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The Substance, Together, Titane, Sick of Myself: body horror is having a bit of a resurgence lately. So what better time to revisit Brian Yuzna’s slimy obscenity Society? It’s a movie that definitely thinks we should be taxing billionaires, and to make its point, Society throws an ending at you that you will never – ever – forget.
Society’s entire reputation rests upon this finale and there is no discussion to be had without addressing the queasy and lurid final act. So please take this as both spoiler and content warning, and don’t blame me if you feel like your eyeballs need cleaning after seeing it.
Bill Whitney (Billy Warlock) seems to have it all: he’s popular, has a steady girlfriend, and is captain of his high school basketball team (despite being the shortest basketball player I’ve ever seen). But something about Bill’s life seems “off”.
His family starts behaving secretively, he is plagued by night terrors and he comes to realise that his perfect life is merely artifice. He questions his own sanity when he accidentally walks in on his sister, Jenny (Patrice Jennings) twisting her body into contorted and unnatural positions. But events finally come to a head when Bill’s school friend, Blanchard (Tim Bartell), plays him an audio recording of his family discussing their disturbingly homicidal and inappropriately sexual weekend plans.
Bill confides his fears to his therapist Dr Cleveland (Ben Slack) who suggests he is having paranoid delusions. But to quote Joseph Heller: “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not after you.”
Shortly afterwards, Blanchard turns up dead.
Soon enough, Bill uncovers a wide reaching conspiracy involving his social circle. When he finally confronts them at an opulent party, their true nature is revealed as an ancient species who have always lived among us. They prey upon the lower class in a grotesque ritual known as The Shunt.
The rich partygoers meld into one another in a writhing mass of slippery limbs and unidentified orifices. It’s not “eat the rich” but the rich eating us: they feast upon their captives in a deranged orgy of sex and gluttony. It’s a conclusion straight from the mind of Japanese special effects wizard Screaming Mad George – whose credits also include Predator and several Nightmare on Elm Street entries.
Society’s conclusion may be twisted, but the film portrays the affluent as seedy, entitled and repellent even before they turn into a living sludge. The soundtrack’s use of the deeply irritating Eton Boating Song is a masterstroke; its moneyed pomp subliminally grates your every last nerve.
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Along the way there’s also a classic portrait of typical teenage alienation as Bill struggles with the fact he has nothing in common with his family. His feeble angst and soap opera good looks stoke the mildest rebellion of all: as a rich kid out of step with his privilege.
But it’s the bizarre and paranoid conspiracy at Society’s heart that is often overlooked. It’s unsettling, oddball and downright Lynchian; characters like the big-haired, perpetually zonked-out Mrs Carlyn – the mother of Bill’s love interest – or the manipulative Dr Cleveland feel as if they would be right at home in Twin Peaks. Yuzna probes the Beverly Hills elite with a Blue Velvet-esque determination to scratch the veneer of perfect “normal life” and take a look at the beetles and creepy crawlies lurking in its rotted undercarriage.
Coming out of the decadent 80s, Society’s message is certainly not new and nor is it subtle, but it does feel more relevant than ever. The rich are slowly devouring us all – so where is Billy Warlock when we need him?
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Society is available to stream on Amazon Prime and Brollie in Australia, BFI Player, Arrow and Shudder in the UK, and Fubo, Night Flight Plus and Mometu in the US. For more recommendations of what to stream in Australia, click here
