Review: Society (1989)

Cast: Billy Warlock, Devin DeVasquez

Budget: $2 Million

Directed By: Brian Yuzna

Society a satirical comedy horror looking on how the upper classes basically leech off the poor. Which is what the actual films logo is.
Directed by one of my favourite comedy horror directors/producers good old Brian Yuzna. Despite having a large part in making Re-Animator this was his first actual directorial debut.

Thanks to his pull on both the Animator films he was able to snag this and a modest budget. Every dollar was used well in the making too, all the practical effects are brilliant too.

So we join Billy as Bill Whitney a well off kid in a well off family, he has it all going for him in every area of his life too. Girlfriend, school both academic and others. Except he doesn't feel like he fits in anywhere especially with his family. He regularly tells his shrink about this every time he goes to see him which the doctor tries to quell those fears. They do indeed seem to just be young boy angst, that is until his sisters ex boyfriend Blanchard gives him a tape with some weird shit about his family having a strange orgy.

He goes to his shrink with the evidence but when the doctor plays the tape back it has inexplicably changed since the last time he listened to it. When he goes to get another copy from Blanchard he discovers that he's been involved in a crash and has died. Though no else seems to particularly care about it other than Bill's other friend.
When Bill is invited to a persons party (Ferguson) he was not particularly friends with in school he is surprised, at the party though he properly talks to Devin's character Clarissa who he's admired a few times from afar. Ferguson meanwhile bullies Bill and admits to him that they did indeed have a strange with his sister. Angry and confused Clarissa takes him to her house and they have sex.

Unable to get it out of his mind though he goes to confront his family and finds them in a compromising situation in lingerie in his parents bedroom, freaked out he leaves them too it and runs.
When Bill and Milo, his other friend, go to Blanchard funeral then touch him they discover that his corpse doesn't appear to be real. Then his rival as student president tells him fearfully to meet him in the woods so he can tell him about something he's learnt.
/bill meets him in the forest but when he goes to his car to talk to him he discovers the young man dead with his throat cut. The next day in school however when Bill tries to explain to the collective people at the presidential run that Petrie is dead he is shown up when Petrie walks on the stage and says he's just had car trouble.

Totally freaked out at all the weird goings on Bill tries one last attempt at confronting his family only to be drugged by his doctor. Milo however trails them to the hospital and when Bill manages to escape Milo warns him that it was a bit to easy for him to escape like that.
He doesn't listen and stupidly goes back to his folks house where he's chased and trapped by the other and forced to watch as the 'society' weirdly eat in a strange absorption kind of way the real Blanchard. Escaping again thanks to Clarissa he finds his sister and folks all mixed in with each other having some kind of weird alien orgy. He makes his way back downstairs and is challenged to fight by the bully Ferguson, THN won't spoil anymore as Society is well worth watching if your a big fan of 80's comedy horror especially the weird kind of body horror Yuzna specializes in. For this THN awards with this class act of a film 4 out of 5 stars.