A sequel, Society 2: Body Modification, was in development, with a script written by Stephan Biro.

Plot

Bill Whitney (Billy Warlock) seems to have it all. His family is wealthy and he lives in a mansion in Beverly Hills, California. He's popular at his high school, looks to be a shoo-in for class president, has a cute cheerleader girlfriend and owns a new Jeep Wrangler to drive around in. Despite this, he feels as though he does not fit in with his family or their high-society friends. When his sister's ex-boyfriend Blanchard (Tim Bartell) gives him a surreptitiously recorded tape of what sounds like his family engaged in a vile, murderous orgy, Bill begins to suspect that his feelings are justified.

Bill gives the tape to his therapist Dr. Cleveland (Ben Slack) to listen to. When he comes back for his appointment, Dr. Cleveland plays the tape back for Bill. The audio has now changed and now merely contains the sounds of his sister Jenny (Patrice Jennings) enjoying her coming out party. Bill insists that what he'd heard before was real and calls Blanchard to get another copy. When he arrives at their meeting place, Bill discovers an ambulance and police officers gathered around Blanchard'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 upper-class classmate Ferguson (Ben Meyerson). There, Ferguson lasciviously confirms that the first audio tape Bill listened to—with the sounds of an orgy on it—was the real tape. Angry and confused, he leaves the party with Clarissa (Devin DeVasquez), a beautiful girl he'd been admiring. They have acrobatic sex at her house and Bill meets Clarissa's bizarre, hair-loving mother (Pamela Matheson).

Bill returns home the next day and confronts his parents (Connie Danese and Charles Lucia) and sister, who are all in the master bedroom dressed in lingerie. At Blanchard's funeral, Bill and his friend Milo (Evan Richards) discover that Blanchard's corpse either needed a lot of reconstructive work for display, or is not real. Bill is approached by Martin Petrie (Brian Bremer), his rival for the high school presidency, who says he must speak with Bill and agrees to a secret meeting. Bill discovers Petrie with his throat cut. He sees someone race off through the woods then runs off to get the police. When he returns with the cops, the car and the body are missing, with a different car in their place.

With Dr. Cleveland's help, they drug Bill. As Milo secretly trails him, Bill is taken to a hospital. Bill awakens in a hospital bed and thinks he hears Blanchard crying out, but discovers that nothing is there. He leaves the hospital and finds his Jeep waiting for him. Milo tries to warn him, but he drives back to his house.

Back home again, Bill finds a large, formal party. He is snared by the neck and Dr. Cleveland reveals all of the secrets he has been searching for. He is not really related to his family after all. In fact, his family and their high-society friends are actually a different species from Bill. To demonstrate, they bring in a still-living Blanchard. The wealthy party guests strip to their underwear and begin "shunting". The rich literally feed on the poor, physically deforming and melding with each other as they suck the nutrients out of Blanchard's body. Their intention is to do to the same to Bill. In a fight with Ferguson, Bill manages to pull the pliable Ferguson inside-out. With Milo and Clarissa's help—who is also of this alternate species, but has fallen in love with Bill—he escapes.

Cast

• Billy Warlock as Bill Whitney
• Connie Danese as Nan Whitney
• Ben Slack as Dr. Cleveland
• Evan Richards as Milo
• Patrice Jennings as Jenny Whitney
• Tim Bartell as Blanchard
• Charles Lucia as Jim Whitney
• Heidi Kozak as Shauna
• Brian Bremer as Martin Petrie
• Ben Meyerson as Ferguson
• Devin DeVasquez as Clarissa Carlyn
• Maria Claire as Sally
• Conan Yuzna as Jason
• Jason Williams as Jason's Friend
• Pamela Matheson as Mrs. Carlyn

Reception

Society was a success in Europe, but was shelved for three years before getting a release in the U.S.^[1] 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."^[2]

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

Adaption

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).^[3][4]

See also

• Social class

References

External links

• Society at allmovie
• Society at the Internet Movie Database